I pull her close, my hand running down her hair. “And I bet you looked beautiful.”
“I looked like me,” she says. “I looked like a vampire. And I looked happy.”
“Are you?” I ask. “Are you happy?”
“Being what I am was never really the problem,” she says. “The problem was not being with you.”
I kiss her again and feel the calming magic, mixed with something not calm at all, excitement about a future that’s just starting to appear like a shadow in a mirror. I know I can’t see it clearly yet, but the hope fills me with light. My heart beats harder and Cicely’s heart answers in its own way.
“From now on,” I say, “I’m with you.”
Chapter 45: Emmie
“I offer you my blood, and with it my life. It is yours to take or to save.” I speak the words carefully, just the way Luke taught me. Ours is the first traditional bonding ceremony in a century, and I want to get it right. It may just be symbolic, since our bond is already formed, but it’s still important.
The wind whips off the water and the emerald skirt of my dress ripples like the waves. I hold out my hand, palm down. Luke takes it in his own hand and bows to kiss it, the way the prince does in a fairytale. Then he carefully turns it over, like he’s admiring a seashell, and places a second kiss in the center of my palm, before slowly brushing his lips up to my wrist.
Oh, Lord. I feel myself flush. My pulse gallops and I’m suddenly aware of everyone who has gathered on the beach to witness: Cicely and Ander cuddled under their umbrella; Lyla and Ian smiling by the bonfire; my brother Jackson, still sleepy from his late night flight, standing by little Rose; Miko and Jessie and Trevan, the thralls we rescued from the Hunters, beaming at me like we’re old friends.
But I’m also thinking about all the people who aren’t here. The ones who are with us in spirit: my parents and Michael and Danny; friends from the bar who passed on too soon. I’m thinking about Naomi, and Cole, and even Five. I feel like they’re here, somehow, too.
And then Luke looks up at me, his eyes dark and intense through those long lashes, and I forget everyone else. It’s like it’s only him and me in the whole world. His eyes ask a question, the way they did when I was dying and he said “forever” and I said “yes.”
“Are you sure you want this?” He murmurs against my wrist, just loud enough for me to hear.
I smile, feeling more sure than I’ve ever felt of anything in my life.
“Yes,” I say. “I do.”
Chapter 46: Luke
My fangs slide into Emmie’s wrist easily, the way a sword slides into its sheath when a long battle is over. I want to stay there forever, her blood is so sweet, but I allow myself just a little taste. There is eternity for more, after all, I think. This moment is just the start.
So I force myself to pull away. Emmie looks up at me, her face radiant with excitement. I hold out my hand and Rose hurries over to bring me the open jar.
“I offer you honey,” I say, “the only food that never spoils. It lasts forever, uncorrupted, eternally sweet. May this life I give you last just as long. May it bring you only sweetness.” I dip the tip of my finger into the jar and scoop up one sticky drop, like liquid sun.
Emmie parts her lips, shuts her eyes. I place the drop of honey on her tongue. Her lips close around my finger, holding me, sucking the sweetness in, and I feel a shudder of pleasure travel all the way to my core. My breath catches.
Emmie pulls away, her smile slyly satisfied. She’s completely aware of what she does to me.
“Blood and honey,” I say. “Death and life.”
She takes both of my hands in hers. “The salt and the sweet. Together for all of it.”
“Forever.” I lean in and kiss her. I can taste the honey on her lips, and I know she can taste the blood on mine, our two lives meeting in a single point of fire.
A cheer goes up from our friends. We turn to them and smile, Emmie waving like a princess. Ander gives me a look that clearly says you had better treat her well. I nod towards Cicely and give him the same look back and he smiles.
The rest of the night goes by fast. Ian throws another log on the bonfire. Lyla and Rose go back to the house to fetch hot chocolate and wine and cake (baked by Naomi, thankfully, not Cicely). They bring back Cicely’s violin, too, and she plays for us: haunting folk tunes, happy Celtic reels. Ian teaches the thralls old dance steps in the moonlight and Emmie and her brother sing along, achingly sweet. Once, Ander slips into his wolf form and howls with them in eerie harmony, and an answering call comes from the woods—first one wolf, then two—and we know Naomi has found her love somewhere in the darkness. Will they come back to us? Only time will tell. But tonight I feel like time is on my side.
I take Emmie by the hand and pull her away from the warmth of the bonfire, away from the laughter and conversation. She lets me lead her down to the edge of the surf. The wind here is so cold it burns, but it makes me feel awake, alive. Emmie looks beautiful, standing there in her winter coat and emerald gown, her caramel curls whipped by the wind. I feel proud to have chosen the right dress, and the right girl to wear it.
She looks out over the ocean, where the moonlight glitters on the waves. “Wow,” she breathes. “It looks like a big old disco ball.”
“You know,” I laugh, “I have no idea what that means.” But it sounds good when Emmie says it. Everything does.
She turns to me, and I feel suddenly shy. Everything is still so new between us. “So,” she says, “when you have forever, what do you do first?”
“Well…” I look out over the dark water to where the silhouettes of ships bob on the waves, their prows pointed towards distant shores. There are so many places she hasn’t seen. “Have you ever heard of a luna de miel? A honeymoon?”
She grins at me. “Oh, I know what a honeymoon is.”
“And where do you think the term comes from?”
“From the bonding ceremony?” She laughs, cocking her head to one side to give me a playful look. “You mean to tell me that vampires invented the honeymoon?”
“Well,” I smile at her slyly, “we have, at the very least, perfected it.”
Her smile widens. “You askin’ me to run away with you, Luke Marianez?”
“Just for a little while,” I say. “We would always come back home.”
“Home.” She nods thoughtfully. “I like the sound of that.”
I hold out my hand to her. She takes it, curling herself against me like she belongs there. I wrap my arms around her, placing myself between her and the wind. “So,” I say. “You will go with me?”
Emmie looks up at me, her green eyes shining with possibilities.
“Anywhere,” she says. “Always.”
About the Author
Laura Bradley Rede grew up as the oldest of nine kids in a small town on the coast of Maine. She now lives in Minneapolis, MN with her partner, their three kids, one great dane, and six city chickens. She is a Writers of the Future award winner and author of the YA paranormal romance series The Darkride Chronicles, along with numerous YA short stories. You can contact Laura at www.darkridechronicles.com.
Acknowledgements
One day, my eight year old son and I were talking about Crossfire. At the end of the conversation he said, “We work hard on these books, don’t we?” And the truth is, we do—not just me, but a whole vampire village of people who have come together to make The Darkride Chronicles happen. I am profoundly grateful for every one of them.
First I want to thank my partner Marcy for supporting my dream of writing full time, and for being my first and best reader and my constant inspiration. I love you forever, for real, and I’m so glad you share my umbrella! I also want to thank my three awesome kids, Shanika, Harrison and Miranda, for giving me werewolf drawings and plot suggestions and endless hugs. You guys are my pack. (Harrison, I’m sorry the light sabers didn’t make it into the book!)
I also want to thank the friends who have become
like family: the magical 21. I’m not sure what good karma from a past life made me worthy of joining this group, but I’m thankful for it every day. You women are my friends, sisters, fairy godmothers, virtual coworkers, and sometimes my girl-gang roller derby team. I’ve never met a group of women who deserve success more than you do and I hope you continue to take over the world! I want to say a special thanks to Jessica Park, who has been in my corner since moment one, and to Liz Reinhardt, who has talked me down from ledges and given me the “it’s a marathon, not a sprint” speech whenever I needed it, and to Nichole Chase, who has always gone the extra mile to bring readers to Darkride and Crossfire, and to Tammara Webber, who has given me wise advice and warm encouragement. May all your kindness come back to you three times over.
I want to thank my smart and insightful editor, Jennifer Meegan, for working hard to make Crossfire the best it could be, and Stephanie Nelson of Once Upon a Time Covers for creating our beautiful cover art. I also owe a debt to the Death Pixies for being my critique group and my writing support network for the past eight years.
I want to thank all of the bloggers and readers and fellow authors I’ve had the pleasure to get to know over the past year, particularly the passionate readers of Bookaholics Anonymous. Your support of indie authors has changed so many lives for the better! I want to say a special thank you to Fred LeBaron, Kirsten Rain, Jenna and Brad Tousignant, Eden Creech, Andrea Randall, Tressa Sager, Adriane Tait-Boyd, Mandy Anderson and Delphina Miyares for your excitement and enthusiasm (and your patience in waiting for the second book!). Your encouragement means even more to me than you know. Getting to know each of you has been a huge blessing.
And last but far from least, I would like to thank you for reading this book. Sharing these stories with you has been a huge privilege and I am grateful for the opportunity to live this dream. Keep in touch at www.darkridechronicles.com and on the Darkride Facebook page: www.facebook.com/darkride.chronicles. I’ll be sure to let you know when I have new stories to share.
Until then, be invincible!
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Cicely
Chapter 2: Ander
Chapter 3: Cicely
Chapter 4: Ander
Chapter 5: Cicely
Chapter 6: Luke
Chapter 7: Emmie
Chapter 8: Ander
Chapter 9: Ander
Chapter 10: Ander
Chapter 11: Cicley
Chapter 12: Luke
Chapter 13: Cicley
Chapter 14: Cicley
Chapter 15: Luke
Chapter 16: Ander
Chapter 17: Cicely
Chapter 18: Cicely
Chapter 19: Cicely
Chapter 20: Ander
Chapter 21: Luke
Chapter 22: Luke
Chapter 23: Ander
Chapter 24: Luke
Chapter 25: Luke
Chapter 26: Cicely
Chapter 27: Emmie
Chapter 28: Emmie
Chapter 29: Ander
Chapter 30: Cicely
Chapter 31: Ander
Chapter 32: Cicely
Chapter 33: Ander
Chapter 34: Emmie
Chapter 35: Luke
Chapter 36: Emmie
Chapter 37: Cicely
Chapter 38: Luke
Chapter 39: Emmie
Chapter 40: Cicely
Chapter 41: Ander
Chapter 42: Cicely
Chapter 43: Ander
Chapter 44: Ander
Chapter 45: Emmie
Chapter 46: Luke
About the Author
Crossfire (Book Two of the Darkride Chronicles) Page 30
