Vampire Nation 2: Titan Rising

by Joe Fowler

I thought back to all those mornings without her. I made up my mind not to allow that to happen again. I would not be volunteering for any more long term assignments. Now that Arria was the new council leader, no one could make me.

  As much as I wanted to watch her sleep, I couldn’t resist kissing her. She stirred lightly before waking. When she saw me, she smiled.

  “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. It’s been a while since I woke next to you.” I told her.

  “You can wake me like that anytime.”

  “I’ve decided I won’t be going away like that anymore. I refuse to be without you again.” I punctuated my words with a kiss.

  “We will be flying home tomorrow. I’ve scheduled an event for later this week.” Arria smiled at me. Her smile told me something was up.

  “What? It looks like it is a good thing.”

  “The council has decided to allow you to finish out your current fighters time in the arena. You will still be their old one. Call it a temporary title. We were going to split them up the way we usually do but Lorac suggested we allow you this as a favor for what you’ve done for us.”

  “Really! Wow.” I smiled from ear to ear.

  “We knew you would like that. Lorac told me all about the event he was at with you. He told me how you obviously cared for them. Teaching them to hide their thoughts, allowing them to name themselves, the meet and greets, and that whole business with your first fighter training with another team. All of that added up. We felt it was the right thing to do.”

  “Thank you, Arria. It really means a lot to me.” I wasn’t lying. I hoped I never would again.

  We kissed and talked for some time before her council duties took her away. I wore a big, goofy smile as I looked forward to the next stage of our eternity.