Page 45 of Across the Sapphire Sea
“And I did not let him go easily. I fought him. I’d have enslaved him if I could, but his friend Livia helped him escape me. The Dozen were consulted and banished me to the north to protect Laurence. I’m not proud of any of it.”
“Well, at least that cannot happen to us,” said Elias. “I’ve no one but you that I love.” He’d hoped to learn something from this tale that would help solve the tension in their relationship. Only there was nothing to be gained from this knowledge but sorrow.
“I don’t want to lose you,” said Valeri.
Elias forced a confidence into his voice that he didn’t feel. “You won’t.”
* * *
Valeri, Present, 1432 Common Era
Valeri clung to Elias as his beloved slept against his chest. The sun had nearly set; he could feel the night embracing them in their earthen grave. But Elias was young in the blood, and slow to wake, so Valeri took the opportunity to memorize the precious feel of him in his arms. Because one night, despite what Elias had said, he would leave, and Valeri would let him go.
He’d made a solemn vow to that effect, and no matter the pain separation would cause, he’d not go back on his word. Above all, Valeri wanted Elias to be happy, a goal at which he’d failed spectacularly. Instead, he’d squelched Elias’s innate sweetness and turned him irritable, anxious, and worse…undeniably miserable. A deep melancholy lingered in Elias’s burnt-umber eyes, and Valeri had put it there.
Worse still, he could not seem to stop. Relentless driving anger prickled constantly beneath the surface. When the fury became too much to contain, it was Elias who bore the lash’s sting. Cruel words, careless touches, little betrayals. Valeri failed to control them, thus he hurt the one he loved most. Not once or twice, but nightly. A habit, and one he could not break.
Elias stirred at his side.
No, not yet. Do not wake yet. Only a few minutes longer.
Valeri stroked his spine, easing him back to slumber.
Elias used to fall asleep with his fingers tangled in Valeri’s hair, just behind his ear. Then, Valeri had snapped at him for it, called him childish of all things. He regretted the words the moment they left his lips but was too proud to take them back. Elias hadn’t curled his hair since, and Valeri missed the gentle affection more than he missed the sun’s warmth on his shoulders.
Letting his mind wander, Valeri suppressed a chuckle at the dichotomy his fledgling presented. Elias would fuck him like a wildcat then snuggle into his side like a kitten and twirl his hair. Effortlessly charming. Valeri couldn’t bear to share him with anyone, so he’d kept Elias’s sweetness all to himself.
But Valeri had ruined him, like he ruined everything he touched.
Laurence had been a kind man before Valeri sank his claws in. He’d turned Laurence into an angry and untrusting soul driven to escape him by any means necessary. Because that is what Valeri did to people. He deserved to be alone.
Though he wasn’t alone quite yet.
Elias lifted his head and pressed a kiss to Valeri’s throat. “Good evening.”
Valeri cupped the back of his head. “Go ahead.”
Neatly piercing a vein, Elias sealed his lips over the punctures and drank. Valeri basked in the sensation, holding Elias close. He wished to have this every night for the rest of his life, but the rumblings of the end already threatened.
Would Elias look at him differently now that he knew what Valeri had done to Laurence? Would he side with them if it came to that? Perhaps he should tell Elias all he knew…
Elias licked the wounds closed and kissed the wet spot, sending a pleasant shiver down Valeri’s spine. “Thank you.”
“Always.” Valeri didn’t loosen his embrace.
Elias laid his head upon his chest. “The others will be waiting on us.”
“Fuck the others.” Valeri knew Elias was all too conscious of his status as the weakest among them, and he hated that it bothered him. Though Remy was younger in the blood, he’d been made uncommonly strong thanks to Mahu. The ancient vampire had helped Laurence turn him, and without that help, the whelp would have died. But there were no ancients dawdling about when Valeri had turned Elias.
“I don’t want to waste any more of their time,” said Elias. “They must wait long enough on me as it is, Valeri. I don’t want to be a burden.”
Valeri stroked the delicate arch of his lower back. “You could never be a burden.”
“You cannot expect me to believe that,” Elias mumbled into his chest.
Have I failed at this too? Have I made you feel like a burden? I’m sorry. Valeri often had apologies in his head for Elias that he couldn’t bring himself to voice aloud. Yet another flaw of his nature.
“All right.” Valeri gave in. “I suppose we should rise, but I’d keep you to myself all night if I could.”
