Page 7 of Crimson Everlasting
“It’s so wonderful not being the oldest.”
"You'll find vampires much older than me at the coven and some of the hellhounds, or well over a thousand," Trent commented lightly.
“Hellhounds.” He blurted. “You have hellhounds at the coven.”
“Two are officers with the Crimson police department.”
"I bet they're good at their jobs," Emrys stated sarcastically.
“Very good.”
They fell silent for a few minutes, and then Emrys asked. "Why didn't you claim me?" Trent pushed the lovely red hair back from Emrys's face and stared lovingly into those green eyes.
“I thought you were simply human, and I wanted to make sure it was something you wanted. I didn’t want to force you to bond with me. I will cause changes in you physically, and you will become my primary source for blood. I can't feed from another once we bond. That’s a lot to drop without getting permission.” He stated it as gently and honestly as he could.
"That was very thoughtful of you, Trent. You're intelligent, powerful, gallant, and thoughtful. What a man you are, my love.” Emrys kissed him lightly and then rolled on top of him, straddling his waist. "So, what are these changes I’ll endure once we are bonded?" He lay his head on Trent's chest, and Trent wrapped his arms around him.
"You'll be able to read my emotions, and we'll be able to communicate with our minds and emotions. It's not exactly words, but we'll feel each other's needs and fears and any strong emotion.” Trent was on cloud nine with his chosen in his arms and all explanations being simple and basic.
“I can sense some of that already.” He commented.
“Fate prepares us with gentle nudges and growing connections. It’s all in our destiny.” Trent spoke softly. “You’ll no longer be immortal, but you will still live a very long time. Your lifespan will mirror mine. I hope that isn't a deal breaker." He heard Emrys laugh.
“I’ve lived several lifetimes already. Immortality was not my choice. My choice is you, Trent. It will always be you." That statement caused a flutter in Trent’s heart that flooded him with a warm and endearing regard for the man in his arms.
"And I will always choose you, sweetheart, always.” Trent felt a quiver catch in his throat at the honesty and the, dare he say it, love in his lover's tone.
“I feel the connection, and I feel your heart, Trent. You're everything I want and everything I need." He slid to the side and once again snuggled close. "It's late, let's rest and continue this talk in the morning.” He suggested. “For now, I just want to hold you and feel the promise that you represent.” Again, Trent was floored by his candor. There were no games, no caginess; he was open and clear with where he stood and what he wanted.
“I knew you on some level the moment I saw you crouched down at the edge of that stream. I didn’t put the feelings and the sense of peace together right away. I desperately wanted to get to know you, but it took a few minutes to realize that you were the one. You were the one I’d waited so long for, the one who would stand with me in life and love forever." Trent followed his declaration with a possessive kiss, which Emrys eagerly reciprocated.
“We’ve sent out word to everyone from here to New York in search of a human over the age of one hundred and twenty-five years.” Cullen stepped into the room where Fergus lay with his parents on either side, holding his hands and desperately hoping for a miracle.
"Thank you, Cullen," Quinn said without taking his eyes off Fergus. "My father has left to meet with his contacts in hopes of finding something that will cure our dear boy.”
"This can't be the first time something like this has happened. There must be something we're missing." Alexander looked at Cullen, pleading for something, anything. Cullen feltan all-encompassing, crippling sense of inadequacy at that moment.
"We will find something, Alexander, I give you my word." With that, he left the room and sent an emergency alert to every soldier and guard, to every member of the Crimson Coven, to respond with a thought or a possibility, no matter how extreme or unlikely. He needed ideas, and the Crimson Coven was full of them. Fergus would not die.
Trent woke to his phone alarm going off. It was a Coven alert that was for dire emergencies and required everyone to respond and/or convene as soon as possible, depending upon your location. He immediately sat up and opened the message. “Oh my God.” He mumbled with his heart suddenly in his throat. The message was catastrophic. "Oh my God." He said again, the shock and pain etched on his face.
Emrys sat up and put his arm around Trent. He was equally shaken by his worry, which was evident. "What is it, Trent? What's wrong?"
“Fergus Ravenscroft Stone, the sixteen-year-old son of Alexander and Quinn and heir to the Crimson Coven, is dying.” Just saying the words wrenched a panicked gasp from him. “It’s an unknown blood disease. He’s unconscious and fading.”
“They must have a cure. What have they tried?” Emrys was asking.
“The only thing that can cure him is the purified blood of a human born before nineteen hundred. Those that are bonded no longer possess the enzyme they require it has to be a human over the age of one hundred twenty-five years.” Trent shook his head as the reality hit him. “There is no chance that such a human exists.”
Emrys took him by the arm and forcefully turned Trent to face him. "Look at me, Trent." He stated his eyes traveling over Trent's face. "It's me, that's why we met now instead of later, it wasn't for our welfare, it was for his." It took Trent a moment to catch up to what Emrys was saying, and then it hit him.
“You’re an Everlasting.” He said the words slowly with a growing understanding and enthusiasm. “You can cure him.”
“I can cure him.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Trent sent a text immediately as they hurriedly got dressed and ran to his car in the lot. “My chosen is an Everlasting. He’s two hundred and fifty-three years old. He can cure Fergus. We're at the Riverside Hotel, and we will be at the Coven Mansion in a few minutes."
