Bound (The Grandor Descendant Series Book 3) (49 page)

With this thought in mind, Ari closed her eyes, determined for her last thoughts to be only of happy moments. Ragon’s face came to her, his perfect green eyes, his dark hair hidden beneath a beanie. She remembered the first time he had spoken to her, when he had rescued her at the university, what felt like a lifetime ago. She had been so terrified, but even then there had been something magical about how he had saved her. Even though he had told her that he was a vampire, somewhere, deep down, she knew that she’d already begun to fall in love with him. With her eyes still closed, she remembered their first kiss, felt his cold lips touch hers, when they had been at the planetarium. How he had proposed to her, even though it meant his risking his happiness by falling in love with a mortal.

Lost in the darkness of her mind, three more faces came to her; Larissa, Cambridge and Ryder and she realised that soon she would be with them again. She would get to see Ryder’s blue eyes and Larissa’s smiling face, and maybe even hear Cambridge’s deep booming laugh, as he welcomed her to wherever she was going. She had no idea what would happen once she left this world, but she was sure she would see them again, and not just them, but also her parents.

Then out of the darkness she felt something. There was something thick and wet on her lips and she tasted a strange coppery tang… blood.

“Please,” someone said, and Ari thought that it might have been Ragon who spoke.

“I will kill you for this,” someone else said, perhaps Jamie.

Then there were loud noises, painful ones, and Ari tried to push them away, thinking only of sleep and the peace that the darkness offered, and the friends and family she might see again in death. And again she tasted the foul blood in her mouth, settling past her lips and on her tongue, as it swarmed down her throat. Then suddenly she understood… someone was trying to turn her into a vampire.

Instantly Ari thought of Jamie; her brother who was now a vampire and though she still felt the poison in her system, she became hopeful. The Grandor descendants could become immortal; Ragon and Ari could be together for ever. Then the question that she had asked herself a thousand times since falling in love with Ragon, suddenly seemed so stupid. Of course she wanted to be a vampire; of course she wanted to be his wife; of course she wanted to be with him forever. How could she have been so foolish to not realise this until now? Why would she not want to live forever with the man that had made her whole again? Why would she not want to risk humanity for a chance at happily ever after, forever?

“Are you sure that this is what she wants?” someone said, perhaps Lea, and though Ari couldn’t nod, she felt her heart screaming yes, wishing that somehow she could reassure her friend, that being a vampire was exactly what she desired.

She didn’t care that she would be intolerant to the sunlight or that she would have to drink blood; all that she wanted was to spend eternity with Ragon, and her brother and the coven.  

“How can you even ask me that?” replied a harsh voice, and Ari knew this time it was Ragon who spoke.

“You know what she will be giving up?” another person said. “If she becomes a vampire, there won’t be any more Grandor Descendants. Jamie is a vampire; he can’t pass on his magic. If Ari becomes one too, the Grandor line will end.”

Ari could tell by the reference to her destiny, it was Lea who spoke, and for one wild moment, Ari knew that she might be right. It was Ari’s responsibility to defend the innocent, and how was she supposed to do that if she became the very thing that she was supposed to protect the humans against? But she had learnt from the recent battle with the Ancients, that it wasn’t Grandor’s desire to rid the world of immortals. All Grandor wanted was for his line to do the right thing.

“If she doesn’t become a vampire, she will die,” Ragon replied.

Ari sat still, trapped in the horrible numbness of the poison. All the emotions she had felt over the past year, hit her hard in the chest. She had been through so much but now had so much, and it was all because of Ragon. She knew that whenever she needed him, he would be there for her, forever, and she didn’t want to leave him, not yet… not ever.

She felt someone pick her up, placing her lovingly in their hard cold arms.

“I love you,” whispered Ragon.

She needed to tell him that she loved him too. She needed to tell him that she wanted this; she wanted to be a vampire. She tried with all her might to fight against the poison, desperate to see his face and tell him that everything was going to be ok. Her heart was beating fast, too fast, and then Ari stopped breathing, just as her heart slowed and finally stopped.

For a second, one horrible second that seemed to stretch on for eternity, Ari thought she was dead. Then she realised that the breath she had thought she needed to take, the air that would revive her, was unnecessary. She felt her mouth twitch, and the words she had yearned to speak sprung from her lips, as her eyes flickered open.

“I love you too,” she whispered, and then everything went dark, her arms and legs falling limp by her side.

Chapter 26- SUNSHINE

Ari woke the next morning to soft rays of sunshine licking her skin. For a moment she revealed in their warmth; it had been months since the sun had managed to break through the constant overcast skies of England. Then her eyes opened wide and the events from the previous night came crashing down on her. She screamed, blurring over to the edge of the room with uncontrollable speed, and hitting the wall with an ear splitting thud, as she hid from the light that could now destroy her. She hadn’t died last night; Ragon’s venom had turned her. Ari was a vampire.

Trying to recover her composure, her hand shot out to the side, grasping onto the wall so hard that her fingernails dug into the foundation. Small pellets of concrete and timber showered her, while her eyes widened in horror at what she had done.

It really was true she thought; I’m a vampire.

A small smile spread across her face, replacing her previously horrified stare. It had taken her almost dying to realise that this, becoming a vampire, was what she really wanted. It was frustrating that it had come to that, that it had been Kiara to push Ari to the point of death, in order for her to realise it was what she wanted all along. But all of it was worth it; she would get to be with Ragon and the coven and her brother forever.

She thought hard, trying to discern what, if anything, had changed inside her. Instantly she thought of Ragon, wondering what he would think about her becoming his fledgling. Would he be happy or sad, or maybe even angry? He had always said that he would never risk turning her, that the cost of getting to keep her forever wasn’t enough for him to gamble what could be one perfect lifetime together. She had not seen or spoken with him since she’d told him that she loved him. That had been last night, before Kiara’s poison had sent her into an immediate paralytic slumber. The vampire toxin had saved her life but it had left her weak and paralysed… until now. 

But where was Ragon? Why wasn’t he here, waiting for her to wake up? This thought had barely left her when another urge overtook her, not worry, but something else. Something was wrong. Distantly she could feel it inside her, as if something was urging her to do something… but what?

A second later and Ragon burst into the room. He had been carrying a tray, but when he saw Ari crouched by the wall, it had fallen from his hands as he raced to her side, a look of terror plain on his face.

“Are you alright?” he asked, his eyes raking her skin, checking that she was just as perfect as when he had left her. “I only left your side for a second. I’ve been waiting for you to wake-up.”

Ari breathed heavily for a moment and then realised that she didn’t need to. The air that she was taking in was unnecessary, and soon she stood still as she composed herself mentally. She was about to speak when her eyes widened and she took in all the wondrous things in front of her. She could see the small flecks of light swim in her room from the open window, as speckled dust danced in the air. She could see each of the tiny threads of the sheets of her bed, and then her eyes fell on Ragon as she looked at him for the first time with immortal vision. A smile spread across her face and her eyes widened, revelling in his magnificent features.

“Ari,” Ragon said, looking at her in concern. “Say something. You’re starting to scare me. Are you upset? I know you never wanted this but, but-”

“-I’m a vampire…” Ari began, her voice breaking off, as she delighted in the sound of her immortal speech; it was like listening to bells, all ringing harmoniously in her mind, distracting her from her thoughts.

“I didn’t have a choice. Kiara, she tried to kill you. She would have if I didn’t turn you. The poison was well in your system by the time I got to you. I was with you all night, waiting for you to wake-up. When you were still under the hold of the poison, I thought, I feared, maybe I’d been too late.”

“It’s ok,” she said, letting her face break into a smile. “This is what I want.”

Instantly Ragon’s eyes found hers and he looked at her with disbelief and hope.

“But then, what’s wrong?”

“When I woke, I felt the sun and…” she faltered, her eyes tracing the small beam of light that shone through the room and rested on the bed. “I saw the sun and remembered what had happened last night, and I thought, thought that it would kill me.”

“It’s ok darling,” he said, blurring over to the curtains and pulling them shut. “I won’t ever let anything hurt you again. Kiara is dead. Jamie took her body with him last night when he went hunting and burnt it. She is gone for good now.”

Ari cringed, feeling a horror creep up on her when Ragon said Kiara’s name. Still, she delighted in this new feeling, admiring the way her skin seemed to recoil, almost as if she had wanted to shiver but now as a vampire, could not.  

“She’s dead forever,” he added.

Again Ari peered around to the windows, still too frightened to move, even though she knew that the curtains now blocked the light from reaching her.

“It’s ok my love,” he said again, reaching for her hand and taking it in his as he directed her to the centre of the room. “Soon you’ll miss the sun.”

Ari let his fingers intertwine in hers, feeling thousands of touch receptors in her hand fire as their fingertips kissed. No longer did Ragon feel cold but neutral, and with another pang of realisation, she knew that she must now be icy cold to touch, though she felt warm despite the cool weather.

“You miss it?” she asked, her eyes raking the curtain again appreciatively. “I mean… you miss the sun? I never knew that.”

“It just reminds me that I can’t ever see it. No more sun rises or sun sets. But it doesn’t really matter anymore; I have you. I am so sorry. I know you didn’t want this but there was no other way, Kiara-”

But Ari pulled him to her, miscalculating her strength so that he crashed into her.  

“-this is what I want,” she said quickly, reaching up and kissing him on the lips. “I didn’t realise it until I was dying. When I tasted your blood on my lips, I knew I wanted to be a vampire with you, to get to live as many lifetimes as I could with you by my side.”

The second her tongue met his, it felt as if they were dancing together. Every inch of her was on fire and she felt her heart squirm in her chest, though it did not beat or hasten, as it normally would have done whenever she kissed him. It was as if their lips were made of liquid ice, melting together in blissful passion. Still not use to the redundancy of oxygen, Ari breathed in and smiled, admiring the subtle smells that she had come to associate with Ragon as they now assaulted her acute senses.  

Too soon she felt Ragon pull away from her, moving over to the tray that he had been carrying as he reached down to pick up the broken glass fragments.

“Sorry, I went to get you some blood,” said Ragon, indicating the broken tray. “I’ll get you some more.”

Ari sighed, wishing that she was still kissing him, and moved over to where he had lent down. The closer she moved to him, the more she smelt something… something delicious… something which she craved with every fibre of her being, even more so than Ragon’s kisses. Then she looked down at the carpet, noticing that there was a large red stain which had spread across the floor. Slowly she bent down, uncertain of the magnetic pull, and then her fingers gently pressed against the carpet, trailing it through the sticky red liquid, before she held her hand out to examine the substance. It was blood.

It smelt delicious, wonderful and addictive. She had to taste it. She needed to. Slowly she opened her mouth, feeling a sharp sting as her canines seemed to break through her gums. Her fingers were half way to her mouth, when she smelt something even more desirable. In a second she had looked up at Ragon, her fangs beared, and then she raced out of the room, down the steps. The nearer she got to the smell, the more a loud pounding sounded, as if drawing her closer to the source she so desired. Instinctively she reached for her ears, placing her hands over them as she tried to muffle the noise.  

“Hey Ari-” Chris began to say, but Ari had already charged at him, her fangs seeping through his soft delicious skin, to where the sweet warm blood waited beneath, pushed around his body by the loud drums which were beating in her ears.

Hungrily she drank; she had never wanted anything so much in her whole life. A very small part of her wanted to savour the blood, but the more dominant side told her that she needed to drink it all and quickly, before someone stopped her.

“Ari, STOP!” Ragon yelled, and Ari looked up at him from where he stood on the steps.

Without thinking about it, Ari growled, bearing her fangs defensively, unwilling to part from her prey. Quickly she resumed her feeding, pulling the boy’s neck hard to the side as she delved back through the holes she had already created. But before she could steal much more, she felt hands all over her, restraining her and pulling her away. Ari fought against them, trying desperately to re-join her prey. Soon she had fought free of them and was atop of him once more, pinning him to the ground.

“No,” Lea cried, holding her hands out defensively, as she muttered words of magic under breath.

Ari braced herself for the magic she knew the witch was capable of, but it did not come. A wicked smile swept across Ari’s face and she turned back to the boy, this time ready to end his life.

“Ariana,” Jamie said, and she craned her neck to look up.

Her eyes stared back at her brother in confusion. He was a vampire also; he knew what she needed… why was he trying to stop her?

“This is your friend,” Jamie said simply.

Ari looked down at the boy, her neck craned to the side as she stared at him in confusion. She could see his pale blue eyes staring up at her in horror, but couldn’t understand why? Didn’t he realise how much she needed this? It didn’t matter if he was a friend.

“You don’t want to hurt him,” said Jamie, all the while walking slowly towards her, his hands held out in a gesture of peace. “Trust me, I know. Once you go down that path, there’s no coming back. Don’t become the monster. Make the right choice.”

Ari looked down again at the boy and her mouth opened in horror; this wasn’t just some boy, it wasn’t just a blood meal… it was Chris. With this realisation one of Ari’s eyes turned green and she stared at him in disbelief. No longer was she focusing on the rush of blood in his veins, but on his face. He looked pale, sickly, taking little short breaths that made his chest wheeze in response. She could hear that his heart was still beating but it had slowed. For a second she let her eyes rest on his neck, just as she was consumed again with the desperate desire to rip through his skin and finish her meal.

“I need more,” she screamed, shaking her head and lunging at him.

All around her the coven closed in, pulling Chris away from her. Ari crouched down low, preparing to strike, her eyes temporarily tracing each one of the people around her, as if choosing which would be the easiest blood meal. She could see Riley holding Rya, the tiny girl’s face beaming up at Ari, as if hoping that she would come over and hug her. But the desire to drink blood was too great; it called to Ari like a siren, promising that everything would be ok if she could just get one more drop.

Giving into her desire, she advanced on Rya, and though she saw the look of horror on Riley’s face, she ignored it. She was less than a metre away when she saw Jamie next to her. Again she growled, letting her animal side take over, until she noticed something small in his hand.