Page 98 of Vows Forged in Blood

“Dahlia!” Alaric gasps. “Dahlia, can you hear me!?”

“Is she waking??” I hear another voice ask.Enid??

“About damn time,” Elias says, though I can tell there’s relief beneath the humor. He huffs out a small “oof” as if someone’s smacked him in the stomach.

“Come on, my Lady,” Takara says. “I know how much you hate when I call you that, so wake up and tell me off about it.”

“Wake, my wee firebrand.”Da. My father’s voice makes my heart twist. So many people that I love all in one place. All waiting for me.

“Dahlia?” Alaric says again, voice low and close to my ear.

Just when I think I can’t take another second of the fire, it extinguishes all at once and the silvery light explodes into a shower of sparkling diamonds that float down all around me before everything turns black once more.

Welcome,the voice whispers from the darkness.

I am alive.

I am turned.

I am a vampire.

Chapter 50

DAHLIA

“Ibelieve you promised to beg,” I rasp before cracking open my eyes to find Alaric staring down at me, pink-tinged tears streaming down his cheeks. A broken sound rips free from his chest, something between a sob and a laugh and suddenly I’m up and in his arms and his face is buried in my neck.

“Dahlia, Dahlia, Dahlia.” He says my name over and over, like a prayer. I wrap my arms around him, squeezing tightly. I can’t imagine what he must have been feeling all this time while I was…dead. I realize then that I truly must have died for the turning to have been successful—and the fangs in my mouth and the burning thirst in the back of my throat tell me that it was, in fact, successful.Holy. Shite.

This is a lot to process all at once, so I take a deep breath and try to focus on one thing at a time.

“I’m…I’m turned?” It comes out as a question, though I know that it’s true.

Alaric pulls away and cradles my face between his big hands, nodding and looking incredibly worried.

“Are you alright, love? How are you feeling? I know it can be overwhelming at first.”

I blink as all the new details of his face register, all the different colors in his golden eyes, the shades of blue and black in his hair.Holy fucking hells. I knew vampires had enhanced senses and thought I’d gotten a glimpse when I’d taken so much of Alaric’s blood after the attack on the road all those months ago, but I truly had no idea what it was really like. I can see dust mites dancing in the air, can hear hearts beating around us, can smell too many scents to even catalog or comprehend. Itisoverwhelming, every one of my senses being assaulted by too much stimuli at once, but it’s also amazing. I’m in utter awe of the beauty around me, of the fact that I can see and hear and smell everything so vividly. It’s like I’m seeing the world for the very first time—and what a brilliant world it is.

I don’t thank the gods nearly as often as I should, but I thank them now for giving me this gift. I will be thanking them every day for the rest of…forever. I gasp inwardly but shake myself. The thought is a little too daunting to think about right now, so I save it to ponder later.

“I’m…ok,” I say slowly, because I am. I’ll get used to everything soon enough, I know. I’ll find a way to adjust to these new changes in my body and mind and adapt to this new version of myself. The most important thing is that I’m alive. I’m here, with Alaric. I lean in to kiss him then, unable to stop myself, and his entire body shudders as our lips meet.Gods. If I thought kissing Alaric before was intoxicating, now it’s downright life-altering. The taste of him. The feel of him. Lust rockets through my body, but also…bloodlust. My fangs snap longer from my gums, extending fully and nicking my tongue. I gasp in surprise and Alaric moans softly when he tastes the blood. I pull away and cover my mouth with my hand.

“It’s ok, love. It takes some getting used to, I’ve been told.”

I stare at him, the need for blood temporarily put aside as an intense, overwhelming feeling of love for this man consumes me entirely. A voice I’ve never heard before echoes through my mind, sure and demanding:yours.

“You’re mine too,” I whisper in wonder, realizing what the voice is, what these feelings mean. “You’re my mate. You always have been, really, but…well, now it makes sense.”

“Ok, ok, he’s your mate, but I’m your sister, and I need to hug you now,” Enid says as she rushes forward. I huff out a laugh and Alaric brushes hair from my forehead before leaning in close to kiss me on the temple.

He whispers, “be gentle with her, Keeva,” reminding me of my new strength. He pulls back and smiles before letting me go and sliding out of the way. He must have complete faith in me—Elias as well—that I won’t hurt her, and I try to take that as a good sign. I don’t want to be a danger to my human family and friends. I turn and Enid flies at me, wrapping her arms around me and sobbing into my hair. I can feel the strength roiling through my body and take Alaric’s words to heart, being as gentle as I can as I hug her back. I can also feel the lifeblood pumping through her body, can smell the sweet perfume of it and my mouth waters, but it isn’t the crazed, insatiable thirst that I envisioned. I don’t feel like an animal who might rip her throat out any second. Perhaps it had been that way once upon a time after a turning, but after so many years of replicated blood, of the need to hunt all but eliminated, they—we—must have evolved. The thirst for blood is there, of course, but it isn’t an all-consumingneed.

“I was so scared, Lia,” she whispers. “I thought you were going to leave me forever.”

“Never,” I promise fiercely. “Never.”

We stay locked together, saying everything without saying a word, for long, long moments. Eventually she lets out ashuddering breath and I know that she’s ok. I pull away and eye her critically.

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