Page 30 of Until the Heart Stops
My body responded as it had the night she’d drunk my blood. I’d woken in my coffin to a new rhythm inside my chest. When I’d realized what she’d done, I hadn’t been able to stem the joy and desire that flooded me. Desire she’d returned, and we’d both put tinder to the flames until I’d been fisting my cock in my coffin and coming to the sound of her cries in my mind.
Now she was standing at the river, staring out at thewater, but unlike the first night I’d seen her she had no thoughts of jumping. She was remembering the feel of my tongue on her skin and wishing I had not left. There was a bitter tinge to her memories while she thought of all the times I’d vanished.
Times when, if I had not left, I would have surely ruined everything.
I threw on fresh clothes, brushed back my hair and secured it with my usual ribbon. I needed to see her, just for a moment, just to ensure she was safe. But duty had a hold on my throat and, though I wanted nothing more than to step onto the ledge and slip through the window, I turned away from it and toward our shared parlor.
Mateo sat in his usual armchair, elbows resting on his knees and eyes trained on the fire.
“Is she talking yet?”
He ran a hand over his face before pinching the bridge of his nose. “No. Henry’s drawn her a bath. This time was worse than the others. I think she was too close.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “That was my fault. If I hadn’t been late…”
The words trailed off. If I hadn’t been late, she would have been farther from the woman and Gabrielle’s horrifying power might not have taken such a hold. For, if too close, her power she had inherited from her human magic forced her to experience the pain and terror of any mortal nearby. She had experienced that woman’s torture tonight and her subsequent death—no doubt now she was pressing a hand to her breast to assure herself her heart still beat.
“Don’t blame yourself. She knew what she risked,” Mateo murmured, reaching one hand toward me.
Closing the distance between us, I took it, squeezing tight. He rested his forehead on my knuckles, breathing deep. Mateo bore the responsibility of protecting usheavily on his shoulders; it was why he spoke for us regardless of who had news. My mind was the strongest against Mael’s probing, but what Mateo might have lacked in finesse, he made up for in his unwavering loyalty to us.
I rested a palm against the back of his head, the familiar texture of his braids against my skin a comfort as it had been for almost a thousand years. He took another deep breath and I knew there were a multitude of things he wished to say, but we weren’t safe here in our maker’s home.
“Will you go out tonight to check on the market?” he asked.
A muscle ticked in my jaw. “Gabrielle…”
Mateo leaned back, covering the back of my hand with his. “Is in Henry’s capable hands and would not want you hovering.” I shook my head but Mateo rose and guided me toward one of the floor-to-ceiling windows, voice dropping low enough no one would manage to hear even if they were standing beside us. “Go to her, Callum, ease your weary heart.”
He pressed his forehead to mine for a brief moment before turning away and back to the fire. I hesitated, hand on the ornate iron latch, watching as he fell back into his chair. My question for Lilith had been the same as the one I had for Mateo:Who takes care of you?Centuries ago, I’d done my best to take up the mantle, knowing that I had been made to keep him in line and bring him to heel when he tried to rebel against Mael. Caring for him was the least I could do. But he was stubborn, just like Lilith. And just like Lilith, loneliness dripped from him like blood from a wound.
I opened my mouth to say anything that might be a comfort, but no words came out. So I closed it, turned the latch and shot into the sky.
Vampires of a certain age all possessed the power of flight. It was a matter of will and manipulation of the elements, or so Mael had explained one night before he pushed me off the tallest tower of his palace. I’d broken every bone in my body that night and subsequent nights until I’d found the skill.
The bond between Lilith and I shimmered. She was in her apartment. Flashes of the altar below the window came every so often. Candles burst into life, offerings placed within their proper bowls. I wondered if she had bought a bowl for her mother or if she was still afraid to. I’d been tempted to buy it for her but thought better of it.
Every cell in my body told me to go to her. I ached for even just the sight of her. My chest squeezed painfully. Later, I would have time to look my fill before the night was done. Instead, I moved toward the outskirts of Oylen and the great mansion nestled within the vibrant forest.
Eamon waited for me on the second-story balcony, leaning against the rails. His black hair was swept back from his face, curling around his collar, but a few strands blew into his eyes as I landed beside him.
“What is it?” He reached out an arm, drawing me close. Before me was the greatest male I’d ever known—brave and strong, the kind of vampire I’d wished time and time again had sired us. And here before me was the only one with whom I knew I could share my secret. But those ancient eyes saw right through me and his face which had at first pinched into an expression of fear now melted into one of shock.
His brows furrowed. “Who?”
“Lilith…Lilith Searah.”
Chapter 15
For eight nights I had not seen Callum.
I had felt him through the bond, even caught flashes of light, tiny snippets of his thoughts. A few times I’d caught the image of my face in his mind and the bittersweet longing attached to it made my throat ache. But there were long stretches where the bond appeared to close, as if he was shutting a door on his end, and I couldn’t reach him. Occasionally a few wisps of emotion slipped through, but they were muddled, only the approximation of feeling.
They scared me all the same becausehewas afraid.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Adrienne murmured while I brushed back her hair.
With a sigh, I started her braid, trying not to think about Callum or this connection he’d forged between us. When Adrienne had returned from her family’s house that morning, I hadn’t had the stomach to tell her about what had happened, let alone inform Noah when he trudged through the door covered in black blood and half asleep.
