by D. C. Gambel
“What the hell were you thinking?” I scolded. “You’re a vampire, Grayson. You can’t be in the sun anymore!” Realization flashed across his face. He began scanning his body as well. “Luckily you’re fine. And why the hell didn’t you listen to me when I told you to stop?” I scolded, hitting him in the shoulder.
Grayson face morphed to confusion. “I didn’t hear you until right before you slammed into me.”
“Yeah, but your vampire part should have responded to a direct order from me as your sire.”
He shrugged, “I don’t know what to tell you, baby.” He looked over the Grayson shape dent in the wall, while I just stood there staring at him, almost like I was waiting to see if he would burst into flames. “Looks like I’m going to have to call up some contractors and get an estimate. Can you...?” My brow knitted with confusion. Grayson pointed to the window. “Can you close the curtains so I can get out of this corner?”
I winced, mentally kicking myself, before stepping away and doing as he asked.
“Make sure you’re more careful. The sun can kill you now.”
Staring at the closed drapes, Grayson nodded with disappointment weighing heavily n him. Giving him a few moments to absorb his current situation, I disappeared into the closet to get dressed. Before I reemerged, I heard the shower turn on. I wished there was something that I could do for him, but that was just the price for his immortality. My biggest concern at the moment was the sire bond. Twice I had given Grayson a command and both times he hadn’t done them. It wasn’t that I wanted to control him; I just wanted to keep him safe. I walked into the kitchen pouring myself a bowl of cereal before sitting at the bar.
I was so encompassed in my thoughts that I didn’t notice the shower had turned off or how much time had passed until my phone chirping in the bedroom summoned me back to reality.
Walking back into the room, horror paralyzed me. All my fears rushed to the surface. Grayson stood in front to the window with his arms outstretched and the sun beating down on him. The light spilled through the window flooding the room. He looked heavenly, glowing like a beacon waiting to set ablaze.
“No,” I whispered, realizing I had been right from the beginning. This life wasn’t something Grayson had wanted. It had been what I had chosen for him. Hearing me, he turned with a huge grin plastered across his face. I was shocked to see how happy he was. He should be in total agony.
“Gaby, come look.”
Skeptically, I was rooted to my spot gaping at him. He wasn’t burning. Why wasn’t he burning? Fumbling forward, I wobbled across the floor on shaky legs, not entirely sure if I wanted to get closer. Did I really want to be up close when the sun ignited Grayson on fire? To see his flesh melt? To smell it? But curiosity compelled my feet forward. I walked until I stood facing him. I looked over his visible skin and saw no burns or scorch marks. I stepped up to him, running my hands across him. He didn’t feel any hotter than he should from the sun caressing his skin.
“Ohmygod!” I mumbled to myself. It wasn’t possible, was it? Vampires didn’t walk in the sun. I’d seen them burned alive by the sun as punishment for crimes they had committed. I could be in the sun because my father. Even my changing Grayson wouldn’t make him a day walker. Or at least it shouldn’t.
“I know,” he smirked, waving his fingers through the sun’s rays. “I let my curiosity get the better of me. After you reminded me I couldn’t be in the sun, I just wanted to feel it one more time, even if it burned me. At least that way I’d have the memory scorched into my memory and I wouldn’t accidently forget about the sun again. I pulled the curtains open a crack and put my hand in the ray, but it didn’t hurt. Little by little, I put more of me in the sun until I was like this.”
“Does it hurt, tingle, anything?” I inquired and he shook his head. “This doesn’t make any sense, Grayson.”
“Maybe it’s because you’re a day walker, Gaby.”
“No, if that were the case, all vampires would be day walkers because they all branch out from the first.” As I spoke I was still amazed by the fact that he wasn’t burning. My hands kept examining him, looking for some sign of damage, even if it was microscopic. I didn’t have the answers as to why it was possible or if it was even permanent. I relayed these thoughts to Grayson.
“Gaby, I don’t care if it’s permanent. Every moment I can spend in the sun is an unexpected gift.” He pulled me into his arms until we both stood perfectly basking in the sun’s warmth. “We’ll just take it one day at a time, like everything else.”
After the sun descended below the horizon and night fell, there came a knock at the apartment door. Grayson and I were curled up on the balcony watching the sunset. We had never just enjoyed the mundane occurrence and since neither of us knew how long Grayson’s sun tolerance would last, or if it would last, we decided a day in the sun was a necessity. We’d spent the entire day there on the balcony. I’m sure if I’d been mortal I’d been cursed with a delightful sunburn. I read a book while Grayson made phone calls trying to handle business the best he could without being present. We took our lunch out on the balcony as well. I had suggested ordering in then quickly withdrew the idea forgetting that Grayson might try to eat the deliveryman. So instead, Grayson took a half hour reprieve from the sun to cook lunch. I wish I could have done it for him, but not wanting to force him to eat a PB and J or suffering my cooking, I let him prepare the food. When he was done, he stood just over the threshold of where the sun shrouded the floor in front of the door. Slowly, he dipped his toe into the rays, much like someone would test the waters. When he didn’t burn, he eased himself into the light until he was immersed. I wondered if it would always be like this for him, to be constantly afraid of the sun, but braving it just the same. We talked about our lives, our new existence and what might stay the same. I did my best not to damper him with things that would change and those that would never be the same.
I lifted my head from Grayson’s shoulder at the sound. “You expecting anyone?” I asked.
He shook his head. I cautiously stood from our perfect, safe bubble. We had all day alone just enjoying one another’s company, but it seemed the real world was beckoning.
I opened the door and stood there frozen.
“I no longer need an invitation to enter, Gabriella. I knocked merely as a courtesy.” I gaped as I took in my mother’s sudden manifestation. The way we left things the last time we spoke hadn’t been good. Grayson was kidnapped and she had just informed me she had been lying to me my entire life. She stood just over the threshold wearing dark, form fitting jeans and a blue and black plaid button up shirt. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her green eyes stood out like emeralds, shining almost as brightly. She looked more like my sister than my mother, a normal development in the vampire world among families.
I stood to the side gesturing her in, but not truly inviting her. I knew with Grayson being turned into a vampire, the apartment was no longer a human dwelling, but we hadn’t had a chance to test the theory yet. To my utter disappointment she walked in without an issue. My muscles tensed as her arms wrapped around me, hugging me tight. I was still furious with her. Grayson being alive didn’t change that.
“I am glad to see you are alright. I would have been here last night, but things were too chaotic for me to leave.” She pulled back cupping my face. “And your mate?” My eyes darted to the balcony door and Grayson walked in, almost like I had summoned him.
“Persephone,” he answered with a curt nod.
“Grayson, I’m glad to see you have taken to the change so well.”
“Thank you.”
She walked to the couch taking a seat, making herself at home. “Unfortunately, this is not a social call, even though I wish it were. The nest is aware of Anton’s demise.”
I stiffened at the mention of his name and felt a cold chill wash over me. Anton’s death was of my doing. I knew I had just cause for the action I took against him, since he had tried to execute m
y mate for no reason other than his desire for me. Still I didn’t take his death lightly.
“How?” I wondered, rubbing my hands up my arms trying to warm the eerie feeling that was running through me. Noticing my reaction, Grayson made his way to me, replacing my hands with his.
“When his life ended, all those he created felt it.”
“But there was only you and…”
“Ava.” She finished for me, looking both sad and sympathetic. “It is not good Gabriella. Ava became enraged with grief. The only saving grace is that I, as the eldest of his children, was named as his successor. Ava does not care for our laws and is out for blood and will stop at nothing to get it.”
I shook my head. “But I’m the daughter of the first vampire. I took on Anton and he was Ava’s sire, plus he had how many years on her? Surely she has to know that if she comes after me, I’ll kill her.”
“Your arrogance will be your destruction if you continue being so sure of yourself!” My mother jumped to her feet. “Do you think that she does not know this about you? Your origins have been made public, but the nest believes that to harm you would bring down the wrath of Damien.”
“Damien?”
“Your father.” Wow! Twenty three years and I’m just finding out my father’s name. Fan-freaking-tastic.
“That’s a good thing, right? I mean they won’t try to eliminate me because of my father and they’ll leave us alone.”
She was shaking her head before I even finished. “As the new leader, I know that your actions were warranted, but Ava… she believes it is because you are my daughter that I dropped your charges.” Her gaze dropped and her face contoured like her sorrow was manifesting itself in physical pain. “She has left the nest.” My mother spoke so softly that if I’d been human I would not have heard her. “She will not come at you directly Gabriella.” Her sights shifted to Grayson and mine followed suit. I immediately knew how she would attempt to hurt me.
“She can try,” I hissed. I’d been through too much to lose Grayson over a love stricken, grief ridden psychopath who wasn’t even aware that the man she loved didn’t care for her.
“For this reason and several more, I believe that you both should move into the nest and be under its protection.”
I had spent twenty three years trying to find my place in the world, outside the vampire nest. A few weeks out and she was already trying to pull me back in. No thank you. I was finally feeling independent.
I looked to Grayson. His expression matched what I was thinking. He didn’t want to give up what we had here either.
“It’s not that we don’t appreciate the offer, but no.”
“Gabriella,” she spoke gently to me as if I was a child. It was the way she had so many times before when she believed I was being irrational. “You are young and have not had nearly as many years as a vampire as some have before they become sires. You both will need help navigating this new path you are on. The nest will help.”
“I’m sorry mother, but the answer is still no. Living at the nest did nothing but cause me problems. I think we’ll be better on our own. We’ll handle Ava if she tries anything.”
“Do not be foolish, Gabriella. He is a new vampire and would be no match for one as old as Ava. You also know how vampire politics work. You are in the territory of the nest. You both must pledge loyalty.”
“Of course we’ll pledge our loyalty,” I replied looking at Grayson who seemed unsure over what I was offering. “But as far as Grayson not being able to handle Ava, I don’t know if that’s true,” I mumbled. Grayson and I shared a look.
“What is it?” my mother demanded, her eyes darting back and forth between us.
“We just spent the day in the sun.”
A moment passed in utter silence. “Impossible,” she declared disbelief swimming in her eyes as they locked on Grayson like she was seeing him for the first time.
“It’s true,” Grayson stated.
“Only Damien can walk in the sun,” she spoke to herself trying to make sense of the information she was being given. Good luck to her. I had been trying for the better half of the day.
“Yet I do. I’m his daughter, but that doesn’t make me The First Vampire.”
“True. But you have a direct blood tie to him that no one in the world shares. Even if he converts a human to vampire directly, which he obviously has, the transition is still the same. So what did you do differently?”
I shook my head thinking over her words. “I didn’t take his blood into me. He was bleeding out, but there was nothing else.”
“No,” she dipped her head, “that is nothing unusual. We feed from them to make sure we have the blood to transfuse back. It is not necessary. As long as their entire blood supply is removed and replaced with vampire blood, the transition will happen just the same.”
“I don’t understand. Not that I’m complaining, but something would have had to cause it,” Grayson chimed in. “Like you said, if this was the norm for any vampire created by the first then there would be a lot more day walkers out there right?”
“You are correct Grayson. The only day walker known in existence is Gabriella and her father of course, but most believe him to be a myth. Does anyone else know of this?” She asked. I shook my head. “It would be best if it stayed that way for now, for both of your safety. I believe Damien is the only one who would know why your transition turned out the way it has. I will send out a messenger summoning him, not giving him the reason, of course, in case the message is intercepted.”
I had just been quietly listening, absorbing what was being spoken until I heard that. Then out of nowhere rage coursed through me, like a hellish fire. “No!” I spat before walking into the kitchen, ignoring the puzzlement on my mother’s face like I was a rebellious child.
“Gaby?” I heard Grayson before I felt his strong, gentle arms wrap around my waist. I leaned into him absorbing his strength. “What’s wrong? Mention your father and you clear the room.”
I inhaled deeply, breathing in his scent. He still smelled like Grayson, but there was an edge to it. It was more alluring. The way his scent affected me had changed too. It took everything in me not to rip my clothes off right there in the kitchen and beg him to take me. “I just don’t think we need to know that badly.” Grayson grunted in disbelief. I was incredibly curious as to why Grayson transitioned the way he had. I sighed, “I just know that to pursue why you turned like this, we will have to track him down. And right now we don’t even know if it’s permanent.” I turned in his embrace to face him. “Maybe it’s petty of me, but I just feel like he abandoned me.” I shrugged. “I dunno. I’m probably being ridiculous,” I mumbled looking away feeling embarrassed.
“Baby, you’re not being ridiculous. You have every right to feel the way you do. And we don’t have to contact him if you don’t want to.”
“Really?” My gaze lit up meeting his, almost excitedly.
“Really,” he declared firmly. “I would like to know why I am the way I am and if it’ll last, but the why truly doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I am.” His brow knitted together. “Did that make any sense?” he chuckled.
I nodded. “All that matters is that you have the talents not why you have them.”
“Exactly,” he nodded.
“And you’re sure you’re okay with not seeking him out?”
“Positive. He’s your father. If the day comes and you want to find him, I’ll support that, even if it’s a hundred years from now.”
“And if I never do?”
Grayson gave me a crooked half smirk. “Then I’ll support that too.”
“Even if it means never finding out why you are the way you are?”
“Even then,” he kissed my forehead softly lingering there for a few seconds.
My mother left shortly after, but not before telling us how absurd she believed we were being in not seeking my father out and how she still felt it would be best to return to the nest permanently. A
s the new head, she had responsibilities that required her attention. I think she was just eager to get away from us when it became obvious we weren’t taking her advice, any of it. I didn’t know the situation behind my parent’s relationship, seeing as how I only just learned of it, but I couldn’t help but feel like she was pushing us into trying to bring my father here. I just didn’t know why. Anton was dead. If she truly wanted to go after Damien there was nothing holding her back. At least nothing I knew of. She could always give up her claim on the nest.
It was still early, but with the stress of my mother’s visit, jumping into the shower seemed a good way to unwind. I was worried about everything and anything. The list was continuing to expand. A shower was one of my favorite past time when it came to relaxing, besides Grayson. He headed into his office needing to make some calls, so I took it upon myself to slip away and give him his privacy. Normally showers with Grayson ended up getting me dirty again, not that I was complaining, but it was nice to just enjoy the water beating against my skin, the heat of the stream soaking into my muscles working the tension from them.
Once my shower was over, I wrapped myself in a towel and headed into the bedroom expecting to find Grayson only he wasn’t there. I had been in the shower for so long I had assumed it had been enough time for him to finish his calls. I decided to go search for him. It didn’t take long. He was still in his office. I was about to go in when something he said halted me in my tracks.
“No, I’ll be in tomorrow. Tell Mason I want the files yesterday. Just because I’ve been out sick doesn’t mean everyone can slack off and not do their jobs.”
How could he already be planning on going back to work? He was a new vampire, not to mention we weren’t even sure if his sun tolerance would hold. I pushed the door open, Grayson turned and without even looking at me he held up his index finger giving me the universal sign for hold on. He wrapped up his call quickly.
“I’ll be done in a minute baby.”
