Page 57 of Taken By the Vampires
Damn them for treating me so well. So kind. Thoughtful. Knowing what I had to do would be easier if they were assholes. Or if they drained humans. Or killed indiscriminately. Or murdered babies.
I teetered on the bottom step of the porch. “Where’s the bear?” That huge animal had been close by, but now there was nothing but pristine snow and a few flurries of snowflakes.
“We didn’t kill the bear, Ella. We only take what we need but not enough to take life. Ever. It probably woke up and wondered off some time later. No worse for wear,” Davon said.
I blinked up at him. Now I couldn’t even accuse them of indiscriminately killing animals for their food. He smiled and his handsome face become devastating. My heart picked up its pace, attuned to his feelings towards me. I quickly looked away, focusing on the falling snowflakes that were quickening as we spoke. “It looks like another storm is coming in.”
“It has been three hundred years of storms. They come and go. Some worse than others,” Cassius said.
“All the time? What about summer?”
“All we have is winter here. We make the most of the breaks when they come,” Cassius said.
My breath fogged and I stamped my feet. It was getting colder as we spoke. That was…miserable. If I ever saw my ancestor in the afterlife, I’d make it my mission to curse her exactly like this.
“You’re getting cold, Ella. It’ll only get worse. When you return, no doubt a storm will be in full swing. Call us and we will come and get you.” Xander stepped off the step and onto the snow.
“How will you hear me?” I asked.
“We will feel you, Ella. We always know you’re near.” Despite the cold, Xander only wore fitted pants and a shirt. He held his hand out to me, waiting. “Come, we will take you to the barrier. Your vehicle is not far from there.”
I sucked in a deep lungful of air as I placed my hand in his. His elegant fingers closed around mine. He aided my balance as I stepped onto the snow and we trudged through drifts of the stuff along a path I couldn’t see.
To my surprise, we passed a rose bush in full bloom. Frost made the delicate petals blacken a little at the edges. Crisp white frost had created a layer of white particles that covered the deep red. The bush was covered in small buds, barely matured to full blooms. Around the base of the bush were piles of fallen red petals, looking like drops of blood against the white snow.
I sank knee deep in snow as we wound our way through frozen trees, their branches laid low by piles of the frozen stuff. As we walked, the flurries came down harder and more insistent. The air chilled even more, nearly hurting my lungs when I breathed.
This was more than cold. This bordered on permafrost. Ginevra must have been filled with so much hate to have created this hell. If she hadn’t sunk to these depraved depths, I might have felt sorry for her, but as it was, I became angrier and angrier at what she’d done.
“Why do you feel such rage?” Davon asked.
My breath stuttered. I’d forgotten how much they could feel me. I only hoped I’d been able to disguise my feelings well enough. “I…hate what Ginevra did to you. It’s…inhuman. She condemned you. Killed your father. This curse is…” How did I describe something so horrific? And they’d suffered for three hundred years. Even people who committed horrendous crimes and were sentenced to life in prison didn’t suffer for so many years.
Ginevra was my ancestor. I was tainted by her deeds. How could they forgive me?
Davon took me in his arms and I let him. I wound my arms around his waist, taking pleasure in feeling him against me. Knowing it would be my last touch like this. “Don’t be sad for us, Ella. Being cursed led you to us. That is more than we could ever hope for. Having a mate, abond. It is a true gift from the Goddess. Only very few souls since the beginning of humankind have been blessed like this. Knowing this has kept us sane for all this time. So don’t be sad. Be happy that we’ll be joined.” He plowed his fingers through my hair. I pressed my cheek to his chest, fighting to keep my tears away. “I know you don’t fully understand. If you were well into your powers, you would know that this is something to be rejoiced and not afraid of. But you will know soon. We are blessed. All four of us. Truly blessed.”
I grit my teeth to stop my stomach bringing up everything. He slowly tipped my head back so that I was forced to look up at him. “This is where we say goodbye, Ella. The path is just beyond those trees. But first, before you go, I want to give you something to think about.”
He dipped his head and captured my mouth with his. He didn’t hold back. This was a kiss not like Davon usually gave. This kiss was commanding. It took and gave and stole and churned everything up inside me, and then obliterated it all into a world of just being and feeling and accepting. Until all I was aware of was how much he loved me. Exactly how he cared for me. How deep and strong and pure his emotions were toward me.
My head was a haze. The kiss ended and Cassius held me against him. “We all feel the same way about you, Ella. Letting you go right now is the hardest thing we’ve ever had to do. But this will be something to bring you back into our arms.” Cassius kissed me next. Intense. Ardent. Fueled by passion, desire and an edge of desperation. I clung to him as he used my mouth to convey a torrent of emotion. Until I knew how much I was going to destroy him when I refused them.
I panted, my breath rough when Xander pulled me to him. His eyes blazed, but his touch was so, so gentle when he threaded his fingers through my hair. “You can never do wrong in our eyes, Ella. We see the beauty of your soul. We know you’ll find the right path.”
With those cryptic words, he used his lips and tongue and teeth to make me realize how fierce he felt about me. It was humbling. Amazing. Frightening.
When he finished plundering my mouth, he set me back, keeping his hands on me until the strength returned to me legs, my head stopped spinning, and rational thoughts started to flow through my mind once more.
“There.” He pointed over my shoulder. It took me a moment to see Gary’s red truck through the falling snow. “Do you see it?”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak without a torrent of tears falling.
“Be back soon, Ella.” Davon walked me down a short path. A pain-filled cry filled the air. I spun to see Davon sprawled on his back, his face scrunched in pain. He moaned and clutched his arm. I fell on my knees at his side, hands fluttering uselessly over his arm, “Davon. Davon! What’s wrong?”
He panted heavily, slowing raising his arm. At the end of his sleeve, there was only a faint outline of his hand, transparent and ghost-like. A sob broke from me from deep down inside. I placed shaking fingers over my mouth as I stared hopelessly at his barely-there hand.
Davon panted through clenched teeth. “It’s started, Ella. Somehow the curse is escalating.”
