Page 54 of Queen of Ashes and Scars
A small smile twists his lips. “So eager… Did you guys have a fight? Are you angry?”
“No.”
“Lonely, then? Are you jealous of her vampires?”
“No.”
The suspicious arch of his brows melts, and he nods like he finally believes me. “It’ll take months before you can control your new powers. You’ll have to come to the US with me, and meet the others. When you’re ready, we can come back here, and vampires and angels can truly work together to change the world for the better.”
The stiffness in my spine eases. “Okay.”
“And ye’ll need to feed on humans, too. Even though angels can eat food, you can’t kid yourself into believing you won’t crave blood. Or that you could learn to live without it.”
“I figured.”
“And you won’t be as strong as me for a long, long while.”
It’s my turn to frown, my arms almost shaking from the doubt in his tone. “Are you trying to talk me out of this?”
He takes a deep breath in, his chest heaving under his white cotton shirt, this mountain of a man finally crumbling in front of me. “Not at all,” he whispers, and the sound is husky, intimate.
I blush crimson at the tenderness in his eyes.
“Leo…I dreamed of this moment, yearned for it even. Do you know how long it’s been since I turned someone like you? Someone who has the right DNA to become a true sire?”
“A sire?”
“Yes. I believe that, with time, you will become as powerful as I am, Leo. A sire is an angel who can create others with his venom.”
My mouth dries up. “Are there many?”
His eyes dim, now almost gray instead of blue. “I’m the last one, actually.”
My breath catches in my throat at the weight of his revelation. “It must be so lonely…”
He offers me a small smile. “It is.”
“Am I interrupting something?” Arielle’s tone is curious as she tiptoes inside the room with her arms linked at her back, and yet a tinge of worry dances in her piercing gaze.
“Ye should tell her of our plans before we proceed.” Keenan’s lips curl in the shadow of a smile. “But I do hope she won’t change yer mind.”
“I did talk to her. She supports my decision.”
Keenan smiles, his whole demeanor changed by my admission. His clouded eyes brim with joy as he looks between the both of us. Joy and something else. Something…darker. “Ye do?”
“Yes, but I have questions, too.”
My cheeks flush even more at the knowledge that she eavesdropped on our discussion as Keenan waves her over.
His gaze travels between us, and he scratches the angle of his jaw with his lips slightly parted, as though an important idea just occurred to him. “I know ye’re not exactly looking forward to feeding on humans, Leo, but to transition, ye have to drink blood until yer prey is near death.”
Arielle slips her hand into mine, and my heartbeats finally settle down. “I figured…neardeath, though? Not dead?” I’ve got the feeling he’s easing me in, his mouth tensed at the corners.
“I sure hope not. Ye see, Leo, vampires like Arielle transition when they drink human blood. But to catch my disease, ye’re going to feed from me.”
“But I thought—” my brows pull together. “You?”
“Aye. Almost all of me.”
