Everlasting Embrace (Embrace Series) (24 page)

“
Caspian
,
she needs blood.
”

“
I just gave her an entire bag.
”

“
No you idiot, vampire blood.
”

I can see the light bulb go off in his eyes as his fangs descend and puncture his wrist before placing it to her lips. As she begins drinking, I notice Caspian
’
s pleading look. He has realized this is his
soul mate
. I only wonder if he realizes it
’
s Ashley
’
s soul.

“
Don
’
t worry Caspian, I
’
ll save her
.
I promise.
”

I refocus, visualizing the silver exiting the wound, the heart beating slightly faster than our usual
,
at six beats a minute
,
h
ealing and rejecting the poison. I hear Ebony and Eliza chanting behind me
:

In the divine name of the goddess

Who breathes life into us all
,

We ask you to heal
.

Protect this servant

Through magick
,

Through love
.

Protect and heal her
.

So mote it be,

So mote it be,

So mote it be.

Feeling warmth, I open my eyes. A white candle burns beside Siobhan
…
as the flame grows the healing progresses. I smile and nod at Caspian. He leans down
,
kisses her head and whispers
,
“
T
hat
’
s enough
,
my dear.
”
 

I look to Constance and Isaac as they now both work on Russell
,
and
notice
a blanket is covering Carlina. Constance looks at me and
,
with sadness
,
shakes her head. I know we
’
ve
lost her; we
’
ve
lost one of our students in this war
,
a war that
we
have
vow
ed
to fight against the Cerberus.

“
Isaac
,
how is Russell?
”
I question.

“
He
’
s stable
.
I
’
m going to keep him here in the main house for observation
. W
hat about Siobhan?
”

“
She
’
s fine,
”
I respond.

“
I
’
m going to take her to my dorm room and stay with her tonight. I will call you if anything changes
,
”
Caspian insists, not allowing anyone the opportunity to question him.

Florence
had taken
the other students back to the school
after the battle
,
before anyone could get any news
about
their friends. I think it
’
s time we go and fill them
in.


  

  


As we enter
the school corridor
,
the students are all gathered, holding white candles in honor of their fallen friends. Caspian walks through the crowd with Siobhan wrapped in the safety of his arms
,
covered with a soft pink blanket of warmth. The students part as he walks through them towards his room. As they pass, the students closest to them kiss their fingers and touch them to her head. You can see the concern on their faces for their friends that have been injured tonight. Caspian retreats to his dorm room with Siobhan
,
to ensure she gets the rest she needs
and to
reflect on the information he received
th
r
ough he
r
feeding from him.

Everyone turns back to the rest of us for answers
.
Elijah takes the lead
,
“
F
irst off
,
I want to thank you all for an amazing fight. With your help
,
we were able to destroy what I
’
m sure is the entire Boston following of the Cerberus. This is an achievement no one has had the pleasure of claiming before.
However
,
I do
have a
n
unfortunate circumstance to report
. T
he leaders, Drake and Cyrus
,
have
escaped our wrath. We were able to stake Cyrus
,
but before destruction was complete
,
he disappeared before our eyes, followed by his son. Because of Cyrus
’
s age
,
we
must
assume he will heal from this injur
y
as
his son once did.
”

Cyrus found Drake and brought him back to the
ever after
once upon a time
. We can only assume he will now return the favor for his father. This is why we insist on decapitation and burning after staking. We ensu
r
e
many steps
,
so that
once
destroyed
a
vampire can
’
t return from beyond the grave.
It
’
s hard to tell which ways will kill each individual vampire
,
and the longer they live the harder they are to kill. I only wish these two would be as simple as a new vampire and a stake through the heart or some holy water would do the trick

The crowd sighs at the thought that the leaders got away. Then Elijah continues,
“
W
e
cannot
call this a pure victory, because it didn
’
t come without a cost. Three of our own were seriously injured tonight. Siobhan, Russell and Carlina each sustained severe injuries during the fight. As you saw
,
Siobhan is better
,
but will require round the clock care. Caspian will be providing this for her, so please
,
if he asks for anything, lend him a hand. Also
,
Russell is in stable
,
but critical
,
condition
,
and will be staying up at the main house under Isaac
’
s medical care. It is with my deepest regret
that I must
inform you all
that we
have
lost one of our own in the battle. Carlina succumb
ed
to her injuries
,
and we were unable to save her. She passed away tonight in the arms of her caregivers. We will be contacting her family and informing them of her passing. We would also like to perform a wake in her name later this week. On behalf of my family
,
w
e are sorry for the loss of your friend, classmate, and team member.
”

Gasps and sobs echo throughout the corridor as some students collapse into the arms of others. Tonight we will allow them to mo
u
rn
. T
omorrow we
’
ll try to make sense of what went wrong
,
and
plan
how we can avoid another tragic loss.

Caspian
’
s Second Chance

Taking Siobhan back to my room, I lay her on the bed and cover her with my fluffy down comforter
,
d
imming the lights and turning on the gas fireplace in an attempt to make her as comfortable as possible.

My family has done everything in an attempt to make mine a comfortable transition bac
k into the family.
My
room is very
nice
; it
’
s
very large
,
and resemble
s
a bachelor
’
s
pad. My king size bed is situated in one corner
,
with black nightstands on either side. The gas fireplace is situated in the middle of the room in the wall that separates my sleeping quarters from the living area. To complete the bedroom aspect of the room
,
I
have a large
,
black dresser and walk-in closet that leads to the restroom.
On
the other side of the
fireplace
is an over-stuffed
,
black leather sofa
,
with a glass top coffee table in front of it,
and
to the right is a corner office style desk where my
laptop
rests. A large T.V. rests in the wall above the fireplace
;
I
give
it
a little push
,
so it swivels to face the sleeping area. Alexander must have done the electronics
;
I have everything a man could want in his man
-
cave. The coolest part is the speakers
; they
are little pads that attach to the wall
,
and
turn the
entire wall
into a
speaker. Thankfully for everyone else, the room is also soundproofed. I haven
’
t lived th
is
comfortable in years, since I first left my family. Walking around
,
my feet sink into the fluffy
,
wall
-
to
-
wall shag carpeting
. T
he white carpet contrasts perfect
ly
with
all the black furniture.

I have a small reading chair that I pull to the side of my bed
.
I want to keep Siobhan in my sights and not leave her side. Looking at the beautiful
,
sandy blond
e haired
woman, I can
’
t help but wonder how any of this is possible. I felt such a connection when she drank from me
,
t
he kind of connection only
soul mates
feel. How can
this
be? Ashley was my
soul mate
,
and I lost her over thirty years ago. Was Matilda mistaken with Ashley, or am I just so lonesome that I just want her to be a match for me
?
As I look her
over
, memorizing every feature, I feel the most wonderful tingle run through me. I want to learn more about her
. I
f she is my
soul mate
,
I want to know why
,
and how
,
it
’
s possible. Can I have more than one
soul mate
? The connection I had with Ashley was like something written in the movies. I know Ashley and I were meant for each other, so how can it be true for Siobhan and me too?

Siobhan is very beautiful
;
about five
-
feet
-
eight inches tall
,
with blond hair that hangs just below her shoulders. When she smiles
,
two adorable little dimples form on either side of her mouth. Her full
,
pink lips need no lipstick
;
most
people
would call them kissable. I find myself experiencing feelings that I haven
’
t felt in years. I text Alexander
,
asking him to bring me her student file
;
I want to know as much as I can about her.