by Snow, Jenika
“I’m glad you’re here.”
“Shhh, be still, love.”
He framed her face, moving down to lay a gentle kiss on her cold lips. “I’m so sorry, so very sorry for all those things I said. Please stay with me.” How could he have said those awful things to her? The very words that were supposed to protect her had led her to this event. It was his fault she was dying right before his eyes. “Please, forgive me. I only meant to protect you. Please don’t leave me.” He didn’t care how weak he looked, didn’t care that tears started to flow freely down his cheeks. She smiled up at him, even that looking like it took too much energy. Her face was so very pale, almost translucent in its appearance. Her hand started to move, lifting toward him. The beds of her nails were blue, so frigid when he quickly grasped it and brought them to his lips and kissing every finger.
“I love you, Gaijryc, so, so very much. I wish we had more time. I know Lizzy’s waiting for me. I saw her. She had the most beautiful dark dress on. She was an angel, her curls a halo around her face.”
She smiled at him again, a smile that brought his tears streaming faster. “Stay with me, Helina, please. I can make it so we never have to part.”
Her smile faltered, confusion setting into her face. “Really?” Her words were becoming quieter, her eyes starting to drop lower. “I am so tired, Gaijryc.”
“We can be together forever, just you and me. We can go anywhere you want, see anything you want. Just say the word and I can make it come true.” He pleaded with his eyes, with his words, needing her to say that is what she wanted.
“Oh, Gaijryc, I would love that so very much.” She smiled at him again, a single tear escaping her eye.
Joy burst through his chest, happiness he had never experienced taking the sorrow’s place. He brought his wrist to his mouth, waiting for the right moment.
“Oh, how I would love to stay with you, but how can I when my sister would be alone? How can I leave her now that I know she waits for me? I love you.” She smiled once again, causing his chest to ache. “I remember the little red heart now. Lizzy had a shirt just like it.”
He didn’t know what she spoke of, but it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was that it didn’t end like this. Her voice grew more distant as she spoke, her eyes becoming unfocused as she stared past him. It couldn’t end like this, his love dying in his arms and her blood coating his hands. Her eyes closed, a small smile covering her lips once more as the last breath escaped her. Gaijryc roared out so loudly the very leaves on the trees seemed to shake. He pulled her closer, curling his shoulders forward. Rage was a slow manifestation inside of him.
He looked down into her pale, beautiful face. Her long lashes cast shadows across her cheeks. He ran his finger across her lips, her skin feeling icy and lifeless. He clenched his other hand, wanting to tear something to shreds. He could have stayed there for eternity, just holding her. He might have sat there for hours, wouldn’t have even thought twice about it if not for the rustling behind him and the gentle hand on his shoulder. He bent down, giving her lips a gentle kiss before rising. She was light, too light in his arms as he turned and walked toward Ryce.
He stood next to Ryce and looked down at the broken body lying mere feet away. It was Lucie, the soft-spoken servant he had watched grow into a woman. Her face was slashed in more places than not—her white gown ripped to pieces. Her small hands sprawled out to the sides with her brightly painted red nails shining under the moonlight. The side of her neck gaped open, like an animal had attacked her and feasted on her blood. All of those things weren’t even the most surprisingly gruesome of her injuries.
Lucie heart had been removed, the hole in her chest enormous, the blood that stained her white dress like red ink on a crisp piece of paper. Gaijryc spotted the heart off to the side, the organ still beating as blood sprayed out from the torn vessels.
“Who did this, Ryce?” Gaijryc didn’t look up as he spoke, just stared at the crumbled, ruined body of the servant that he had known since she was a child.
“I did.” The female that spoke stepped out from behind a large oak tree, her dark dress blending in with the shadows. Her eyes were cast downward, her focus completely on Helina. Her face was filled with sorrow, the reflection of tears shinning in them. She drew her attention back to him, a sad smile curing her lips. Her hair was the color of night—curls moving against her shoulders. Her eyes were a lovely hazel, the same beautiful color as Helina’s. He looked down and noticed the blood that coated her hands and arms and snaked up to her face.
He looked down at his love again, her dark hair sprinkled across her pale face. It was a stark contrast, her beauty even apparent in death. “Who are you?” He spoke the words softly, keeping his attention on Helina.
“You’re holding her sister.”
He looked from Ryce to the female. “How is that possible? I thought you killed her?”
“I didn’t kill her, obviously. She wasn’t ready to die, and she knew that I could make it so she didn’t.” Ryce’s spoke softly, his voice distant from any emotion.
“I love my sister. You can save her.”
He looked at Helina’s sister. Tears fell from her eyes, making steaks of sadness down her face. Her hands were clenched in front of her, as if she tried to hold some semblance of control.
“If you don’t save her, I will.”
He looked into her eyes, eyes that were so haunted with grief it broke his heart. He pulled Helina closer, her form so small and insignificant in weight. “It isn’t what she wants.”
“It doesn’t matter. She will grow to understand, to accept it. Can you live your life knowing you let her die? Knowing that there was a way to save her? I know I can’t.”
She was right. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself knowing he could have done something. His heart battled over his mind, wanting to keep Helina with him for always. His attention went to the broken body of Lucie on the ground. She looked ruined, crumpled under her white gown stained red. “She didn’t want me to change her because she thought you were dead—she didn’t want you to be alone.”
“But I’m not, so save her.”
“Why would Lucie do this?”
He looked at Lucie again, feeling disgusted that he would feel any kind of sympathy for the creature that ended Helina’s life.
“I overheard her taking to Helina before all of this happened. She said she loved you—that you were hers and she needed Helina out of the way.”
All those little smiles and touches she gave him had meant something more. This was his fault; his doing that his love was dead. He could fix it, though, could make it so they could spend the rest of eternity together if they wanted to. Would she hate him for it? Probably, but it was a risk he would have to take. He only had a short window before there was no turning back and she was completely gone.
“Leave us.” He didn’t bothering looking up, just stared at the only person that truly mattered. Rustling sounded to his side, the body of Lucie being carted away. They would need to dispose of her in the proper way, cutting off her head, burning the body, and then burying the ashes in different locations. Their footsteps got more distant until all he heard was his own shallow breaths.
Life eternal
He dropped to his knees, gently laying Helina on the ground. He brushed the dead leaves away from her, running his hand across her hair and smoothing it. Her dark silken waves curled around his fingers and made his chest clench in sorrow. Her heart no longer beat, her blood no longer flowing through her small body. He looked into the sky, where the trees parted and the moon shone high. He knew he couldn’t let her die, even if that meant she hated him forever. Even if that meant she no longer loved him. He could live with that—could live an empty existence knowing she was alive but that she despised him.
He brought his wrist up, looking at the blue veins that ran below the surface of his skin. He couldn’t wait any longer, couldn’t risk it if he wanted her to make it through the chan
ge. Bringing his wrist to his mouth, he let his fangs pierce his skin. Blood poured from the wound, dripping down his arm to splash against the dirt. Lifting her up, he cradled her in his arms and brought his wrist to her mouth. His blood dripped onto her lips, sliding against the skin and going into her mouth. He kept bringing his wrist to his mouth, reopening the wound and getting as much of his blood into her as possible. Streaks of the crimson fluid ran down her face and neck, pooling along her collar bone.
“Please, my love. Open your eyes for me.”
Her eyes stayed closed, her mouth not latching around his wrist and drawing out his life’s essence. Had he waited too long? His heart started to beat a fast rhythm, the very idea that it was too late caused him to become frantic. He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, fighting back the anger and sorrow that threatened to spill to the surface. She twitched, her small body slightly moving in his arms. His eyes snapped open, his heart momentarily stopping in his chest. He brought his wrist to his mouth again, tearing through his flesh to make the wound bigger. Blood freely poured from the wound, streaming into her mouth and giving her life. Her fingers started to twitch from his blood making its way through her body. Little sounds came out of her, her mouth slowly moving against his flesh. He lifted her a little higher so that she almost sat up in his lap.
“Drink it all if you need to, my love.” His body sang, fire racing through his very soul as her mouth suddenly latched onto his wrist and started to suck frantically. Her hands moved next, raising and gripping his wrist, pulling it closer to her mouth. Her teeth tore at the wound, her body feeding on instinct. He ran his hand along her hair, his tears dripping from his eyes to land in the dark strands. Her eyes flew open, beautiful hazel orbs that stared directly at him. At the moment she wasn’t Helina; her body was working purely on primal instinct to get the sustenance it needed.
He would have given her everything he had, would have given her his very life if that’s what it took to save her. She ripped her mouth from his wrist, blood smeared across her creamy skin and tinting it pink. He sat back, gripping his wrist close to his chest as he watched her. Her breathing was quick, his blood flowing through her veins and arteries and bringing all her organs back to life.
The first thing Helina was aware of was warmth surrounding her. It was a glorious feeling, one that took the coldness away. The second thing that her frosted brain realized was a delicious and intoxicating flavor that lit her tongue on fire. She couldn’t distinguish what it actually tasted like, but the flavor was beyond words. The liquid coated her mouth and slid easily down her throat, where it set every cell in her body on fire. She could feel herself coming alive, being awakened from a long, drugging sleep. Her fingers twitched and she tried to lift her hand without success. She wanted to grip the source of the drug that washed through her.
Running her tongue across his neck, she felt the smooth skin and a purely male essence washing over her taste buds. Fire rushed through her and gave her the strength to finally lift her hand and grip what was pressed against her mouth. She could feel everything, sense what was around her, but she wasn’t controlling her actions. It was like she was locked in a dream, like she was running but not moving. It was the strangest feeling, to know what you wanted to do, but have no control over it.
She ripped her mouth away and took a great lungful of air. The warmth had intensified inside of her and the pleasure-filled hum it had provided earlier was slowly dwindling. Clawing her fingers against the cold ground, she felt dirt embedding itself under her nails. The burn was intensifying, every organ in her body screaming for release. She couldn’t scream, no matter how much she wanted to. She wanted to yell for someone in particular, someone that she cared about dearly, but she couldn’t remember who. Curling herself into a ball, she hoped the new position would ease her pain, but all it did was intensify it. Her insides started to cramp, twist and throb. That was when sound finally came out of her, a small scream that didn’t even project what she was actually feeling.
“Oh, please, make it stop.” Her body suddenly became her own again. Every little sound and smell around her was amplified.
“Shhh, my love, be still. Soon it will be over, so very soon.”
That voice, his voice, seemed to penetrate the pain and give her some semblance of calm. Gaijryc, he was who she had wanted to call out for, he was who she wanted to hold her and tell her everything was okay. “What’s happening to me?” Another sharp, intense cramp wracked her insides. She rolled onto her side and held her stomach in pain.
“You’re going through the change.”
She didn’t know who spoke to her, couldn’t even remember anything before the pain wracking her body. “Help me. Please, make the pain stop.” All at once she recognized the voice that spoke to her.
Gaijryc.
He picked her up and cradled her in his arms. His hand ran over her hair and face as he whispered soft words that soothed her. They stayed like that for what seemed like forever, every cramp more intense than the last. When she didn’t think she could take it anymore, her whole body started to hum with energy. At that moment, Helina pictured a light bulb, how it grew so incredibly bright before it blew. She felt like that, like her body was going to explode, like the light inside of her was about to be extinguished forever.
Screaming so loud her ears rang, she waited for the end to come. In the next instant everything became so eerily silent she thought she had died. Slowly she opened her eyes, her first vision that of the crystal clear evening sky. The moon was high, millions of tiny stars sprinkled through the black backdrop. Everything was so clear, in such definition it was remarkable.
Sound rushed back into her with such force she sucked in air. It shocked her how loud everything was. Helina heard everything, the trees swaying to the wind, the leaves blowing against the thick trunks. Breathing in deeply, she closed her eyes as the scents of her surroundings washed through her. The crisp smell of pine invaded her senses and the decaying scent of leaves surrounded her. The sound of rushing water echoed, vibrating inside of her.
She turned her head, aware of a heart beating close to her ear. Glancing up, she saw Gaijryc, a wondrous expression crossing his strong, masculine features. His hand smoothed down the side of her face, the feeling so incredible Helina closed her eyes. Every line in his hand, every callus on his fingers smoothed over her flesh. It was an intense feeling, an almost orgasmic sensation. “What’s happening to me?” she whispered and opened her eyes, watching as a smile tugged at his lips.
“God, you are so beautiful.” He leaned close to her, his eyes closing as he inhaled deeply. “You smell even better, so delicious and sweet.”
She pulled myself out of his arms and sat in front of him. He was on his knees, his posture easy, relaxed. They stared at each other, his expression full of hesitation, hers full of curiosity. Everything seemed so new and different. She lifted her hand toward him slowly, afraid that he might pull away. Running her fingers along his cheek, she absorbed the sensation of the rough stubble that marred his perfectly sculpted features. The feeling was heady, intoxicating.
Leaning in, she inhaled deeply, taking in his very essence. His eyes closed and his mouth opened slightly. Her heart pounded fiercely in her chest, her nipples beading and her insides coming alive with need. The feelings inside of her were instantaneous, so potent she couldn’t control herself. She leaned all the way in, letting her lips smooth across his. He moaned against her mouth and his hands gripped her waist and pulled her onto his lap. She spread her legs, letting her sex rub along his jean-clad erection. Placing her hands on his chest, she pushed him back so he was forced to lie down. She felt stronger, like there was an immense strength in the very tips of her fingers.
Their kiss broke and she placed her hand at the hem of her shirt. She tore it off quickly. She breathed heavily, her body so ready to take him. “I don’t know what’s happening, Gaijryc. I have this desire, this need to have you inside of me.” He groaned at her words, his hands
cupping her breasts and tweaking the nipples. Her head fell back and she let the sensations wash through her. The pleasure she felt was beyond words, beyond the very scope of reality. She lifted her head and grabbed his shirt, frustrated when it didn’t easily come off. He stood, gently helping her off of him as he tore his shirt off, buttons flying in all directions and bouncing off the ground.
Her fingers fumbled with the button of his jeans, their mouths fusing together in the process. She ran her tongue along his, loving his taste that filled her mouth. Moaning, she was excited when the button finally slid free of its slot. Sliding the zipper down, she pushed her hand past the material and griped the hard cock that waited for her. He growled, his hands gripping her ass, clenching and unclenching as she ran her hand over the hard head of his shaft. A hunger burned inside of her, so fierce she had to pull away and pant. “Please Gaijryc, what’s happening? There is a need inside of me that I can’t explain.”
He stared at her, his breathing fast, his pupils dilated from his lust. The sides of his jeans hung open, the muscles of his abdomen standing out. Shadows cut across his skin, accenting the power that lay in wait. She stared at him and took in how masculine he was, how much power he emitted, and how much she wanted him. His pulse beat wildly at his neck and her mouth instantly watered.
She stared at that pulse, stared at how it beat rhythmically just under his flesh. Thump, thump, thump. The sound hit her ears like a freight train, her canines elongating and nicking her bottom lip. Licking her lips, her teeth ached for a small taste of what he could provide. She took a step forward, her hands going to her pants and unhooking the button.
“What you do to me, Helina.” His words were spoken low, heated and filled with desire.
