Page 86 of Inevitably Yves

“Agreed,” Thorn says in a bored tone as he finishes off the Admiral with a dagger in the chest. “Vamp bonfire time?”

I almost chide Thorn for being so flippant, but Yves relaxes into a smile. “Yes. Let’s burn this place down, starting with Hadrian.”

He bends down and lifts our maker’s severed head by the hair. “Gods, the nights I imagined this exact moment,” he says. “I feel different than I expected.”

I nod, rubbing his back. “It’s not the rush I thought it would be either. It nearly killed me to watch what he did to you. I was helpless.”

“You weren’t though. You gave me so much strength.” He looks at the head in his hand. “I don’t want it on my wall. I don’t ever want to see this face again. I just want to watch it burn.”

Paolo walks up beside Yves. “The word will get out. Yves Orpheus, number one, defeated the original vampire. He was sick and evil. Thank you for pulling me back.”

Horus nods, straightening the cuff of his bloodied shirt. “Yes. Your fortitude in the face of that was impressive. You have my eternal gratitude.”

“You all played a part,” Yves says, ever humble. “I felt your loyalty.” His eyes shift to his brothers. “Your love.” Then to me. “Your devotion. I didn’t need magic when I had all of you.” He tosses the head to the floor, wiping his hands on his slacks. “His blood is tainted. It wouldn’t be wise for us to spend any more time with it.”

“Sadly, you’re right. My dream of bathing in his blood will have to remain a fantasy.”

“I’m sure we could still make it happen with something a little more mortal.”

“Ooh, there’s my dark lover.” I wrap my arms around his waist, pulling him close until our chests touch. “You amazed me tonight. He never broke you.”

“He couldn’t. I have too much to lose, too much to love.”

I brush my fingers across his blood-splattered cheek. “Our love was his curse. Literally.”

Yves smiles, his eyes softening. “He destroyed himself to keep us apart, but he failed. We found each other again because of his hatred and spite.”

“I promise to love you with all that I am for all of eternity.”

“I know.” He puts his hand on my chest over my heart. “How amazing it all is. We were always meant for this.”

As our lips collide, a thousand memories of love float between us, and my knees nearly buckle from the beautiful weight of them.

After hundreds of years, through so much love and loss, he was my North Star, always guiding me back to him with his love. No matter what life threw at me, this love was destined. It was always, inevitably, Yves.

The scent of smoke and burning bodies draws us apart, and we look on as Yves’s coven piles the bodies in a heap, but Hadrian burns alone. Yves holds my hand while we watch our maker fade to nothing but ash, and I’d swear something deep inside of me falls away.

“I feel it too,” Yves whispers. “It was him. The part of him that still lived in us. We’re free now, Damiano. Truly free.”

“The future is ours, beloved. Whatever we want, we can have.”

He tilts his beautiful head toward me. “I think I’m doing pretty good as is.”

I wake to an empty bed, rubbing my nose in the pillow and sheets still scented with my love’s unique fragrance. It’s been a few months since the night we faced our maker, and what a time it’s been. Yves, Horus, and Paolo have worked hard to rebuild the council with help from our international brethren, and with the new sense of normalcy, the lonely life I endured before reuniting with Yves feels like a distant nightmare.

The bedroom door opens, and I’m met with a wave of happiness and love. Pulling myself up, I smile at Yves, resplendent in a pair of jeans and a sweater, a very unusual look for him.

“Good morning, lover,” he says, slinking toward me. “I drew you a bath.”

Smiling, I push the bedding away. “Did you? Do you plan to join me?”

He nods. “Of course. Breakfast is there too.”

“How decadent.”

“That’s our life now. I’m done punishing myself and denying pleasure. I’m a centuries-old vampire and it’s about time I acted like one.”

I practically fly out of bed and rush to him. “Do you mean it?”

---