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We moved a bit longer until we stilled, panting as we caught our breath. When I pulled free, I made sure to hold a hand out to steady her, my smile slightly dazed as she straightened herself.
“Wow,” she whispered, her cheeks still flushed. She pushed her dark hair away from her face. “I…wow.”
“Indeed,” I said, leaning over to kiss her cheek.
“I need a shower,” she said, looking down at herself, then back at me with a smile. “A cleansing one.”
I allowed Celeste the first minute or two in the shower alone to properly rinse off, but I couldn’t deny myself any longer thanthat. Slipping in next to her, I sighed as the scalding water hit my skin, enjoying the pleasant tingle as it ran down my sides.
“You know,” I murmured quietly as I lathered myself up. Celeste had her back to me, but she tipped her head. “I’d like to keep traveling with you once the eclipse is behind us. I always traveled for Lunar Lord business before, but I want to enjoy it now. We could even start with a world tour of planetariums if you’d like.”
To my surprise, Celeste burst into tears. The shift in mood was so abrupt that for a moment, I wondered if I was dreaming. But now, little sobs were shaking her body as she refused to look at me, even as I held her close.
“Are you alright? Celeste, did I hurt you?”
“N-no,” she managed, burying her face against my chest. “No. I-I-I’m not…h-hurt.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked again. “What did I say?”
She sniffed and tried fiercely to wipe her eyes, but it wasn’t working particularly well. After a few failed attempts, she slumped against me and whined. “I can’t. I can’t. I c-can’t talk ab-bout it,” she said, refusing to meet my eyes.
Anger swiftly replaced concern as I thought of the warlock engulfed in flames. I held her close, knowing the hot water would never run out in a hotel like this. “That’s okay,” I said, kissing her wet hair. The side of her face. “I…I trust that you can’t talk about it.” I bit the side of my mouth to curb my frustration. “But if something happens to you, Celeste, I won’t be able to keep myself together.”
Chapter 15
Celeste
The Four Seasons Hotel
New York City, New York
Time Until the Eclipse: 11 Days
Dammit. I do not want to just up and die eleven days from now!
I still hadn’t found any more information about the death mark and how to remove it, or to just avoid triggering it when the eclipse rolled around. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I pressed my face against Fenris’s chest, allowing the water to drum against my back.
This isn’t fair.I took a deep breath and realized I was trembling, but I couldn’t stop my racing thoughts.First my biological mother. Then my adopted parents. Now this! Just one of those things is more than enough tragedy for a lifetime. This just…this isn’t fair.
I forced myself to inhale, aware that thoughts of “fair” and “unfair” were silly. Life wasn’t fair. Things justhappened…but the idea of traveling the world with Fenris was so alluring that part of me just wanted to say “screw it” and go through with theplan he’d originally pitched. One lifetime with him was better than less than a year. There was a lot we could see and do over the next five, six, seven decades, but…
What about everyone else?
There would still be a fight, even if we weren’t at the Temple of the Moon ourselves, and our friends and allies would be hurt, even killed. I couldn’t imagine abandoning Abi to fight paranormal creatures with little more than “good luck.” And what would happen to Liana? Or Lyka? Or Cody?
That was to say nothing of what could happen if the Solar Sovereign found Fenris and killed him. Life in the paranormal world would be multitudes worse if she assumed all the power the Lunar Lord currently held. Even if this situation sucked, I couldn’t just…I couldn’t justabandoneveryone and wish them luck. That just wasn’t me.
I had a job to do, and if that included breaking Fenris’s curse, all the better. As much as I wanted to spend the next ten days wrapped in his arms, I knew I just couldn’t leave my friends.
I took a breath and wiped my face, then looked up at Fenris through dewy lashes and leaned up to gently kiss him. “Sorry. I’m just…there’s a lot going on right now. It’s all been a bit overwhelming,” I said quietly, feeling poorly that I’d ruined the romantic mood he’d set for us. “Thank you, though, for bringing me here. I had a really good time, and I—”
Suddenly, Fenris’s phone rang from elsewhere in the suite. He scowled. “Ignore that,” he grumbled, leaning down to return my kiss. The call went to voicemail, then the phone rang again at once. He sighed. “The only one who would keep calling me is Walter,” he said, stepping out of the shower and grabbing one of the fluffy white towels hanging in the hall. “I should take this.”
“Of course,” I said, ignoring the worry blossoming in my chest as I turned the shower off. I dried my hair with my own towel as Fenris answered the phone and switched it to speaker.
“Sorry to be bothering you, Fenris, but I’m afraid this is an emergency,” Walter said. The somber tone in his voice made my blood run cold. “Piers and Gilbert did find the three rogue vampires in Rosario. Unfortunately, they weren’t turned by an older vampire as we suspected, but were proven vampires from other regions. They were driven mad by Sabine, then brought to the city and let loose on the human population.”
I swallowed hard as Fenris growled. “Was she there?”
