Page 108 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

But I knew what would come of that.

“Stop,” I said quietly. “Thea, take back your magic.”

She recoiled, her hand jerking away from my face. Her face was as pale as the moon overhead as she stared at me.

“I’m sorry,” she squeaked.

I shook my head. “There’s no need to apologize.”

“Did I hurt you?” Her eyes filled with confused tears.

“No. Your magic could never hurt me. But I’m afraid you were giving me too much of it.”

“Giving?” she repeated. She blinked a few times, sending tears dribbling down her pale cheeks. “I didn’t mean to...”

“I know.” I brushed a kiss over her forehead, holding her tighter. “I should not have asked for such an intimate touch. Not while you’re so...”

I stopped myself from saying vulnerable.

But she must have heard it anyway. “You think I’m weak?”

“Not weak. Never weak.” That was the last way I’d ever characterize my mate.

“But I am vulnerable? How is that different?” she demanded. She squirmed in my arms, and I relinquished my hold on her, placing her on her feet.

“Weakness shows one’s lack of strength,” I told her, searching her eyes for proof she was listening—that she understood. “Vulnerability is an acceptance of it.”

She stared at me for a moment before rolling her eyes. “I don’t see how.”

“Strong people allow themselves to be vulnerable.” I reached out and placed my palm against her cheek, allowing the darkness inside me to call to her. “Strong people know they need other people.”

She took a deep breath. “Isn’t this the island where you came to be alone for decades?”

I knew what she was saying, and I didn’t blame her for calling me out. “I’m a hypocrite, right?”

“That’s not exactly what I’m saying,” she said quickly.

But I smiled and drew my hand away before I overwhelmed her with my own magic. She seemed to settle as it found its way through her. “I was not strong before I met you.”

“I’ve seen you in action. I doubt that very much,” she pointed out. “You’ve killed, like, thousands of vampires.”

“Never mistake violence for strength, my love,” I said, letting that darkness inside me show. “I never mastered my magic. There was too little of it before to bother. At best, I ignored it. That’s not strength.”

“And now? I feel your magic,” she whispered. “It’s not weak. It vibrates through you. It calls to me, and it’s getting louder.”

“So is yours.” Her cantatio, her blood song, was no longer a whisper in her veins heard only by vampires. Other creatures would hear it when they met. Each day it grew louder and more devastating in its beauty.

“We balance each other. Magic to magic...” She trailed away as she recalled the prophecy.

“Darkness to darkness.” I drew my thumb across her bottom lip, and she shuddered, leaning into me. “Does it scare you?”

She peeked up at me through her lashes before nodding slightly. “A little.”

I heard the apology in her words, and I knew another sorry was poised on her lips.

“Thank you for being vulnerable,” I said before she could speak.

“I guess I could say the same,” she said, biting her lower lip.

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