Lovers Awakening

by R. A. Steffan

  Trynn’s tension bled out when she recognized the person lying next to her as Eris. Warmth enveloped her, knowing that he was with her and standing guard over her while she recovered.

  Still too exhausted to speak, Trynn wondered if she could communicate with Eris mentally. It was worth a try, she supposed.

  Am I a vampire now? she thought as hard as she could, hoping that Eris would be able to hear her.

  “Yes, and there’s no need to shout at me,” Eris responded wryly.

  “Shout?” The word emerged a bare rasp of sound.

  “You were projecting very loudly. I don’t doubt that every vampire in the vicinity could hear you.”

  Oh. Whoops. Trynn tried again to open her eyes and found that the world was still swirling. The longer she held them open, however, the more the view righted itself. She was curled up in a familiar, run-down room with bare stone walls and floors.

  A cheerful fire burned in a dilapidated, crumbling fireplace, warming the air around them. The other vampires were lounging comfortably in chairs and on the floor, all dressed for survival and combat.

  Trynn’s eyes fell on Della, who was studying her with a worried expression.

  “How do you feel, Trynn?” Della asked, coming closer to the bed where Trynn and Eris were lying and crouching next to them.

  Trynn cleared her throat, though the terrible dryness persisted.

  “Tired,” she finally managed to croak.

  Della nodded. “I bet. You’ve been through a lot this week.”

  Eris squeezed her shoulder in comfort as she nodded, still fighting sleep.

  “She’ll bounce back,” Eris assured the room. “Her life force has already grown stronger since the turning, and it’s only been a few hours.”

  “Hours?” Trynn murmured, allowing her eyes to fall closed again. “God. It feels like days.”

  Eris brushed her short hair away from her forehead. “I don’t doubt it. You’ll feel much better after you’ve fed again.”

  At his words, Trynn felt bone-deep thirst flare inside her, followed closely by repulsion at the idea of drinking blood.

  “Can we take that part slowly?” Trynn asked, a note of apprehension in her voice.

  “Of course,” he replied. “It won’t be as bad as you think. You’ve done it once already, though you may not remember it. Honestly, though, it’s perfectly natural for us.”

  And I’ll help you, he whispered in her mind.

  Relieved, Trynn nodded again. Her head fell back against Eris’ strong shoulder, and she slipped into a light sleep.

  What seemed like mere moments later, a hand on her shoulder shook her gently awake.

  “Huh?” she slurred, cracking her eyes open. “Wha’s wrong?”

  “Trynn, you’ve slept too long. It’s time to feed now.” Eris’ voice was quiet, but insistent. She could feel him spooning her back—his body wrapped around hers protectively.

  “I can’t,” Trynn whispered, unable to gather enough breath to raise her voice any more.

  “You have to,” Eris said. “Trust me, it will help.”

  Trynn ran her swollen, dry tongue over her teeth and discovered that her canines had lengthened into fangs. She shivered. Clearly, her body knew what she needed, even if her stomach clenched at the idea of preying on a human.

  Eris seemed to know what was troubling her. “Not yet, beloved. Not until you gain enough control not to hurt them accidentally. There’s no need. Feed from me, for now.”

  With her eyes still closed, Trynn felt his wrist touch her lips. Before she could stop herself, instinct took over and she bit down hard on his exposed flesh. Blood gushed into her mouth, tasting like the sweetest gift from the heavens.

  Eris groaned as her teeth sank deeper into his skin—not from pain, but from longing. She could feel it, through the tenuous mental link joining them. His breathing grew rough and uneven in her ear as she sucked hard, drawing his lifeblood into her body. She felt energized, even as the evidence of his growing desire pressed against her from behind. As she continued to feed, he lowered his mouth to her exposed neck and nibbled playfully along the sensitive skin. He pressed the entire front of his body against her, as if trying to meld them into a single being. His breath hissed out sharply against the side of her throat, and goose bumps erupted along her arms.

  “You are the most perfect thing I have ever seen,” he said in a husky voice. “Absolutely flawless.”

  She did not answer, too focused on the feel of his body against hers and his blood flowing across her tongue. The heat of it filled her up, sending ecstasy coursing through her. As his life force passed to her, she felt their souls connecting and intertwining. What had been the pain of a broken soul became completion, the likes of which she had never known before.

  This was what it meant to be truly alive. And to think, she’d only had to die to achieve it.

  Eris chuckled, still breathless behind her. “Well stated. I can tell you still have the same sense of humor. Twisted… just the way I like it.” He kissed the back of her neck. “You are mine, Trynn, and I am yours forever.”

  Finally sated, Trynn lowered his arm from her mouth and let him wrap it around her waist. She rolled over to face him, feeling whole and complete for perhaps the first time in her life as she buried her face in his neck.

  Exhausted from their recent trials, Trynn and Eris slipped into a deep, easy sleep, resting peacefully in each other’s arms.

  SIXTEEN

  WAKEFULNESS CREPT UP on her slowly, many hours later. She stretched, feeling completely refreshed and healthy—somewhat to her surprise, it must be said.

  Opening her eyes, Trynn saw they were still in the same room as before. The fire next to them had burned low, only a few embers still glowing red. Eris was obviously already awake, and he stroked gentle fingers through her close-cropped hair.

  “Hello,” he said, his voice raspy.

  Trynn turned towards him, studying him as the events of the past couple of days finally started to sort themselves out in her memory. Surprise and relief swelled as she took in his handsome features. “Hey! You look great.”

  Eris laughed, a deep rumble. “Uh… thanks? As opposed to before, you mean? Yes, I’m feeling much stronger, mostly because of Snag’s generosity. There’s something to be said for getting a top-off from the most powerful vampire in existence. His blood has me pretty much healed, I think.”

  To demonstrate, Eris lifted his arm. Where there had been cuts, deep bruises, and broken bones from hours of torture at Kovac’s hands, there were now only faint pink lines. The wounds were almost completely knitted back together. Many had already faded, revealing new, tender skin underneath.

  “Will I heal like that now?” Trynn asked in awe, glancing at Eris’ face.

  “Yes, I expect so. You’ve got Snag’s blood running through your veins now, too—even if it was filtered through me first.” His gaze narrowed. “However, that is not an invitation for you to go out and do something dangerous.”

  “Of course not… Dad,” Trynn answered with an eye roll. She strongly suspected that even though she was functionally immortal now, Eris would still worry about her safety.

  Remembering the others, Trynn looked around and realized that the room was empty except for the two of them. “Where is everyone?” she asked.

  Eris jerked his chin toward the door, and the corridor beyond. “They’re in another room down the hall. They got tired of waiting for you to wake up, and went out to explore the building. It’s daylight, so there’s not much else to do at the moment. I gather Tré and Xander are unearthing a partially destroyed piano right now, trying to figure out if it still works.”

  Trynn stared at him. “Okay. Why?”

  One dark eyebrow quirked. “Now that you have an immensely long life, you’ll find that there’s time to dedicate to those types of pursuits.”

  She continued to stare. “Pursuits like abandoned and destroyed pianos?”

  He snorted. “That…
or old vehicles, like Xander. It just depends, honestly. Oksana is obsessed with human junk food and wine, of all things. She considers herself a connoisseur. I love to read, and Duchess spends more than an hour a day putting on her make-up. She claims that it’s for the purposes of disguise, but I suspect it’s actually a vanity project.” One muscled shoulder lifted in a shrug. “You just… find things to occupy your time.”

  “Like Snag and his chess, I suppose. What about Della and Tré?” Trynn asked, genuinely curious.

  Eris wagged his eyebrows suggestively. “Oh, I’m pretty certain they’re still in their honeymoon phase.”

  “Ah,” Trynn replied as understanding dawned—followed by amusement. “Since when?”

  “It hasn’t been long since we found Della, and she was turned. Only a few months. I don’t think the novelty of near-constant sex has worn off yet. We haven’t seen much of them during that time, to be honest.”

  And that brought to mind another question. The seven of them were obviously close, but—

  “So, how does this work? Are you neighbors with the other vampires or… ?”

  Eris shook his head. “We all live together, usually. It’s safer that way, with Bael’s power growing stronger, day-by-day. Every now and then, one or more of us will go off on our own, as Snag and I did when we traveled to Cyprus. But we are a family. We always return to the nest eventually.”

  “And where is this nest? Someplace in America, right?” Trynn asked, fascinated. No doubt she should have thought more about things like that before she was turned, but she still couldn’t bring herself to regret it.

  Eris scrubbed a hand through his tangled mop of dark hair, mussing it further. “Most recently we lived in New Orleans. An old plantation house that we’ve been working on fixing up. It’s on the market right now, and I think we’ve just about got a buyer lined up. While the others were closing the deal, I came here to sell a Greek artifact that I’ve kept over the centuries.”

  Trynn gave him a sidelong look. “Part of our ill-gotten gains?”

  Eris paused, his eyes crinkling at the corners, as if he were reveling in her use of the word our. “Yes. Just so. I still have a store of artifacts and exotic pieces. I sell them off one by one, as needed. I didn’t see much point in keeping them—too many memories attached.”

  Trynn nodded thoughtfully and said, “I’m surprised you held onto them for this long. Why not sell all of them immediately and get the cash?”

  “Too dangerous. I don’t want to flood the market. It might raise suspicion. Besides, in the normal course of things, we’re hardly short of money,” Eris answered with an indifferent shrug. “Xander’s the businessman. He’s got his fingers in everything. My little contributions are a mere drop in the bucket.”

  Trynn settled back against him, thinking.

  “Also,” Eris continued, as an afterthought, “I’ll admit to feeling a pang whenever I sell one. It feels too much like losing another little part of you.”

  Her chest tightened. “I can understand that,” she said quietly. “It was something we did together.”

  Eris nodded, his dark eyes tracing her features like a caress. “I still keep half-expecting to wake up, and find that these last few days have a been a dream. We’ve studied ancient texts about the so-called Council of Thirteen for centuries, but we’d assumed it referred to existing vampires we simply hadn’t found yet.”

  “And now you think it’s us?” Trynn asked, fascinated. “People like Della and me, I mean?”

  He gave her a small, helpless shrug. “I think it must be. Until Tré found Della, none of us had ever come across the reincarnations of our soulmates. We were beginning to assume the whole thing about the Council was nonsense—a myth. I certainly did. And I’d long ago given up hope of ever finding love again.”

  Saddened and touched, Trynn wrapped her arms around his neck and clung. “I’m sorry I made you wait.”

  Eris huffed. “Don’t be daft. You had no control over that.” He nuzzled into the crook of Trynn’s neck and took a deep breath, as if inhaling her scent before pulling back and continuing, “I’ll never hold that against you, Trynn; I’m just glad you’re here now. I can barely remember my life before you walked back into it, even though it was only a few days ago.”

  “That’s how I feel,” Trynn said, wonder coloring the words. “It’s like… I can remember things that happened, but they feel foggy and disconnected, almost like a story someone else told me.”

  “Maybe you are a different person now, in a way,” Eris suggested. “Tré thinks that we are completely reborn as vampires, just as you were reborn from Phaidra into Trynn—and who knows how many lives in between.”

  Trynn considered this possibility, readjusting her body against Eris’. “I don’t think so. I still feel like me, but it’s like… I’ve woken up now. Like, my life before you was all a dream, and everything after has become so much more real to me.”

  “The fog has been lifted,” Eris concluded.

  She snorted. “Yeah, I guess.” Silence reigned for a moment before she continued. “So, if you’re selling this plantation house, where will we go next?” she asked, still curious about their living arrangements. “I guess I’ll have to call my boss and give her my notice. Pity. I liked that job. But this way, I’ll have more time for MASQUE… and that’s more important, by far.”

  He nodded. “I don’t know yet what we’ll do now,” he replied thoughtfully. “I suppose we’ll have to see where the next vortex of chaos forms. We think that’s the best way to try to locate the others like you and Della.”

  “Seems impossible that one place could even stand out, when pretty much the entire world is mired in violence,” Trynn murmured.

  Eris shrugged agreement. “I know what you mean. Though I’m starting to wonder if it’s more a case of the chaos finding us, rather than the other way around.”

  They lay quietly for a few more moments before Trynn got up and stretched out her arms and legs. Eris rolled into a sitting position to watch. She could feel the new strength in her muscles, unlike anything she’d felt before. It was intoxicating.

  Eris followed the path of her thoughts effortlessly. “You have many new powers now,” he said. “We’ll teach you how to use them over the coming days and weeks.”

  “Powers?” Trynn echoed. She narrowed her eyes playfully, suddenly intrigued. “Do tell. Powers like what?”

  Catching onto her mood, Eris grinned, slow and dangerous. Something in her belly tightened.

  “Well,” he began airily, “Let’s see. You have an owl form, now. That’s always an interesting experience—being able to fly.”

  Trynn took a step closer, reaching down to touch Eris’ cheek. “What else?”

  He swallowed and looked up, his pupils blown wide as he continued to play the game with her. “Hmm. Oh, yes—you can also transform into mist. I believe you’ve seen that trick already, haven’t you?”

  She nodded. “So I have. What else?”

  “You can press impressions into another person’s mind,” he murmured, his voice going husky. “You’ve seen that one, too. I still have the imprint of your knuckles on my jaw to prove it.”

  “Show me again,” Trynn breathed. “I probably won’t hit you this time.”

  Eris nodded and shut his eyes. As he took several slow breaths, Trynn felt something heavy and sweet creeping over her. Heat radiated outward from her core, but it was not the same kind of consuming fire that she had experienced while being turned. This fire warmed, rather than burning her. It settled in her belly, turning liquid.

  “Oh. Is that all?” she asked, reaching for affected nonchalance as the sensation lifted.

  Eris raised an eyebrow at her. “I believe you called it a mind-whammy, back in Nicosia. You seemed… rather affected, at the time.”

  Trynn laughed. “All right… guilty. And you’re obviously never letting me live it down. So, as a vampire, I can make horniness into a mind-whammy. That’s, uh, useful, I
guess?”

  “Do try to get your mind out of the gutter, Trynn.” His voice was smug as he sent another wave of desire rolling through her body. “You can transmit any emotion. Anything.”

  Trynn gasped and ran her hand down her stomach, trying in vain to hold herself together. “And… how would I go about doing that? Exactly?”

  Eris sprawled back on the bed of cushions they’d recently vacated, and let his legs fall open. He was wearing only the pair of well-worn, low slung pajama pants she’d first seen him in at the hotel, and Trynn thought he had absolutely no business making them look as good as he did. For fuck’s sake, he looked good enough to eat.

  Her mouth watered.

  “Take the feeling you want to pass on,” he said, “and force it into a ball inside you, like crumpling up a wad of paper. Turn it into something you can grasp. Then, pick it up.”

  Trynn nodded and concentrated on bundling up the hot, liquid feeling in her gut.

  “Now,” Eris whispered, “pass it along to me, just like when we were speaking telepathically.”

  In her eagerness, Trynn shoved her arousal towards him hard, unsure if she would be able to separate it from herself… or if she even needed to.

  To her surprise, it passed easily along the mental connection they shared, but at the unwonted force of her attempt, Eris cried out in surprise and arched, his hips flexing. “Too much, too much!” he protested, the words caught between laughter and sexual agony.

  With an evil smile, Trynn shook her head, remembering the second time she’d come to his hotel room for answers. “Oh, no. That’s just a taste of what I’m going to give you. It’s payback time!”

  “Immortal or not, you’re going to be the death of me, woman,” Eris said around a chuckle, flopping back with his legs akimbo. His grin turned as devilish as hers. A golden light glowed behind his eyes. “But don’t mind little old me. Do please continue.”

  She tried, but now the connection on his end was shielded, somehow.

  “You’re cheating!” she accused.

  “I’m sure I have no idea what you mean,” he said, right before he hooked an ankle around hers, taking her feet out from under her and sending her sprawling on top of him. He caught her in his arms, breaking her fall, and suddenly she was nose to nose with him, her mouth open in a round oh of surprise.