“To get ready, silly! It is Riley’s birthday after all.”
“Riley’s party doesn’t start for another two hours, though. Why must you always rush me to get ready?” I grumbled. We could have been going a lot faster, but I was working on taking things much more slowly. I wanted to enjoy every moment of the life I now had. I appreciated life so much more now, much more than I ever did before.
“Oh, hush! You know you like rushing to get ready. That's your favorite part. It’s all over in seconds, just like you’ve always wanted,” she teased.
She was right. I hated taking too long to get ready and Caroline had always been the first one I called to doll me up as a human. I smiled at her, loving that our connection only grew much stronger after my transformation.
We walked into the common area and I noticed things were still being set up for the party. While Riley wasn’t a vampire, he had definitely earned a right to be here. And since we were in charge now, we could pretty much do whatever we wanted, regardless of what the council deemed appropriate or proper.
“Don’t tell me you’re here to help set up, Caroline. You don’t do ‘set-ups!’” I teased and she stuck her tongue out at me. “Where is everyone? I thought the boys were coming here with Riley after their meeting,” I said.
“Hey!” I turned to see who was trying to get our attention. Helen came over and gave me a big hug. I closed my throat off, trying not to breathe. I hated hurting people, but I was still so new at this vampire gig that I felt thirsty all the time. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt another human.
“You made it! Great! I was worried we’d be hard to find.” I said, smiling warmly at her.
Riley and Helen managed to work things out a few weeks after Audrey was killed. Apparently, he didn’t let on how often he kept in contact with her whenever Care and I teased him. We ran into her by chance while we were back at Riley’s parents’ house. I was trying to relax and get acclimated to my new life. In no way, did I buy her a plane ticket or fly her out to be with us during that time. I was also not guilty of letting her know the restaurant Riley and I would be in one afternoon when she coincidentally landed and was picked up by a pre-paid cab. She was perfect for him and the minute he saw her walk into that IHOP, I knew I did the right thing.
“You ready for a little vacation with us?” I asked. That was the pretense of this whole party at the academy. James’s distant relatives owned the old college and we had full use of the amenities and could travel there whenever we chose to since it wasn’t in regular use. Really, we had just made sure that the only areas we’d be in, the others wouldn’t be. It’s not hard to coordinate when you’re training vampires to be stealthy.
Helen nodded eagerly in response, causing me to laugh. She fit in easily with Caroline and me.
The boys were worried about breaking the news to her and admitting we were not human. I figured if the time came that it was necessary, we’d try to take it slow. Riley agreed with postponing it. He had just gotten her back and the thought of scaring her away so soon was not a good sensation for him. I knew the time would come when we eventually would have to say goodbye, to both of them, but that time wasn’t now. And I wasn’t ready to consider that either. For now, things were going well.
A sound from the corner of the room that resembled the tinkling of a tambourine made me turn, wondering what made the noise. Riley walked in, holding just what I thought I heard, a tambourine. He started shaking it to a beat I didn’t recognize.
“What are you doing, weirdo?” I asked. He just smiled at me.
Then the sound of clapping to the same beat accompanied Nick, who walked around the corner.
“Care, what’s going on?” I turned to face her and she was beaming at me.
Okay, what were they doing? Where was James?
Then I heard it, a guitar. Soft strumming coming from the opposite side of the room. I heard his voice before I could see him.
I recognized the words to my favorite song, instantly. “Hey, Ho” by the Lumineers sounded perfect coming from his mouth.
He slowly appeared, singing in that perfect voice. It felt like I hadn’t truly seen or heard him until I turned and could look at his face. Everything I thought I felt before was magnified. He truly was a flawless being. My Protector. His voice sang the second verse of my favorite song. It instantly became my favorite when James told me it reminded him of me.
I nodded my head and Riley and Nick chanted along, shaking the tambourine and clapping their hands. I laughed with unbridled joy.
At the chorus, Caroline and Helen surprised me by grabbing my arms and singing to me as well.
They continued while heading up to join the boys on the makeshift stage.
James smiled and kept coming closer to me as he sang. I was mesmerized. I followed him when he began circling me, strumming the guitar and smiling. This was all planned out. I couldn’t keep the ear-spanning grin off my face as I took everything in.
They finished all at once and I stood in awe of them. Before I could react or respond, James slung his guitar over his back and kneeled down in front of me.
Oh, my gosh!
A black case in his hand popped open to reveal the most beautiful ring I’d ever seen. It was huge. A square-cut diamond surrounded by a band of smaller, glistening diamonds. I couldn’t get my mouth shut as I stared at James on his knee holding the perfect engagement ring.
“Ariya Adams,” he started smirking at me with that sexy side smile of his. If I still had a heartbeat, I am sure it would have been off the charts crazy. I was frozen in place, unable to move or do anything but stare in disbelief at him.
Was this really happening?
“Since the day I met you, I’ve tried to be worthy enough to capture your heart and earn your trust. My world was dull and empty until you showed up. When I saw you for the first time, I felt alive again, something I didn’t think possible for me. I will spend the rest of eternity treasuring you. I will spend the rest of eternity protecting you. And I will spend the rest of eternity doing my best to bring as much light into your world as you’ve brought into mine. There will never be a single moment that I do not love you with my whole being. Will you please do me the honor of marrying me and becoming my wife, forever?”
Tears rolled down my cheeks and I nodded my head. “Of course. Yes, yes! I’ll marry you!” He stood up, grabbing me by the waist and twirling me around while kissing me.
“Eeekk!” Caroline rushed me, snatching my hand to see the ring before all the others approached. James didn’t take his arm away from me. I turned my head into his shoulder, basking in the most wonderful moment, one which I had only ever dreamed of. James was finally all mine.
Forever.
“We have to actually get ready for the party now, though.” I laughed and the others joined me.
The evening passed perfectly. Riley’s party was a total success. The music was loud and the drinks were overflowing. James danced with me, and never left my side. I sat down eventually, because I wanted to gaze at my ring. It was so wonderful and so perfect, just like him.
“My dear, future Mrs. Rymer, shall we go now?” he smirked while holding out his hand and bowing.
“Take me away, James.” I threw my arms around him and we left the oblivious crowd, walking around what I knew would be our new home, forever.
My mouth was watering and the excruciating pain of extreme thirst came rushing back to me. My tongue quivered when a small amount of blood touched my lips.
Why was I so thirsty?
Another drop touched my lips, and yet I couldn’t move just yet. I felt it rolling into my mouth on its own and was grateful for it. I’d been deprived of everything. My whole being felt dead, not that I would have had the slightest clue what death felt like. I was trapped, and unable to gain my bearings. I tried to push the pain of thirst away in order to feel my other senses more accurately.
Noise from above me sounded muffled at first, but slowly, it became clearer as
I lay there, determined to observe my surroundings. The odor of decay was strong and pungent. I slowly opened my eyes, realizing that the darkness around me was impenetrable, and I was lying on hard stone. I summoned my strength after a few more drops of blood warmed my throat and made another movement, only to hit another piece of stone with my hand. I felt weak again, an unfamiliar state for me.
I shut my eyes to concentrate on my strength and training. I heard her. Ariya. Speaking respectfully to someone. Where was she now? And where was this blood coming from?
“Thank you for what you did, Marik…” Her voice rang in my ears, the only sound I heard for a moment.
My memory was vague. In fact, I couldn’t recall anything since I found them in the cabin. I strained again, trying to calm myself to take in my surroundings and remember what happened.
Lukas.
His voice yelled out, and I tensed in anger. Lukas did this! He kidnapped Ariya and destroyed our Protectee by turning her. He also planned to kill her, but was thwarted in his efforts when James stepped in. I was proud he had no regard for his own safety when it came to our mission, but I still ached at the thought of their doomed love. It was condemned from the start. Why couldn’t they see I wanted to keep them from suffering the pain I felt? If I could have stopped their love early on, they’d both have been better off, better than Cianna and I were, at least.
If I had listened to James a little closer though, this may not have happened. After all, I was not a traitor despite how they chose to treat me. Lukas was. They must have thought I was collaborating with him as well, and why wouldn’t they?
The blood was working already. I could finally move and I licked more from my lips.
I took in one more drop of blood, willing myself to recall my training so that I could find the strength to get up to take a better look at my surroundings. With one mighty effort, I raised myself, and heard the stone shattering around me when the air rushed towards me. The deafening sound echoed off the walls in the dark room.
My eyes quickly adjusted and I looked around. Instantly, the memories of what had happened to me flooded my brain. I was doing my duty until I saw the traitor, Lukas. I remembered covering Ariya’s body, but it was not hers anymore, she was already turned. The fury that raged through me at learning that, and a hail of bullets lodging into my body were the last things I remembered.
Until I heard her voice again today.
I looked up at the stained stone and pieced together what she did. Clever Ariya, although she didn’t know it yet. It didn’t matter that she turned. It never mattered. Her blood was her blood.
“Wh-o-o is there?” A meek and pitiful voice rang through the less dark tomb, now that my eyes had adjusted. I recognized that pathetic sound. That weak voice of a person who would turn to serve the most powerful person at the time. Lukas. No matter. He’d be dead soon enough.
I raced towards the darkness and the traitor who thought he had ruined our line. The secret I had taken to my grave, the one that I learned from my grandfather, after I respected his wishes and promised not to use it, was the one that saved me somehow. I wasn’t sure how Ariya knew, or what came over her. Her sense of duty was much stronger than I thought, although she may not have realized that was what brought her here to say her final goodbye. I was proud of her and what she endured, but quickly pushed aside those emotions in order to focus on the dark figure in the cell before me.
“How many times did I tell you in training?” I snarled, lunging at Lukas to end the threat to my family forever. “Never underestimate the power of blood!”
I still can’t believe Sacrificed is out for all of you to read! Thank you! Thank you for your patience while I had a bit of a hiatus between Awakened and this book! Thank you for your connecting with me, asking about Book 3 in this Ariya Adams Trilogy and sharing your enthusiasm for the characters! I started in 2013 with the goal of writing a story I wanted to read and the end result is this trilogy! I hope it has been as fun for you to read as it was for me to write!
Of course writing this book wouldn’t have been possible without some key and critical people in my life. First and foremost, thank you to my incredible husband. I swear it seemed like he was constantly on me about finishing this trilogy. In moments when I struggled he was right there, reminding me that he was a fan and needed to know the ending. Thank you Matty, for believing in me even when I struggled to believe in myself. Thank you for encouraging me and always striving to try and have me see what others do. I love you to the moon and back!
Another big thank you goes to my writing sister, cover designer, logo designer, all graphics and formatting issues guru and most importantly, friend, Jennifer Durfey! When I reached out letting her know that I was finally getting Sacrificed out, after 3 years of waiting, she didn’t hesitate to get started on my covers, offer to read and comment on what I had written and encourage me! It feels like a cheesy destiny that we wound up in the same Authors Facebook group, and even more of a stroke luck to have started up a conversation that led to an awesome friendship. She’s one of my favorite authors, and I’m in awe of her creativity and skill when it comes to design work. She was instrumental in helping finalize everything that is truly needed to launch this book, and I’m not sure how to ever say thank you enough. Especially for getting to work on this when it had been so long! She owns Cover Me Pretty (https://www.facebook.com/covermeprettydesigns/) and has done all of the cover work for the Ariya Adams Trilogy!!
Thank you to my editor for this book, Teri at the Editing Fairy! I’ve known about Teri and her work for a long time, and I was so excited to get to have her work on this book. She was one of the first editors that I remember researching, and things finally worked out so that I could have her review and edit Sacrificed. I’m grateful for her comments, suggestions and insights!
To my beta readers, Stephenie Philipsen and Liz Handelsman, thank you! You picked right back up with Ariya and the gang even after all the years between the last books! As always, your excitement and insights were so helpful & motivating! You are greatly appreciated! Thank you!
Thank you to all the bloggers (Nerd Girl & Sunshine & Mountains in particular!) who picked up promoting me again after so long! I’m a reader as well, and your work in promoting authors, letting readers know about giveaways and sneak peeks and more, is so much fun and has been a way I have been able to find many of my favorite books! Thank you for your hard work, and allowing for a way to get information out to other readers! Thank you also for your enthusiasm!
And finally, thank you to you – the readers! You have made my dream become possible and allowed me to be an author! I’m thankful for all of you and I can’t wait to see where this writing adventure takes us next!
Until we meet again…
Anna Applegate lives in rural Pennsylvania with her incredible husband and children. She loves reading, romance of all kinds, sappy chick flicks, paranormal literature, shooting stars, Disney, traveling, and having an imagination.
If you are interested in staying up to date when she releases new books, teasers, and more, please sign up for her e-mailing list at http://annaapplegate.com under the Contact Me tab. Just put a note in that you’re interested in joining the mailing list.
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