Page 56 of When Day Breaks

“It’s okay,” I tell him, trying my best to comfort him while also reassuring him that he doesn't have to finish the story.

“For one to become empty of vampire blood, you must bleed them dry. Which can take days. Longer if they contain Royal blood, which my mother did. The process consists of starving them of any substance and letting their blood drip from their body until desiccation. It’s dangerous. A moment longer and you could kill someone.” He swallows before continuing.

“Once their vampire blood has been drained, they’re able to be compelled to forget that vampires ever existed. They’ll age over the days according to their true human age and then, they’re off to try and get back to whatever life they had before.”

“How often does this happen?” I ask, cringing at the idea that anybody experiences something so cruel.

“It’s very rare. I’ve only heard of it three times in my lifetime and one of those occurrences was from an older Nocturne of a different Society before I was born. But he was way past any normal age for a human so when he turned back, he immediately died.” I bow my head, knowing that the other two occurrences he knows of were of his mom and mine, when she supposedly escaped the old king and found herself at Valor, though she did it to rid herself of one Society blood to trade for another.

"I'll never fit in with them,” he repeats, letting his words hang in a mournful perception. “I was supposed to fit in withher. Not them. There's no point." He leans back and lets the cold air find its way between us once more, the sun now shifting againstthe dark sky and disappearing to make room for the pearlescent light of the moon that rises just on the other side.

"There's no point if you won't stand to find the purpose," I steel my back and look him right in his eyes. I let my words settle between us in a soft timbre in hopes that he'll truly take in what I have to say. "If you can't stand to find the purpose, you might as well just roll over and die. Life doesn't have to be so lonely, Rivian." I recognize how strong my words are and understand that maybe I could have worded them a little differently.

But what's the point of life if we never try to find the wonder in it? Why take the next breath if you can't even fight for a little happiness, or something to believe in.

It takes Rivian a minute to register my words as I lean off the tree trunk and start to travel in the direction we came.

"I am fucking trying here!" he shouts at me, frustration tracing his tone as he walks after me.

"Try harder," I deadpan, not even worried about turning to face him as I let him seethe on his own.

I remain focused on the path ahead before I'm stopped at his feet, obviously havingmanifestedhimself before me.

"What do you want from me?" he demands, everything crashing in him at once; anguish and longing twisting in his chest. "Anything.Everything!Just tell me what you fucking want!" I hear the desperation he carries and I watch his eyes try to find their place in mine.

I know this is what I wanted all along, someone who would do anything for me. Someone who would fight for me. But I can’t come to terms with whether or not it’s too late.

I step up to him once more, but not touching him. I simply lift my head up to his—hung as he looks down at me for a response—and I part my lips before answering him.

"I want you to dance."

19

dance of ruination

Rivian

"You want me to dance?" Lucynda watches me with an intensity radiating from her gray eyes. She holds her stance as close to me as possible but still not touching me, as the light shifts against the sky.

I can't decide if bringing her here was a mistake or not. I'd like to think it wasn't, because I believe it's only fair for her to know parts of my life too, as I already know so much of hers. But so many things I've kept hidden started to unravel as we stood at my mother's driveway just knowing what was taking place in her home. A home I am not a part of. A home I craved, just as my sweet sin does. A home that was taken from me, just as I took from Lucynda.

She nods her head at my question, not wavering in her request and holding a seriousness that intrigues me. How could she want to do something as frivolous as dancing at a time like this?

"You can't be serious, Lucynda." I don't break our eye contact though as I watch the steam from our mouths dance between us. She still carries that allure with her that I've always been drawn to since the day I first laid eyes on her. And even more so now even as she's grown over the years and tried to figure out what it is she wants out of life.

"Us. I wantusto dance," she remarks, and a glistening takes place in her eyes as the snowfall reflects in them.

I look around us and see that we aren't surrounded by any houses or open space. We're tucked behind the towering pines of the forest. I'm not afraid of anyone catching me dancing, but as I stated earlier to her, the witches are free from their confines now and as the moon draws higher my concern is of them making an unwanted appearance for some sort of act of revenge. The irony.

"Right now?" I question, trying my hardest not to just pull her into my arms.

The way she stood by my side and let me layer on my grief even though pain still pinches her heart. The way she'd been brave to try and put herself in the conversation earlier, willing to partake in anything that meant mending something that she played no part in.

And it still isn't lost on me that she once tried to act in defense of me the night when chaos ensued. She was trying to protect me, wanted to prove her loyalty and love for me and I'd gone and ruined it all.

Lucynda finally closes the very minimal space between us and reaches out for my hands, closing them in her own before she takes a deep breath.

"Before I turn back into a raging lunatic out for everyone's blood for sport?" She dips her head and lets her eyes flutter shut. "Yes. I want to dance right now."

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