Davin hung his head towards the ground, with nothing but sadness riding on his face from the decision we had just made together, the one that would forever change the direction in which our lives were headed. It was nothing either of us had expected.
Eli put his arm around Davin’s shoulders, squeezing him into his side to comfort his hurting son. Katerina pulled a sparkling silver brooch from her dress, handing it to me. I shakily took it from her, plunging it into my wrist, then pulling down hard so that it ripped my skin open deeper, instantly drawing blood which dripped directly into his open mouth.
His eyelids twitched with each droplet that hit his lips but nothing else was moving yet to indicate that anything was happening. We were all expecting something incredible to occur and that just wasn’t coming.
Katerina suddenly looked at Eli panicked. “His heart has stopped completely, Eli! He isn’t breathing anymore, you have to do something!”
Eli let go of Davin, kneeling down next to Sully, pushing his two fingers into his neck to check his pulse. He nodded; blinking back tears confirming that it had ceased. Katerina began to cry softly. Davin grabbed my wrist tightly with one hand, twisting the laceration hard to stimulate a stream of blood to run into Sully's mouth.
Then a miracle happened.
The dark plum veins that were dominating every visible area of his body from beneath his translucent skin started to lighten more and more, changing rapidly into a soft lavender hue; eventually disappearing all together. Davin let go of my wrist, leaving nothing else left for us to do except move back to watch and wait. A soft white aura began to glow from all around him. The same light that had emanated out of me was working its magic on him now.
We had officially been bound by blood; there was no turning back.
His skin transitioned from colorless nothingness back into the Ashford trademark smooth pale opaqueness, and his horribly cut and beaten face healed itself back to amazing perfection. His eyelids moved in quick little tremors as he slowly started to come to.
The warm beaming light disappeared just a moment before his dark blue eyes groggily opened and looked directly into mine. He was perfect once again and more handsome than I had ever noticed him to be.
“My angel,” he whispered.
Brushing a damp strand of dark brown hair to the side that had fallen over his eye, I kissed his forehead, hugging him tightly. “And out of the ashes arose the phoenix.”
CHAPTER SIX
That night I dreamt that I was back home in Colorado during a gorgeous hot summer day, my favorite time of the year. My face was soothingly warm from the sun that beat down graciously on it. Xander, Kat and I were together again on a small rinky-dink white boat in the middle of a crystal-clear lake, laughing and soaking up the afternoon's comforting heat that wasn’t around for more than four months out of the year.
The water was smooth as glass without even the slightest ripple moving through it. No one was around for miles, and the only sound that was heard, besides our constant laughter, were a few chirps from nearby birds chasing each other over the water. Everything was exactly how it should be; the way it always was.
Our cooler of Coronas was dwindling down to nothing, but that wasn’t going to pull us away from our perfect spot on the secluded lake.
“You’ll never let anything ever break us apart, right Adelay?” Xander asked after he finished off the last gulp of his beer.
“That’s a silly question, Xander. She wouldn’t turn her back on us, not for a vampire.” Kat smiled after she said it.
I shook my head at them both. “No, never.”
Uneasiness stirred in my stomach after I spoke those words. Something I couldn’t quite place my finger on yet. How did they know who Davin was?
Instantly, dark gray clouds started moving in from out of nowhere, quickly rolling across the sky and completely covering the sun up behind them. The air turned frigid cold, blasting a huge gust of wind through my hair, throwing it up off my shoulders. Our perfectly calm and serene lake was now a sea of crashing waves.
I turned toward where Kat and Xander should have been standing, but they were no longer present with me on the boat. I was all by myself and the storm was moving in fierce, stealing away all traces of brightness.
Kat’s screams emanated from somewhere off in the distance, and Xander’s voice echoed through the air. “You have already turned your back against us, Adelay! You lied, and that will never be forgiven! You have killed us! Our death is on you!”
“No, I didn’t Xander! I promise!”
A bigger whoosh of wind slammed into my chest, sending me over the edge of the boat and into the freezing cold water. The frigid water pricked my skin like thousands of tiny needles. I flailed my arms helplessly, trying to keep my head above the deadly waves that kept pounding hard against my defenseless body.
My eyes instinctively squeezed shut to avoid the rushing wave that struck my face like a baseball bat, and when I opened my eyes again, both Davin and Sully were now leaning over the edge of the boat, each reaching out for me to grab hold of their pale hands; except one was on one end of the boat and the other was on the opposite end.
I heard Davin yell out to me over the loud storm that was upon us. “One of us can save you, Adelay! But, whomever you choose, the other shall be sent to his grave. You know in your heart that it is us who belong together. Hurry and grab my hand, we haven’t much time!”
I spit out mouthfuls of water every time my head popped up above the waves that were threatening to drown me in them if I didn’t choose fast.
“No, Adelay grab mine! I loved you first, and vow to always protect you! He will never be there in your time of need; he wasn’t there in your time of need.”
Something unexpectedly grabbed hold of my legs tightly, trying to pull me underneath the water to it. Davin and Sully froze in place like mannequins on display, doing nothing to help me escape from its grasp, except continue to hold their hands out for me to choose which one to go to. If I didn’t make a choice, I was sure to die, but no matter whom I chose the other would die instead.
“He can’t have you, as long as you choose one of us to be with forever.” Davin’s lips moved but his body didn’t.
I couldn’t bear to grant Davin’s request. My love for both of them was too strong to end one of their lives to save my own. So, I stopped fighting against whatever was wrapped around my legs, letting myself succumb to the force that was tugging relentlessly from underneath me. Cold water covered my nose, hindering me from taking another breath without inhaling water. It inched up my face until I was completely submerged in the murkiness and was pulled down, down, down into the dark abyss.
The suffocating sensation quickly subdued once I opened my eyes, reassuring me that it was only a nightmare; but it didn’t make me feel any better, I might as well have still been drowning. My stomach churned from the huge knot that was weighing heavily in the pit of my stomach from what the dream had essentially signified. My feelings of betraying Xander were going to forever haunt me, whether I was asleep or awake.
So would my always knowing that in my choice to willingly save Sully, I ultimately gave up my life with my one true love, and forever stopped Davin and I’s beautiful future, killing us both inside. Three lives had been destroyed last night, leaving a devastating wound on my heart that nothing could ever heal.
Too much had happened last night for me to believe that I would ever be able to escape from my vicious delusions. They would slowly eat me alive.
What was out there that could possibly force me to be with Sully forever? I wasn’t a vampire, and human life was about free will, wasn’t it?
I couldn’t imagine my life without Davin. How could two people be kept apart that loved each other as strongly as we did, even in the vampire world? Vampires were known for their romantic characteristics and undying love –at least in the movies.
I couldn’t lie here any longer driving myself crazy with questions that didn’t come with
any answers. My thoughts were swirling in a million different directions, and I needed it to stop; at least for now. My mind was fried from exhaustion.
Davin was nowhere to be found in his ice-cold room, that I had apparently stayed the night in, but I shouldn’t have expected anything different; we weren’t us anymore, so there was no reason for him to be here. They had probably only brought me into his bedroom so that I didn’t wake up in an unfamiliar place. I had no recollection of ever leaving the cemetery last night, where I must’ve passed out cold because I had no memory of anything at all after Sully was brought back to us.
I hoped that Sully was still okay. A sudden urge to go find him overpowered me as I climbed out of the massive bed. Physically, my body felt fairly normal besides a little bit of lingering fatigue; however, beneath the surface a horrible aching sadness infiltrated within me.
All of my toiletries that had collected in his bathroom from my overnight stays remained unmoved on the marble counter exactly where I had left them, waiting to be used one final time in his bathroom fit for royalty.
Once showered, I sat down at the built-in vanity, brushing through my damp hair with the antique silver brush that Davin had put in here for me the first night I ever stayed at the mansion many months ago. The delicate crystal bottle of rose perfume sat, scarcely used, in front of me. I spritzed my neck with the pink-tinted liquid, studying my reflection in the massive beveled mirror that was encased in rich mahogany above the marbled sink; but the person looking back at me was unfamiliar.
Whatever had awakened inside of me last night had changed me completely, altering my perception of who I was used to seeing in my reflection, making me nothing more than a stranger to myself.
Underneath my eyes were a little darker than normal; so that could have something to do with it, or maybe it wasn’t even my physical features at all, but the way I felt inside now that I knew my future was changing from this point on.
Being with Sully wasn’t like the end of the world because he had in fact proven to me that he was much more than the arrogant jerk he portrayed to the world on a daily basis. He had risked his life in order to protect me and had in fact died -not to mention he was definitely an extremely handsome man- but he just wasn’t Davin. We didn’t have the same connection that Davin and I had, the one that made me feel whole inside.
“What you did child was braver than what many of us shall ever have to experience in our lifetime.” The old gypsy was talking in my mind again. “You put your own selfish wants behind you, you knew exactly what that would take away from you, and you did it with a pure heart. You may feel hopeless inside right now, but in time you will be rewarded for your goodness. You will accept the changes you have no control over, without bitterness or regret. Happiness is not forever gone or far away.”
“I thought you were gone,” I spoke out loud to the empty air.
A transparent figure manifested directly behind me. I knew who it was by the unmistakable short chubby body, and silk handkerchief wrapped around her head that she tied in a bow underneath her chin, squishing all her extra skin together and causing her face look rounder and plumper.
Rosalinda Babic touched my shoulder, giving my skin an icy chill. If it weren’t for the cold that was exactly where her ghostly hand rested on me, I wouldn’t even know it was there. “I’ll never be gone child. You have a part of me inside you always. You will always need me. This fight may have been won, but the war isn’t over.”
My previous hatred for this woman had since subsided, replacing it with some sort of strange comfort. I knew that if Davin and Sully were ever gone, she would at least still be around. I didn’t want to think that a ghost would be all I was left with, but after last night I had to be prepared for anything to happen from here on out. Davin had been a little too late, and we had all almost lost our lives.
“Why can’t I be with Davin? Didn’t I do the right thing by saving Sully; so why do I feel like I’m being punished for it?”
“That is their order, not mine. They’re not human; they are something else and answer to a different set of laws. Probably laws that even they may not know the reasoning behind, nor can they change. You are a good spirit, my child, and when all is said and done that’s all that matters in the end. Acceptance will come with time, and with time comes many constant changes for everyone.”
“What am I supposed to do now, though? Davin was the one who helped make what little sense he could out of things, but now nothing does. I feel so lost without him, like a hole has been burned into my heart.”
She was missing the hard persona I remembered and smiled a kind smile that was much more gentle than our first encounter at the tattoo shop when she was placing the damn curse on me. She actually looked to have compassion in her sky-blue eyes.
“I know you love him child, but are you sure you don’t love Sully too? You know that he truly loves you. It was demonstrated clearly last night. Your willingness to save him might be telling you that you return some of that love to him, too; even if you are in love with the other. Maybe he can help you make sense out of things if you let him.”
There was some truth behind what she said. Sully had proven so much to me in such a short amount of time, and my feelings had changed drastically after last night. When Davin had chosen to leave me in my time of need, I felt betrayed, and was forced to rely on Sully to fill that void; which in turn caused me to develop more feelings for him than I had ever intended; but that didn’t mean I was ready to give up Davin for them.
Maybe I did love them both, but the love wasn’t equal. There was only one being that completed me, and it was Davin…wasn’t it?
“You will find your way eventually, child.” Rosalinda Babic’s apparition dissolved, leaving me alone in the bathroom once again. My shoulder still tingled faintly from where she had been touching me.
There was a light rap on the bathroom door before Davin spoke softly from the other side, “Adelay, can I come in?”
I stood up, brushing a few stray strands of hair out of my eyes. “Yes.”
He pushed open the door enough for him to slip through. My heart pounded the way it did in the very beginning when I had first met him. His beautiful violet eyes were unusually dark and hollow this morning, showing the sadness he was harboring. He always carried such a confident spirit with him into any room, so it hurt to see him withdrawn this way.
Even through his weakness he was still such a gorgeous creature, and I wanted so badly to be wrapped in his arms, while he told me that everything was going to be okay. I wanted it to be the way it used to be. Normally his sexy smirk would have shown up by now. But I knew it wasn’t coming today, and who knew when I would see it again. He sat on the edge of the huge marble steps of the bathtub, running his hands through his silky black hair.
The entire atmosphere was strange. Neither one of us was quite sure what was expected of us now or how we were supposed to act in each other’s presence.
It wasn’t like we had broken up because we didn’t want to be together anymore, we were both still madly in love but something else had control of our future now, forcing us to be apart, compelling us to stand here as though stuck in limbo and at a loss for words. I waited for him to speak first because he was obviously in here for a reason.
He swallowed, looking up at me where I still hadn’t moved. “You know Adelay, I had so much I wanted to say before I came in here, but now that I’m here and you’re standing in front of me, I can’t think of anything else besides how much I wish I could hold you in my arms and tell you that I know we’re going to be together forever like we had planned; the way we had envisioned.”
I nodded, but, just as he, I couldn’t think of anything that would be worth saying about our unfortunate situation. Surprisingly he held his hand out, signaling for me to come closer. He wrapped his strong arms around my waist, pulling me into him and buried his face against my stomach. I held the back of his head with both of my trembling hands, laying my head on top
of his so that I could inhale his wonderfully clean scent.
The smell of him was intoxicating to every single one my senses, and it was one that was distinct enough to pick out of a room full of hundreds of people. He was my high that I never wanted to come down from, that I suffered withdrawals from every second he was away from me.
Neither of us said anything for the next few minutes. We just continued to hold onto one another; soaking in the last time we would ever be able to share a moment like this again.
“I keep thinking that I’m going to wake up and realize this is all a dream. I waited so long to find you, and within one night you’re taken from me. I should have never left your side.”
“I’m not gone Davin. I’m still right here.”
“You’re standing here in front of me, but you’re not mine anymore. Seeing you build your life with my brother will surely be my punishment for the mistakes I have made by not being the protector that I promised I would be. I have failed you, and in turn have failed us.”
“I just don’t understand why it has to be this way Davin. What could possibly happen to us if we made our own decision to be what we were destined to be? You guys may have laws, but I am not a vampire; I don’t have to follow your rules.”
“Sully would die, Adelay. We knew this would be the outcome if you chose to save him. I don’t have the answers as to why it works like this; I just know that it’s the way it must be. You willingly shared your blood with him. You bound yourself to him by that. I love you both and couldn’t bear if I lost either one of you; so if this is what it takes to keep you both here then I’ll have to accept it no matter how much it kills me inside.”
My heart ached knowing this was the end of the road. He had confirmed there was no more hope or chance at saving us or changing the fate the vampire law had bestowed on us. I was saying goodbye forever to a love I would never find again. He dropped his hands from my waist, pushing back from me so that he could stand to his feet.
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