Page 49 of Bitten By Hope

“You did? How? Did I find the answer to life longevity?”

“In a way, you did,” I said, indulging in his innocence.

“But how? You must tell me all. If only you knew the pain I suffered when I thought I lost you. I still cannot believe you returned.”

If only he knew. “It wasn’t easy.” I opened up.

“Why? Did something happen in the future? Something between us?”

I feared saying too much. What if it spooked him? “You found a way to be with me. But that decision, in turn, created many difficult repercussions.”

“How so?”

“Well, you see…You sealed your fate.” I feared looking at him.

“It doesn’t seem like a preposterous idea to me. I always thought I would seal it for you. If it became a choice between living in the village or in The Other Realm, I wouldn’t hesitate to pick.”

“Well, about that. You did stand before such a decision. Your choice changed the entire history of The Other Realm and even The Ordinary Realm.”

“I cannot imagine how,” he said.

I hesitated to tell him, so I went with a different approach. “We also have a daughter.”

“We do? That is the greatest news you could tell me. I always feared we wouldn’t get to have kids. Where is she now? What’s her name?” Gabriel’s eyes sparkled.

“Her name is Athena, and she’s staying with my parents.”

“Why didn’t you bring her here?”

“I feared it might sway you.”

“From what?”

“From sealing your fate.”

“There’s something you’re not telling me. What is it?”

It was now or never. “In order to reach me in time, you became a vampire.”

“What is that?” he asked.

“A superior form ofstrigoi.”

I thought Gabriel would exclaim at my words, but instead, he remained silent. Too silent.

“Say something,” I pleaded.

“There is nothing to say. If the only way to be with you was to become an unnatural being, then I made the right choice.”

“I wish to tell you this was the end of the story, but there’s more.”

He remained silent.

“The only person offering to help you become a vampire was Vedoma, and she manipulated you into sacrificing your firstborn.”

“Our daughter?”

“You didn’t know it at the time, so don’t feel bad.”

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