“I don’t have to be. There are spells that allow me to see…in a psychic way.”
Kaelen’s eyebrow rose. “A psychic way?”
Vincent nodded but said nothing more.
“Was Jullian your idea?”
“Yes.”
Kaelen tilted his head in acknowledgement.
“He made an exam—”
Kaelen held up his hand. “Don’t.”
Vincent remained silent but kept watching him.
“I know Jullian made his death terrible. I know his death, as well as Edward’s, will be made an example of to deter others, but…”
“Trust me, Kaelen. I do understand.”
Kaelen shook his head sadly. “Why didn’t I see it?”
“He was good at hiding it. My guess is he’d been hiding it for a very long time. It’s not your fault.”
“Yes it is,” Kaelen said softly. “I should’ve seen it. I should never have put so much pressure on him to do those things, to play me, to… He just wanted his own life.”
“He wanted to be you,” Vincent said.
“How had things been so bad that he wanted to kill me?” Kaelen asked more to himself than Vincent.
Amy moaned and stirred beneath the sheets. All thoughts of councils and spells were lost as Kaelen began to breathe again at the sign of life coming from her pale body. Kaelen moved quickly to her side while Vincent came to stand at the foot of the bed, watching silently.
“Amy?” Kaelen said softly as he brushed her hair from her brow. It was still damp with sweat from her turning.
“Kaelen,” she whispered.
“I’m here,” he replied.
She opened her eyes to stare up at him. Their cornflower blue depths darkened with confusion and uncertainty. “What happened?”
He took her hand in his and brought the backs of her fingers to his lips. “You were injured. You died.”
“I remember a light and warmth.” She blinked and turned her head to better face him. “I remember…”
“That I said I love you?” Kaelen asked with a grin.
“Yeah,” she breathed. “Was that a dream?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“I never want to go back there again,” she said. “It was so hard to fight it. I wanted to stay, but at the same time I wanted to be with you.”
“Looks like I won,” he said as he smiled and kissed the back of her hand.
Vincent leaned over and touched her shin, giving her a warm smile. “Morning, sunshine. Glad to have you back.”
Amy smiled, but it quickly faded from fatigue. She would need to feed, and soon.
“I’ll let Stacy know you’re awake.”
“Before you do that,” Kaelen said, “bring in the…”
Vincent nodded and turned to leave.
“Bring in the what?” Amy asked with just a little trepidation.
“I had to turn you,” he replied, watching her closely.
She frowned. “Turn me?” She swallowed as her face drained of color. “You mean I’m a vampire now?”
He nodded as anxiety tightened his stomach. Would she be angry with him? Would she hate him for saving her? “I didn’t have any choice. You were dying, and I…I couldn’t let you go. I was selfish, I know, but…” He looked into her beautiful blue eyes and waited.
“Well…at least you can admit you’re selfish. Admitting it is the hard part.”
She raised her free hand and touched the side of her face with her palm. Her fingers shook slightly, and he grabbed them, holding them tight along with her other hand as relief rushed through him. In her eyes he could see understanding and love. She didn’t hate him.
“But now that you have, we can start working on that,” she whispered tiredly.
Kaelen chuckled and leaned down to place a kiss against her brow.
“I thought vampires were supposed to be strong and healthy. Why do I feel so damn tired?”
“You need to feed, baby.”
“Oh God,” she grumbled as she scrunched her eyes closed. “I have to drink blood?”
“It’ll be fine, I promise. I’ll help you through it. You won’t have to kill anyone.” Vincent stepped into the room followed by two young men. Amy’s gaze moved to where they stood, and she swallowed nervously.
“Kaelen, who are they?” she murmured nervously.
“Those are feeders. They are humans who make themselves available to the newly turned. Your first feeding has to be live blood.”
“You can’t do an IV like they did with you?” she asked.
“No. I’m old enough and strong enough that will work for me, but for you…it has to be this way.”
She continued to watch them warily, and Kaelen’s chest tightened. He’d had twenty-five years to prepare for his first feeding. She’d only had a few minutes.
“Do this for me,” Kaelen whispered, “and I swear I’ll let you do all the research you want on that blood if that’s what will make you happy.”
Her gaze moved back to his, and she smiled. “Really?”
With a dramatic sigh, he dropped his forehead onto their clasped hands and nodded, making her giggle softly.
“You really do love me,” she sang, teasing him.
Kaelen glared at her through his lashes, but it wasn’t truly a glare, and he could tell she knew it by the way her eyes twinkled up at him.
“If I recall,” he said as he helped her to sit up, then climbed onto the mattress behind her, supporting her back against his chest, “I haven’t heard you return the sentiment.”
He watched her over her shoulder as she stared warily at the young man who sat on the edge of the mattress facing them.
“I’m doing this, aren’t I?” she said, then smiled softly at him over her shoulder. “But I do love you.”
He smiled slightly. “I know, but I definitely enjoy hearing you say it.”
It was amazing how three little words could have such an effect on his life.
Epilogue
Amy sat on the terrace, watching the moonlight play across the vineyard. She hadn’t missed sunlight as much as she’d thought. Kaelen had turned the investigative reins of the council over to another vampire and taken over the running of the vineyard. It was a move that had surprised Amy, after everything that had happened with Merrick. But the vineyard had been Merrick’s dream, and Kaelen felt he owed his brother at least that much, to see it continue to succeed.
He still carried a lot of guilt over his brother, over how he hadn’t seen what his actions had caused, but he was working his way through it. Amy didn’t see it that way. She believed Merrick was just evil. Kaelen believed that as the older twin, he should’ve seen it and helped him. Amy let him do what he felt he needed to. Turned out, he was quite good at running things and enjoyed it much more than he ever expected to.
Her research? She’d actually deleted the Carbonite files. Despite the medical breakthroughs that fifth hemoglobin could’ve paved the way for, she didn’t want to risk Kaelen’s vampire race being found out and hunted down. Well, they were actually her race now, and she found she liked it. The feeding took a little getting used to, but…
She felt a little safer now after having deleted the files. Word had gotten back to the council about them, and Kaelen had taken a lot of heat over his decision, but in light of the circumstances and the fact that she was now one of them, they’d let it go. Reluctantly.
She didn’t regret her decision to delete the files. She loved Kaelen more. She was happier than she’d ever been, and she wouldn’t change a second of what had happened.
Sometimes she still found it hard to believe she would live forever. Or at least until someone stabbed her in the heart with a silver blade or removed her head.
She smiled slightly as she remembered earlier that evening when Kaelen and Vincent had been arguing, and she’d threatened to stab both of them with a silver blade if they didn’t stop. Those two were like feral dogs, slowly circling each other, each look
ing for that perfect opportunity to pounce. Deep down, she believed they enjoyed the bantering. They snarled and snipped, but when the chips were down, they were there for each other.
Jason and Stacy took it all in stride, just sitting back and watching with amusement what Jason called the entertainment. They were definitely that.
“Sun will be up soon,” Kaelen murmured as he leaned over the back of her chair and kissed the top of her head.
He was right. She could just see the glow beyond the fields as dawn showed its first signs of life.
“Ready for bed?” he whispered.
Amy tilted her head back and smiled at him. “Yeah.”
She stood and walked around her chair. Kaelen took her hand and began to slowly pull her back into the house. “Of course, you know you won’t be sleeping…much,” he purred in that deep, sexy timbre that never failed to make her toes curl.
She grinned. “I never do.”
He hit the remote button that closed the doors and the shades covering them, bathing the room in darkness. “Was it worth it?” he asked as he tossed the remote into the chair by the window.
“Were you worth dying for?” she asked, smiling as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Yeah,” he whispered.
Amy gazed into his eyes and knew without a doubt it had all been worth it. “Yes,” she replied softly as his lips covered hers in a sweet kiss.
His love was definitely to die for.
Loose Id Titles by Trista Ann Michaels
Blood Rite
Darkness Falls
Dead Reckoning
Deadly Crimson
Leave Me Breathless
Shutter
* * * *
The ENTWINED FATES Series
Captive
Destined for Two
Mercenary
Remember Me
Slaves
Trista Ann Michaels
I live in the land of dreams, where alpha men are tender, heroines are strong and sassy, and villains are brutal and conniving. When not deep in the mind of my next serial killer, ghost, or futuristic space pilot, I can be found in the mountains of Tennessee, spending time with family and friends. At least until the next story calls.
To Die For Page 12
