Revolutions (Davenport Manor Book 3)

by Melissa Zaroski

  He agreed, “I think you might be right about that!” His chuckled turned to a softened smile and he added, “Try not to worry about it, it’s just a bump in the road.”

  She kissed him on the cheek before disappearing into her bedroom for the night.

  Emma sat on her chaise lounge and gazed out the window at the dark forest surrounding the house. She was toying with the thought of calling Aidan and letting him know what was going on. She knew she needed to tell him about Todd’s change of physical status, but she was unsure of how Aidan would react. As levelheaded as he could be, he was also quite unpredictable. There was a knock at her door which snapped her out of her trance, and pushed her off of her thought train.

  “It’s Todd,” he said from the other side. “Can I come in?”

  She invited him in and he slowly peeked in the door, hoping he wasn’t disturbing her.

  Her smile was infectious and welcoming as she greeted, “Hey there, you. What’s up?”

  “Nothing,” he replied nonchalantly. “Remember how we said we should catch up more often? Well, here I am to catch up. We’ve had quite an eventful day, haven’t we?”

  Emma snorted, “Now that’s an understatement! Come sit down.” She scooted over on her chaise lounge to make room for him, what little space there was. She could have moved over to the sofa, but her subconscious told her to stay in the chaise lounge so they would have to sit close together.

  He obliged and sank down next to her with hardly a space in between them. “So what you think of all this?” He asked

  Emma blankly shook her head and replied, “I have no idea. I have never seen anything like this before.”

  “Have you told Aidan?”

  “No, I don’t know if I’m going to either. I don’t know how he’ll react. Aidan has a tendency to overreact a bit… I’m sure you’ve noticed!”

  They sat silently for a moment and mindlessly stared out the window together, lost in their own thoughts.

  “I’m just going to ask this,” he blurted. “Now that I’m not deadly, what does that mean for me? The only reason I lived here was to be under your protection, and I’m well aware that I was also used as your protection as well. I’m not naïve. So now what? Am I still deemed a threat to vampires?”

  The same thought had crossed Emma’s mind as well, but she had pushed it aside to deal with later. Her first dilemma was if she was to tell Aidan or not. However, she knew that if he found out from someone else, he would be angry. But, since Todd was sitting there in front of her and presented the topic, she felt she might as well deal with it.

  She shrugged her shoulders and answered, “It’s up to you. I don’t want to hold you here against you will. I don’t see you as a threat…in fact, many would see you as the solution. So many of us have been turned without consent. I have a feeling there are some who wouldn’t mind a drop of your blood now. And I have a bigger feeling that one of them is under this roof.”

  Todd’s eyes widened as he whispered, “You?”

  “Ah, no. Not me. But, I couldn’t help but overhear Zachariah’s conversation with Vivienne earlier and I have a feeling that he’s considering becoming human again.”

  A hint of disappointment trailed across Todd’s face from her answer. Emma becoming human again would change everything. She would no longer be immortal and therefore they could be a normal couple. One that would grow old together and eventually die, the way it should be. As much as he wanted her to make the choice to become a human again, he couldn’t find it in his heart to ask her to. He knew she enjoyed being a vampire, but he also knew that she was turned against her will. So, he was unsure if the idea had crossed her mind and didn’t want to step into that territory.

  “How would you feel about that?” He asked. Todd was well aware that she had turned Zachariah out of love, but they seemed to have an unusual relationship. Well…unusual for a human, but completely normal for two vampires.

  “She had to think about it for a moment, playing with the idea in her mind. “He’s free to do that if he wants. I never got his consent to turn him and did it out of haste. I didn’t want to lose him. I never thought about what he would’ve wanted. If I could go back to that night where he laid in bed dying, I think I would’ve let him go.” Her chin quivered at the thought. In over one hundred and fifty years they had acquired so many memories together; It was hard for her to imagine her life without him.

  Todd took her by the hand when he noticed her sadness. “Giving him the choice to turn back would be the ultimate love you could show him, you know that?”

  Emma nodded as she wiped away a single blood tear that had begun to travel from her eye. “You know this is all Declan’s fault? Bastard!”

  Todd chuckled, “How is it his fault?”

  “Think about it! Everybody was just rolling along, cruising through the life that we’ve all been dealt. Declan decides he wants to be Mr. Powerful and king of the world. He steals you, I lose my mind trying to find you, I have to get Kelly involved, who happened to be crazy about you, we find you and bring you home. Then, you developed this super bond with Kelly, Declan comes here to start a war, Mackenzie gets killed, Daniel practically dies and has to be turned, Vivienne comes to get revenge, and now you’re the cure instead of the curse. Now, my partner in crime is thinking about becoming human again. Now do you see why this is all Declan’s fault?”

  Todd sat there silently with wide, pondering eyes and a half smile as he followed along. Emma was right!

  “And now…” She began to add, yet hesitated. “And now, you have no reason to live here anymore. You’re no longer under my protection. You’re with Kelly now. And I won’t have the pleasure of seeing your face every day.” Her melancholy whisper was barely audible to him, but he caught every word.

  “I don’t have to go if you don’t want me to,” he whispered back, squeezing her hand softly.

  She looked up and met his eyes, holding the gaze before saying, “I don’t want you to stay if you don’t want to.”

  “What if I don’t want to go?” He leaned in closer to her face.

  “Then don’t…” she inched closer as well, her lips hovering in front of his.

  She could feel his breath raggedly breathing through his mouth as he moved closer, brushing his lips against hers. The each closed their eyes as they allowed their hearts to lead the way.

  “Todd!” They heard Kelly call from the hallway.

  Todd and Emma both snapped back away from each other as if they had been caught. Of course, Kelly was none the wiser. Todd quickly grabbed Emma by the wrist, pulled her off of the chaise lounge, and onto her sofa, sitting on the complete opposite side.

  “In here! Emma’s room!” He called back.

  They saw the doorknob turn and Kelly quizzically entered the room, unsure of what she would find. Somehow she had imagined that they be naked in bed, wrestling under the covers.

  “What’s going on?” She asked them, trying to sound nonchalant, but still sounded somewhat accusing.

  “We were just talking about everything that happened today and what happens next,” Emma replied.

  “And what would that be?”

  This time, Todd answered first, “We don’t know. If I’m now the cure, surely there are going to be vampires that want to be turned back.”

  Kelly sat down in the chair across from them, feeling somewhat awkward since they were sharing the couch. As she and Todd talked amongst each other, Emma took a flying leap back onto her thought train again. There was so much they didn’t know about the situation. Was Todd’s blood really the cure or was it just a one-time thing that had happened? How would they find out for sure? Someone would have to be willing to take the risk. She didn’t know if he would have to be injected with vampire venom again or if simply drinking the blood would do the trick. Until she knew for sure, there was no way that she was going to let Zachariah be the guinea pig.

  They talked for a few minutes before Kelly began to yawn. Since Emma was
sitting there quietly and not contributing to the conversation, she suggested that Kelly and Todd retire for the evening. She had not been paying one bit of attention to the two of them, being overtaken by her thoughts. Not just about Todd becoming the cure, but also about the moment that they had just shared. He was about to kiss her…or vice versa…but, either way they were about to cross the line. And to be honest with herself, she had never wanted him so bad, not even like when they were first dating. She supposed the old saying was true; you want what you can’t have.

  “Emma?” Todd spoke, snapping her out of the trance yet again. “We’re going to go to bed now.”

  She nodded and halfheartedly smiled, bidding them good night. Todd was able to sneak a glance over his shoulder as he walked across the hallway.

  CHAPTER 10

  “Zach,” Vivienne called without raising her voice, knowing he would hear her no matter where he was in the house.

  She sat on the edge of her bed, glancing at her clock that read four thirty am. It was still dark outside and all was quiet throughout the manner. She had no idea where the resident vampires were lurking or if they were even in the house. She heard her doorknob turn and door creak open to find Zachariah entering into her room.

  He noticed that Vivienne was dressed, her suitcase was set next to her door, and her bed was made. Not only was he surprised that she was up so early, but that she was clearly leaving.

  “What’s going on?” He asked.

  “Can you give me a ride to the airport?” She replied with a question.

  “Yeah, but you still haven’t answered my question. Why are you leaving?”

  “You and I both know I can’t stay here right now. I’m human and frankly, I’m afraid of Emma. And Todd. And anyone else I’ve pissed off.”

  She had a point and Zachariah knew it. There were quite a few people in the house, both human and vampire, who were not her fans at the moment. He leaned down and picked up her only suitcase to show her that he understood without saying the words. He found himself somewhat sad that she was leaving so soon. He was so curious about her transformation back to human, and he was hoping she would stick around so he could understand it better. He was really considering making the turn himself.

  He couldn’t help but overhear Emma’s conversation with Todd the night before, so he knew she would be devastated, yet she wouldn’t stop him. Emma had always felt guilty about turning him in haste simply because she didn’t want to lose him. Now that he was a vampire, he could understand her panic; forever is a long time if you have to say goodbye to someone with no chance of seeing them again. Especially if it is someone you are in love with.

  “What time is your flight?” He asked, glancing at the clock.

  “It’s at seven, I booked it online last night. Do you mind if we go ahead and leave?”

  He held out his arm, motioning toward the hallway, inviting her to go ahead of him. As she shuffled past him, he breathed in a whiff of her new scent. It smelled like her usual self, yet different. But, he made a mental note of her new aroma, which is what all vampires did whenever they met someone new.

  As they walked through the foyer and were about to turn the corner to head toward the back door, Emma leaned against the entrance of the back hallway. Now that Vivienne was no longer immortal, Emma looked more sinister in her eyes. At that moment, intimidation veiled her beauty.

  Raising an eyebrow, Emma antagonized, “Leaving so soon?”

  Vivienne refused to speak, afraid that anything she said might set her off.

  “Is there something you’re afraid of?” Emma cooed.

  “She just wants to go home,” Zachariah replied for her. He gazed at Emma with humble, pleading eyes.

  Emma’s eyes darted to him filled with warning, “Choose your sides carefully, my dear.” She didn’t wish to sound threatening to him, but she was upset that he was helping Vivienne after what she had done. She was betrayed by her best friend, something she was getting used to at this point. First Declan, now Vivienne, who was next?

  “Emma, I’m sorry,” Vivienne croaked. “I hope you can find it in your heart to one day forgive me.”

  “We’ll see,” Emma flatly replied as she walked away from the two of them. Vivienne couldn’t get out of the house fast enough.

  After a traffic-free ride to the airport since it was so early in the morning, Zachariah pulled up to departures. He hit the hazard lights button before he and Vivienne got out of the car to open the trunk. He lifted up her suitcase and set it on the ground in front of her, gazing at her with sad eyes as he closed the trunk.

  “What’s wrong, Zach?”

  “Just a little bummed to see you go so soon,” he replied with a light nudge to her shoulder, keeping the conversation lighthearted. Zachariah didn’t show his sentimental side very often; he usually remained his sarcastic and snarky self most of the time.

  “Well, that’s what phones are for,” she laughed as she balled her hand into a fist, held up her thumb and her pinky to her face in the shape of a phone.

  They gave each other a tight, long hug before bidding farewell to each other. Zachariah couldn’t explain why he was suddenly so drawn to her. He knew it was because she had become human again; not that he was into humans, but because he wanted to be one himself.

  Once the sun rose and the birds began to chirp, Davenport Manor began to bustle with life for the morning. Zachariah had returned home, but decided to go out for a horseback ride by himself to think. Kelly was getting ready for work, Todd was taking a shower, and Emma and Dan were enjoying their breakfast of blood on the front steps. It was bound to be a beautiful day judging by the morning, and they were taking advantage of every moment of it.

  “So, what do you think Zach is going to do?” Daniel asked Emma since he had overheard the conversation between Zachariah and Vivienne as well.

  “Honestly…I think he’s going to make the choice to change.”

  Daniel looked down at the ground, shuffling his feet and listening to the gravel scraping underneath. “I was thinking the same thing. I think he’s going to do it. It’s not that he doesn’t enjoy being a vampire, but it wouldn’t have been his first choice of species to be.”

  “I couldn’t agree more.”

  “What about you? I know you were turned into a vampire without your consent,” Daniel was genuinely curious. Emma was hard to read; he knew she missed being human, but he also knew she enjoyed being a vampire most of the time.

  “Of course it has crossed my mind,” she said before taking a gulp of her crimson breakfast. “You know, my space in the family crypt is still empty. I should have been in there two hundred years ago.”

  Emma often wondered what her life would’ve been like if she had remained human. Obviously, she wouldn’t have lived long enough to see so many changes in the world. Who was to say that she would’ve lived very long at all? She was sure that she would’ve ended up having to marry out of family duty instead of love. There was no one in her town that she had ever run across that she had any interest in until Zachariah came along. However, had she been a human when she met him, she would’ve been far too old for him. She wondered how long she would’ve lived or, better yet, how long Elizabeth would have lived. Would they have had children? She would never know.

  Sometimes the thought of being a mother had crossed her mind whenever she helped raise each generation of Davenports. The maternal feeling was even stronger when it came to Daniel. Even though she had no desire to have children when she was still human, didn’t mean she wasn’t good with kids. In fact, she was excellent with children. She knew how to talk to them, make them laugh, and entertain them with her superhuman tricks. She wasn’t all fun and games though; she knew when to use discipline when they were naughty.

  “I’m just throwing this out there, but I’m sure you have already thought of it,” Daniel started. “But you know, if you are human again…”

  “I know,” she interrupted. “Todd and I could live a normal li
fe together. My immortality is the only thing that’s stopping us.”

  “Just stating the obvious!”

  “For shits and giggles, let’s say I did decide to turn human again. Totally hypothetical! What about you?”

  Daniel looked up to the cloudless, blue sky for a moment and shook his head. “I like what I am. I feel like this is what I was made to be. I feel very alive, even though I’m stone-cold dead!”

  “Are you saying that you wouldn’t change?”

  “Nope, I’d stay immortal. Ask me again in a hundred years!”

  They clinked their glasses and chuckled as she threw her arm around his shoulder. They both slightly turned their heads to the side as they heard an argument going on inside. It was Todd and Kelly, which wasn’t a surprise to either of them. Kelly was going off about Todd being in Emma’s bedroom the night before.

  Daniel wiggled his eyebrows as Emma swatted him on the arm in protest.

  “So…what was Todd doing in your bedroom last night? All alone? Just you…and him?” He taunted.

  She laughed, “He just wanted to talk about everything that had happened!”

  “And?”

  “And what?” She exclaimed with a nervous laugh. “That’s it!”

  Daniel had known her his entire life. He knew when she wasn’t telling the whole truth and that there was definitely more to the story. He continued to antagonize her until he got it out of her.

  “And then...we almost kissed,” she concluded as Daniel mockingly put his hand over his mouth in shock. “Almost. That is until Captain Twat-Blocker came looking for him.”

  Daniel nearly spit out his drink from laughing. “Captain Twat-Blocker? Oh my gosh, Emma, you have sunk to a new low! Here’s the problem, though. Kelly’s a living weapon. And from what I gather, she’s not going anywhere anytime soon when it comes to her physical status.”