Page 34 of To Kill a Vampire
The weather shifts from bearable to humid, and I can feel the rising sun threatening the horizon.
In just a few short strides, Declan is at my side. Silence settles between us, an almost comfortable feeling between him and me.
Thoughts circle my mind, building the longer we allow this quiet into our lives. It’s as if I’ve been given a free moment to think, and I finally have the courage to ask what’s been on my mind for weeks.
“Why did you do it, Declan?”
My eyes open to the beautiful, serene sky with its white washed hues of pink and gold, a look of innocence in the pure heavens.
For an instant his warm arm brushes against mine, reminding me of his closeness.
“I – I didn’t know you well when they asked me to bring you to them.”
His words are quiet, and the stillness of my heart almost drives me mad as my emotions begin to tumble through my tight chest.
“All my life I’ve been pushed out. I thought it was only a matter of time here. It isn’t safe alone in the wild. For years I went to the Red Hills, mostly for isolation and peace, a moment of silence to think. One day during the silence, a voice spoke to me.”
A chill crawls down my spine as I recall Atticus’ cryptic voice.
“He said it could be me who broke the curse to release them.” He heaves a shaky breath, his hands pushing into his pockets. “He said we could change the world. He said you were the one; the one he could see in his dreams. The one who would change it all”
Slowly, I look at him, his silver eyes catching the fiery colors of the sky he’s so focused on. It’s as if he’s lost in a memory … or he doesn’t have the nerve to look me in the eye.
“When I got to know you, the real you, I told him I wouldn’t do it. But it didn’t matter. You wanted to go. It’s as if everything fell imperfectly into place.”
My chests rises and falls rapidly as my fists clench at my sides. “It didn’t fall into place; you forced it. They forced it into place. None of this is by chance, Declan.”
“It is, love.”
“No, you had a choice. I had a choice.” His eyes drift closed as my voice grows louder. “We’re friends. You were supposed to be my friend.”
His jaw tightens before he opens his eyes to me. Iron-like posture fills his frame.
“They would have gotten to you with or without me. Their voices would have crawled inside your mind without my help.” My lips part as I recall the way Atticus’ voice slithered through my thoughts. “That’s what fate means, love. You can’t force destiny. Acceptance will only make you stronger.”
Declan turns from me, walking away, leaving me alone once again. When he’s only a few feet away, his shoulders fall; his normally confident demeanor slips. “For the record, you are my friend, Fallon.” My breath shudders out before I bite my lip, biting the emotions back. “Possibly the only one I have.”
The tension shatters within me. When he’s finally gone, I can’t stop the tears from slipping down my cheeks.
Seventeen
Surviving Isn’t Living
Asher
“We need to be careful.”
My jaw tics as I stare at the hybrid. “She’s fine.”
“I hear she almost killed Luca.”
With annoyance I close my eyes before settling my anger on Declan. “That’s an exaggeration.”
“Gabriel exaggerated?”
Gabriel said Fallon almost killed Luca?
For a few seconds he’s caught me off guard, and his annoying smirk returns as I gape at him.
