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“Not if the sun gets to you first.” Adeline’s voice warbled, her throat constricting against the loss of blood. It poured from her neck, and she knew she was dying after losing this much blood. She smiled as the sunlight peeked through the top of the grate. Adeline grabbed Juliette’s hand, sharpened nails digging into Juliette’s wrist, locking them together.
Juliette screamed when the very beginnings of the bright light made contact with her skin. Adeline closed her eyes in defeat, a soft smile on her face as she accepted her fate.
At least Rolf will be safe.
The fading scream from her maker and someone calling out her name were the last things Adeline heard as the world fell out from underneath her.
ChapterEighteen
Rolf’s heart stopped when he heard the screaming coming from the grate.
“Adeline!” He yelled up the hill, his ski shoes sinking into the powdery snow despite his best efforts the other day to make a path of escape. Sweat covered his brow as he crested the snow berm. His jaw hung open as the sun shone down the tunnel. His stomach was in his throat; he kicked off his skis, running to open the silver-coated gate. Inside, Adeline was bleeding out underneath the crisp shell of a vampire who held onto her hair - the mouth permanently opened in a silent scream. Flames roared to life behind them, the wooden beams crashing and splintering to the floor.
“Hold on, Adeline! Hold on!”
He yanked the gate open and lunged inside. Rolf shoved the corpse off of Adeline, which turned to dust as soon as he touched it. A pool of blood surrounded his lover’s body, and he slipped, trying to get her up in his arms. He rolled her over, trying to drag her limp and bloody body into the shade before the sun fully rose. Flames closed in around them, and he had to act quickly. He held his wrist to her mouth, but she was too weak to break the skin. Looking around, he couldn’t find anything sharp enough, and his eyes welled up with tears.
She would not die, not while he still held her in his arms. Rolf looked down at her, the blood covering her body, and it was then that he saw a tiny glint tucked into the front laces of Adeline’s corset.
The tiniest silver-plated knife was nestled into the boning, and he slid it out with his bloodied hands. Nary bigger than a nail file, he dragged the blade across his skin and held his wrist to Adeline’s mouth.
Her lips had turned blue, and he hoped he wasn’t too late. “Drink, my love. Please, please drink. I can’t lose you again. I refuse.”
He held his wrist in her mouth, letting the blood trickle onto her tongue as he rocked them back and forth. The fire had stalled out since the tar hadn’t been painted on the last few feet of the tunnel. Still, Rolf felt the heat of the dying flames and the sunlight as it crept into the opening. Shielding her body with his, he tucked her arms close and kept her in the shadows. He didn’t know if she would wake or when, so he stayed like that for hours, his wrist pressed to her mouth, his coat covering what he could of her body, and he waited for any sign of movement from her.
* * *
He must have drifted off because the sun was out when he woke, but the shadows creeping into the tunnel hinted at late morning. Rolf looked around at the flames, which had turned into tiny embers. The darkness yawned in front of him, and he could barely make out the feet of another vampire.
“Adeline?” he croaked, his harsh rasp echoing into the tunnel.
Her body was limp in his arms, still, but his wrist had healed. Adeline’s lips were no longer blue, but her neck was still slashed. Taking off his jacket, he bundled it into a pillow and laid her head down on it. Brushing her hair out of her face, his heart squeezed as he fought against thoughts of her not getting better. How long would he have to wait? Until nightfall? Rolf rubbed the cut on his wrist. Did he give her enough blood?
He found the small knife and gripped it tightly as he descended the tunnel. A vampire lay against the cave wall with a knife shoved through his head. A pool of blood, now cold, surrounded his legs. His arm was completely torn from its socket, and several bones poked out beneath his clothing. Rolf grabbed the knife handle and pulled. The silver blade slid out in one smooth motion.
The vampire’s eye opened briefly, and he groaned softly. Rolf shoved the knife into the creature’s heart twice, then grabbed its feet and dragged its body deeper into the cave, where some of the fires still roared.
He counted several body parts and finally four vampire heads - two ripped from their bodies. Rolf rolled up his sleeves and went to work cleaning up his dungeon.
Dragging as many vampire parts as possible into the cave's center, Rolf piled them onto the wooden supports that fell from the ceiling. Their bodies caught fire almost immediately, and he watched as their remnants turned to dust within moments.
Satisfied, he surveilled the damage to his prison and breathed a sigh of relief when the damage was minimal. He’d need to replace the posts and re-engineer an entrance, but repairing them shouldn’t take him longer than a year or two.
“Rolf?” her tiny voice croaked out, and he broke into a run.
“Adeline! I’m coming,” he shouted down the tunnel. “I’m coming, my love!”
She lay motionless in the shade, her eyes barely open despite the intense midday sun.
“You’re all right, Adeline. You’re safe.” He knelt next to her, brushing the hair from her face. His eyes scanned her body, and he exhaled when he saw her neck had started to heal. Bending down, he took her face in his hands and kissed her. Her lips met his, and after a pause, he pulled back, his face wet with tears. “I’m here.”
She smiled softly and fell back asleep, clutching his hand.
