Page 50 of Taken By the Vampires
I sucked in a quick breath. I’d read that name every day since childhood. The same name that was etched into the front cover of my Grimoire. My great grand-mother three times removed.
“Only a witch with equal power will free us. You are that witch, Ella. You are our freedom.”
Chapter Thirty Five
No, no. No, no, NO! I was not that person. They had it all wrong. I had no power. I’d tried every spell in that Grimoire and nothing had ever happened.
“I’m no witch. I have no magic. There’s nothing at all inside me.”
“You are stronger than you think you are, Tu Ena.”
Was I? I didn’t feel strong. In fact, I was a nervous wreck. “If I had magic, don’t you think I’d have tried to get out of Conway? Don’t you think I would cure my mother?” My nails dug into my palms when I clenched my fists.
My mind reeled. If I could have, I’d have done anything to leave Conway. To cure Mom. I’d do anything.Anything…
“How am I ever going to be able to save you?”
Xander sent me a long look. “We have to share blood. It is the only way to break the curse.”
But, we’d already shared blood.
“You bit me?”
“Only to heal you,” Davon said.
“And to give you pleasure.” Xander’s dark words hung between us, filled with promise. My hand automatically went to my neck, pressing against the tiny, twin holes. My body warmed and tightened in response to the intense climax that had flowed through me at the bite.
He had bitten me, but not to drain me or feed from me, or any of the other things that had been made up about Vampires since the beginning of time. His bite was magical. His bite wasecstasy.
The slight smile on Xander’s mouth let me know he knew exactly what I was feeling. I forced my eyes to Cassius. It was safer. Marginally.
“We have onlygivento you, Tu Ena. That is the way we cure. We freely offer blood. To cure us, we have totakefrom you. It has to be freely offered,” Cassius said.
My mind circled, narrowing down, searching for what they wanted from me. “So, if I freely offer you my blood, because I’m your…mate, then you’ll be free? I can break your curse?”
Davon shifted while Cassius looked downright uncomfortable. Xander looked grimmer than usual. They were all quiet. Too quiet, and my nerves were already shattered. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“It’s not that simple, Ella.” Cassius’ voice was grave.
“It’s true, you can free us, but nothing is without a cost,” Davon said.
My gaze slid to Xander. Held. He gave nothing away but there was a whole story in the shadows of his eyes. I needed to know that story. “And what is the cost. Xander? Tell me. What is that cost?”
Moments stretched like my nerves thin and tight. “Tell me!” My hands fisted, nails digging into my flesh.
“Tell her, Xander. She must know what she enters into,” Cassius spoke.
Xander’s head dropped, his fingers tensed on his thighs. “You’re our mate, Ella. The only one for us. I have bitten you twice now. Enough for you to start feeling us and awaken the bond, but if you share your blood with us, it will seal our bond. Our souls will merge. We all will become one. We will become…more.”
I waited for his words to unravel and make sense. I picked out the big ones. Mate. Blood. Souls. Merge. “What does that mean…exactly?”
“It means we will always be joined. Mind. Body. Spirit. Soul. You will know us on all levels, subconscious and conscious, and we will know you. Our lives will be shared for now and ever more. It means we will always have you, and you will always have us. Linked on the most intimate of levels.” The words fell as stones breaking a still water, dropping in and rippling out, disrupting the surface in concentric, growing circles, making everything off-kilter.
“There’s no going back, Ella. Once we share blood, it cannot be reversed,” Cassius said.
“If we bond, we cannot separate. You’ll need to live with us,” Davon said.
“Or we will live with you. But the sharing of blood needs to be competed on a regular basis,” Cassius said.
