by Alexis Davie
“Let’s go.” He quietly led Finley out into the hallway, checking around him. He was pretty sure that Luka knew that he was inside the mansion, since the chamber door was sealed. The rooms were all empty, as well as the hallway, but Pyre didn’t trust the silence. Something wasn’t right.
He and Finley crept into a dark room, and Pyre quickly searched the darkness for any signs of Luka or anyone from his clan. The room was completely empty, and Pyre rushed to the window. He was relieved to see that it opened up to the front of the property, and the gates were still open.
Something still didn’t sit well with him, and he turned to Finley.
“Finley, I need you to do something for me,” he whispered to her, placing his hands on her shoulders.
“Anything,” she breathed. Pyre took a deep breath.
“When I tell you to, you’re going to climb through this window, jump down onto the grass, and run as fast as you can. I need you to get as far away from this house as you can.”
“What?”
“Can you do that for me?”
“You’ll be right behind me, right?” she pressed.
Pyre shook his head. “Please, I need you to do this for me. Just this one little thing.”
“But it’s not just one little thing, Pyre. I can’t just leave you behind.”
“Just go.”
“No, I am not leaving without you.”
“Finley, please don’t argue with me about this—”
“Then don’t ask something like this of me! I can’t. I can’t just leave you.”
“Finley, listen to me.”
“No, you listen, Pyre. I know you feel like shit for leaving me here, but me doing the same is not going to make us even. That’s not how it works. We either leave here together, or not at all.”
“I love you too much, so I can’t stand the thought of you getting hurt, so neither one is an option right now.”
Finley’s jaw dropped slightly, and her eyes widened. The blue of her eyes started to glow softly, and the corners of her mouth curled up into a smile. “You love me?”
“Yes. Now, will you do this for me?”
She nodded slowly. She glanced out the window for a moment before turning back to him.
“I love you, too,” she whispered and kissed him, as if she knew that this would be the last time. She clung to him for a second longer than they had time for and finally released him.
The lights unexpectedly went on in the room, blinding both of them momentarily. When their eyes adjusted to the light, they saw Luka standing in the doorway, flanked by his two bodyguards.
“Well, hello there, Dragon Prince. Fancy meeting you here, again.”
“I just can’t seem to stay away.” Pyre smiled sardonically, stepping in front of Finley, shielding her from any attacks.
“Well, I can assure you that this will be your last visit to my home.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more, Luka.”
“Where’s my stone, Pyrencko?”
“You’re never going to see that stone again,” Pyre growled.
“Just like the two of you are never going to see the light of day again,” Luka hissed, winking at Finley as his fangs grew long and sharp.
The heat in Pyre’s mouth grew increasingly fast, and he spewed a stream of flames towards Luka.
“Now, Finley! Go!” he growled in a deep voice that he knew both terrified and unsettled Finley. “Go!”
Finley moved from behind him and opened the window. She climbed through It and jumped out onto the grass.
Pyre spewed another stream of fire towards the vampire, but Luka was simply too fast for him.
“Run, Finley!” Pyre shouted without looking at the window. He had no idea how far Finley was from the house, so he’d give her a few more seconds.
The fire started to flow through his veins, boiling up so much pressure inside him that he was on the verge of exploding, but he needed to give Finley the chance to get as far away from the house as she could. The gates were still open, and he saw her running across the street. She was safe.
“So that’s what you’re going to do, Dragon Prince? You’re going to sacrifice everything for her? Is she really worth dying for, Pyre?” Luka asked.
“Absolutely.”
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
“Go to hell, motherfucker,” Pyre growled as every cell in his body exploded into a blazing inferno.
10
Finley ran as fast as her legs could carry her, and for the first time in a long time, her chest was on fire. She didn’t breathe, she didn’t think, she just ran, like Pyre had told her to. She had run through the gates of Luka’s property and crossed the road when she heard the sound she had been dreading.
An ear shattering explosion filled the quiet night air, and the force of the explosion was so strong that Finley was knocked right off her feet and fell onto the grass. She could even feel the heat on her face as she pushed herself up from the ground. The entire mansion was overrun with flames, and parts of the roof had already started tumbling down.
Finley stood and watched helplessly as the mansion exploded, sending bits of debris flying into the air, and the heat which radiated from the fire was overwhelming.
“Pyre!” she called out, and her knees gave way from under her. She fell down on the grass, and tears streamed down her face.
No matter how much she hoped that Pyre would make it out alive, there would be no survivors from a fire that hot. Her cheeks burned from the heat, and she was about two hundred feet away. She knew what fire did to vampires, so she was sure that Luka was definitely dead, as well as his bodyguards and anyone on the property, for that matter.
For the first time since she had become a vampire, and since her life had been turned upside down, her heart felt empty in her chest, and she felt like the only person in the world: isolated and alone.
Pyre had sacrificed himself so that she could live, and she would always be grateful to him for that. She had loved him for such a short period of time, although it had felt like an entire lifetime. She could remember every single inch of him, and his face was permanently etched into her mind.
Through her blurry vision and her never-ending stream of tears, she gasped for air, staring helplessly at the grass in front of her. The sirens in the distance sounded muffled and very far away, and she didn’t even know what to say to the fire rescue team when they arrived, not even to mention the Miami Police Department. The truth wouldn’t work, and the officials would simply think that she was insane.
Finley knew that she would not be able to say a single word to them before bursting out into hysterical sobbing. Her mind was in a blur, and she did not know where to go or what to do. She could go back to Pyre's place, but what would happen if his friends or work colleagues came looking for him? How would she explain herself to them? According to them, she was no one.
Finley calmed down her breathing and wiped her eyes. The sirens were growing louder in the distance, but she could not see the fire rescue trucks. Was she imagining it? Was she crazy with grief already?
She could honestly say that she would never be able to recover from losing Pyre, even if their love had only lasted a week.
A week that had changed her life from super normal to supernatural. A week that had ensured more passion and emotion than her entire life before that. A week which had made her realize that she could give her everything to someone and not expect him to love her in return. A week which had made perfect sense yet confused the shit out of her. A week that she would never want to forget in her entire life.
She wiped her face again and stared at the mansion, completely wrecked by the fire, and her brow furrowed. She cocked her head and blinked a few times, not sure if she was dreaming or hallucinating.
Between the burning debris and the ruins of the mansion was a figure, making its way towards her. She could not tell by its face who it was, bu
t in her heart, she knew. A warm feeling filled up her chest, and her eyes regained their color. She slowly rose to her feet and took a few steps forward. She carefully watched the figure walk towards her, setting alight the wrought iron gates as soon as he passed them. It was as if everything it touched started to burn—herself included.
A sigh of relief escaped her throat when she could finally see Pyre’s face. His entire body was bathed in a red glow, as if he was on fire. His tattoos seemed to illuminate themselves on his skin, glowing like embers, his eyes two pools of fire, drawing her into the inferno.
The corners of her mouth curled up happily. He wasn’t on fire; he was the fire.
He stopped a few feet from her. The glow on his skin started to fade, and within a few moments, he stood in from of her, wearing a pair of leather pants and his boots, still perfectly intact. His skin was covered in a sheen of perspiration, and his breathing was ragged.
Pyre had never looked as perfect to Finley as he did in that moment.
A tear ran down her cheek, and she held her arms out to him, hoping he would embrace her. He took a few steps towards her and fell into her arms. Her knees buckled under his weight, and they both collapsed on the grass. Finley held him against her, feeling relieved that she could hold him once more. The thought of not having him close to her—as had been her reality for a while—was unbearable, and her heart ached in her chest. Her fingers raked through his damp hair, and a soft shush escaped from her lips. She wanted him to know she was there for him, and that she wasn’t going anywhere, at least if he wanted her to stay.
She didn’t know what he was thinking or what was going on inside his mind, but she didn’t want to ask him. She didn’t want the moment to end; the moment where she was holding him, comforting him, and seeing just how vulnerable he could be. She knew he wouldn’t want her to see him like that, but it didn’t change how she felt about him or how she saw him. He was the toughest and strongest of men, she knew that, but even the toughest rocks could be cracked and broken, which made the pain even greater. His strong arms wrapped around her waist and held her tightly, the way she had wanted him to hold her. His embrace was filled with relief and urgency, just like hers was. They spoke no words to one another, as there was no need for them.
The sirens continued to blare in the distance, but they sounded louder, closer. Red and blue lights flickered in the air as the fire rescue truck, along with an ambulance, pulled up onto the curb.
Everything after that seemed like a total blur. The EMTs asked what had happened, but they were not able to get a word out of Finley or Pyre. The female EMT seemed to know Pyre, because she spoke to him like they were old friends, which they probably were. The Fire Rescue and the Emergency Services worked closely together, after all. The ride in the ambulance felt like it took forever, but Finley held onto Pyre’s hand the entire time, with absolutely no intention of letting go.
At the hospital, Finley was examined by a doctor, who turned out to be a shifter himself. He didn’t say it in so many words, but he didn’t seem surprised when he couldn’t find Finley’s pulse. He also wrote down readings on her charts which didn’t correlate with the readings he did while checking her blood pressure.
“How do you feel? Are you hurting in any way? Any bones sticking out?” he had asked her.
“No, I just feel a little dizzy,” she had admitted.
“Right. When was the last time you ate?”
“Well…” Finley frowned and tried to remember.
“So, a while. I will have a blood bag brought up for you in a few minutes. I’ll make sure it’s warm,” the doctor said. Finley opened her mouth to say something, but the doctor just winked reassuringly at her and left the room.
A few minutes later, a young nurse entered the room with a blood bag, which Finley could immediately tell was fresh and warm.
“Thank you,” Finley said to her gratefully.
“You’re welcome. You are looking a little pale, so this will do you good.”
Finley smiled at the nurse. “Can you tell me which room Pyrencko Veskovic is in?”
“The doctor is with him right now, discussing things. Finish that,” the nurse said and motioned to the blood bag, “then you can go see him. Room 513.”
“Thank you so much,” Finley said and clasped her hands together.
“You’re welcome, Finley.”
Finley cocked her head, as she hadn’t told the nurse her name, but then again, it seemed as though this hospital wasn’t just for humans, and wasn't just run by humans, either, which was comforting. She slowly drank from her blood bag, relishing the sweet taste of the blood, and looked down at the label. B-positive.
It looked like it was true. B-positive was her favorite.
After she was done, she left the room she was in and made her way to room 513. She paused in front of the door and knocked softly.
“Come in.”
Finley slowly opened the door, and a smile formed on her lips when she saw Pyre, looking a little beat up but just as handsome as ever, in the hospital bed. There was another guy in the room with him who was definitely not the doctor. At least, Finley thought he wasn’t.
“Hey,” she said, her voice sounding raw. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”
“No, not at all,” Pyre answered and held out his hand to her. “Come here. I want to introduce you to someone.” Finley smiled as she took his hand and stood beside the bed. “Finley, this is Eric. My best friend, my partner in the war against fires, and the best human being you will ever meet.”
“I think he may have exaggerated a little on the last part, but the others are quite true,” Eric said with a chuckle, holding his hand out to her.
Finley chuckled as well, but there was a lingering sadness in her throat. “It’s nice to meet you, Eric.”
“And Eric, this is Finley. The girl I told you about.”
“That’s a bit ambiguous,” she muttered.
“They’re all good things, I promise,” Eric said with a bright smile.
Finley smiled and looked at Pyre. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay. I should be able to go home later today. Self-combusting isn’t something that anyone can do, you know. You can’t just walk away after something like that and expect to be your old self again,” Pyre answered.
“I was really worried about you,” Finley whispered.
A slight smile formed on Pyre’s lips, and he turned to Eric. “So this is what it feels like, huh?”
Eric suppressed a smiled, nodded, and stood from the edge of the bed.
“I am going to give you two a minute alone.” He quickly left the room and closed the door behind him. Finley glared at Pyre for a few seconds before she smacked him in his arm.
“Hey, what the hell was that for?” Pyre grimaced.
“Don’t you ever do something as stupid as that ever again! Do you hear me? You scared the shit out of me!” Finley exclaimed.
“I’m sorry,” Pyre said unsurely.
“You better be sorry! I thought you were dead. I thought you died in that explosion, or the fire. I thought I would never get to see your face again, or run my fingers through your messy hair, or hear your voice.”
“Finley—”
“No. I need to say all of this, right now, because if something had happened to you, I don’t know what I’d do.”
“Nothing is going to happen to me, or to you. “
“And what about the curse, huh? What about the risk that you’ll possibly kill me? Is that why you told me to run? Because you would rather die and have me live without you than go out of your way to protect me for the rest of your life? Or does it go against your dragon code to protect a vampire?” Finley demanded angrily.
“Finley, please. Can we not do this here?” Pyre asked.
“If not here, then where? And if not now, when?” she replied.
“When I get out of here, I want to show you something. I want to tell you something and explain something t
o you. Then you can decide if you still want to go or if you want to stay. Okay?”
“And whatever I decide, you’ll respect that?”
“I will respect your decision, even if I don’t like it.” Finley pursed her lips and nodded.
“Fine. I’ll go with you. I’ll hear you out, but it better be good,” she said and walked to the door.
“Thank you for coming,” Pyre said, and she looked at him over her shoulder.
“I had to see if you were okay.”
“Oh, and Finley?”
“Yeah?”
“I meant what I said. I do love you,” Pyre admitted.
“I know,” Finley said. “And I love you, too, but that’s not always enough.”
Pyre nodded grimly as Finley left his hospital room and closed the door behind her. A tear ran down her cheek, and she quickly wiped it away.
“Hey, is everything okay?”
Finley saw Eric standing a few feet away. “Hey. I thought you'd left.”
“Do you mind if we talk?” he asked.
“Sure. I don’t have anywhere else to be,” she shrugged.
Eric and Finley were seated in the small hospital cafe at a table right by the glass window, and Finley looked out at the city lights.
“So, you’ve known Pyre for a long time?” she asked.
“Almost ten years now,” Eric answered.
Finley wiped the moisture from under her eyes. “And in those ten years, has he bottled up his feelings at all?”
“Oh, yeah. He tends do that. He likes pushing people away because he thinks it’s better for him to be alone. He would never openly admit it to anyone, or himself, but he is pretty lonely.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“He acts like a tough guy, pretending things like that don’t bother him, but they do. Bottling up feelings and emotions is not healthy, and one way or another, he’s going to explode,” Eric pointed out.
Finley scoffed as she ran her fingers along the rounded edge of her coffee cup. The taste of it made her want to gag, but for appearances, she pretended it didn’t bother her. Eric studied her for a minute. She felt his eyes on her and forced herself to take another sip of coffee.
