Authors: Julie Kagawa
My throat closed up, and my eyes went blurry. Relief and emotion rushed through me, making me want to laugh, cry and hug him all at once, but all I could manage was a weak smirk and a strangled “It’s about damn time.”
Zeke blinked, then, very slowly, he smiled. A real smile, one I hadn’t seen since that horrible night when he had died. And for a moment, everything Sarren had done to him, to us, fell away completely, and he was the same boy I’d met in that abandoned town: charming, determined, ever hopeful. Leaning in, he kissed me, long and deep, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. He backed us up until I was against the wall, rough concrete pressing into my coat, feeling every part of him against me and needing more. His lips trailed a path from my mouth to my jaw and neck; I gasped and arched my head back, feeling the lightest scrape of fangs against my skin. And that hunger flared up again.
With a growl, I shoved away from the wall, pushing him toward the bed in the corner of the room. He sank easily onto the mattress, taking me down with him, wrapping his arms around my waist. I set my elbows on either side of his head and kissed him, feeling his hands slide over my back, skimming under my coat. The dark, tattered material was suddenly too constricting; I pulled back and shrugged out of it, letting it drop to the floor. Zeke gazed up at me, blue eyes serene, no traces of doubt or fear shadowing his face.
“Allie.” His voice was a breath, a quiet murmur, as I dropped to kiss him again, pressing my lips to his jaw. He groaned and arched his head back, baring his throat, and I felt my fangs lengthen in response. He was so close, the scent and feel of him filling my senses, but I wanted to be closer. I wanted all of him, all he could give, and everything I could offer. No more barriers. Tonight, Zeke was mine, and nothing would take that away.
I bent to his neck, kissing his throat, barely pricking his skin with my fangs. As Zeke groaned again, my hand slipped under his shirt, tracing his skin. He gasped, and I started to push up the fabric.
“Wait,” Zeke whispered, sounding breathless. I pulled back to look at him, my lips just inches from his own. “Allison,” he said, though his eyes were slightly glazed and the tips of his fangs glinted as he spoke. “We don’t have to do this. It doesn’t have to be tonight.” His hand rose, pressing against my cheek, his eyes never leaving my face. “We have forever to figure this out,” he said gently, “if it’s not the right time…”
I resisted the urge to bare my fangs. “The last time we chose to wait, Ezekiel, you
died.
” He flinched, his eyes darkening with the memory, and I clenched a fist in his shirt. “Not that I have any intention of losing you again, but right now, we’re up against a madman who has a pretty good head start on creating another apocalypse. He’s
not
taking this away.” I did bare my fangs then, a gesture of defiance. “If the world ends tomorrow,” I whispered fiercely, “if these really are the final days, then I’ll be damned if I have any regrets.”
Zeke’s eyes gleamed. Without warning, he reached up and pulled my head down to his, crushing our lips together. Before I could react, he abruptly shifted and flipped us over so that I landed on the mattress with a thump, blinking in surprise. I’d forgotten how strong he was now. He kissed me deeply, then trailed his lips down my neck, making me gasp and arch into him. My blood thrummed, surging through my veins. I wanted him to bite me, to sink his fangs into my throat. I ached to feel him again, like his soul had merged with mine and I knew every tiny corner of his mind and heart.
I growled, clutching him close, and Zeke responded with a growl of his own, his lips on my mouth, my neck, tracing a path down my middle. I gasped and tore at his shirt, pulling it over his head. More clothes followed, both of us almost frantic to shed them, to get as close to the other as we could. When nothing separated us, I ran my hands over his scarred back, down his tightly muscled arms, and over his lean chest, trying to memorize him with my touch.
Zeke pulled back, his face hovering close to mine, his stare bright and his fangs fully extended.
“Say you love me, vampire girl,” he whispered, his voice low and husky. “Tell me…that this is forever.”
“I love you,” I said immediately. “And if we have forever, there’s no one else I want to spend it with.”
He lowered himself onto me, and I bit my lip, digging my nails into his back. It hurt, but I’d felt far worse pain then this. As he bent to kiss me again, I closed my eyes, surrendering to sensation. We were so close; it felt like I was on fire, heat singing through my veins. But there was still something missing.
Closer,
I thought through the haze
. Get closer, Zeke. It isn’t enough.
Zeke suddenly clutched me tight, a breathless growl escaping him. As I gasped, arching my head back, he bent his head and
finally
sank his fangs into my throat.
I cried out, gripping his shoulders, a hundred emotions coursing through me. I felt him everywhere, within and without. I felt his fear, the desperation that he might lose me, either to Sarren’s hand or his own failings, and then he’d be left to deal with the monster he’d become, alone. I felt his anger, his rage at his sire, the demon who’d destroyed his family, who had hurt so many people and wasn’t finished yet. His determination to succeed, to keep as many people safe as he could. And…his love for me, intense and powerful and almost frightening. It was an endless well, a cocoon that wrapped around us both, warm and strong and intoxicating. It brought tears to my eyes, and they spilled down my cheeks as I lay there, unable to move. Not wanting to move. Willing to stay here like this, forever.
Zeke pulled back, retracting his fangs, and gazed down at me. I met his eyes and saw they were a little red, too.
“I never…thought it would be like that,” he whispered in an awed voice. Placing a hand on my cheek, he trailed his finger down the red tracks, his expression anxious. “Are you all right?” he asked. “Did I hurt you?”
I reached for him, sliding my fingers into the hair at the base of his skull. “Come here,” I whispered, tugging him toward me. He complied instantly, and when he bent down, I rose off the mattress, lifted my face to his neck, and sank my fangs into the side of his throat.
Zeke gasped. His blood flowed over my tongue, hot and sweet and powerful, searing through my veins. I sensed every emotion from him once more, feeling his blood mingle with mine, merging us together. Zeke trembled, holding me close, eyes shut in complete surrender.
When I pulled back, dawn had broken the horizon outside; I could feel the light just beginning to spill over the trees and the rest of the world. Retracting my fangs, I gazed sleepily up at Zeke, who met my stare with a look of complete adoration.
We didn’t need to say anything. Bending down, Zeke placed a gentle kiss on my lips and settled behind me, pulling the covers over us both. I leaned into him, feeling his blood and emotions swirl through me, drowning even the monster, and for the first time since the death of my mom when I was ten years old, I relaxed completely in someone else’s arms.
I awoke lying on my side under the covers, a cool, solid weight pressed against my back, Zeke’s arm curled tightly around my waist. The room was still; no sounds filtered in from the lighted crack below the door, and by my internal clock, the sun had just gone down. My sword lay abandoned and forgotten under the bed, my clothes in a crumpled heap beside it. Normally my weapon would be the first thing I checked when I woke up, but right now, it didn’t seem that important.
The events of the night before came back to me, emotional and surreal, making me shiver. Last night…with Zeke’s blood and emotions coursing through me, I’d never felt so close to anyone in my life. It had been intense and thrilling and completely terrifying, seeing the deepest parts of him laid bare, knowing the depth of his feelings. Realizing he saw past my wall, too.
But now, it was another night, and we had a crazy vampire to stop and a virus to destroy. Kanin and Jackal would certainly be waiting for us, ready to set out for Eden. Briefly, I wondered if either of them could feel what I had been doing last night through our blood tie. For a moment I was horrified, then decided that I didn’t care. It wasn’t anything I was ashamed of, and besides, if Jackal had decided to check up on me and gotten more than he bargained for, well, that was
his
fault for spying.
But I still didn’t want him banging on my door. Taking Zeke’s wrist, I started to lift his arm away, intending to slip from the bed and back into my clothes, but there was a faint growl behind me, and the arm at my waist tightened, pulling me back.
“No,” Zeke murmured into my hair. “Don’t go yet. Just a few minutes longer.”
I glanced over my shoulder at him. His eyes were closed, his face serene, except for the faint, stubborn set of his jaw. I smiled, poking the arm holding me captive. “Kanin and Jackal will be waiting for us, you know.”
“I know,” Zeke muttered without opening his eyes, though his brow furrowed slightly. “Two minutes,” he pleaded, stubbornly holding on. “I just want to lie here like this with you. Before we have to leave and face that whole huge mess waiting outside this room.”
I turned, shifting in his arms to face him. His eyes finally opened, that clear, piercing blue, watching me intently. I stroked his jaw, wishing we
could
lie here all night, that we didn’t have to worry about deadly viruses and insane vampires who wanted to destroy the world.
“We’ll beat him,” I whispered, a promise to Zeke, myself and everyone. “This isn’t the end, Zeke. Whatever happens, I’m not giving up our forever without one hell of a fight.”
Zeke smiled, his face peaceful, and placed a lingering kiss on my mouth. “All right, then, vampire girl,” he whispered, his eyes shining with determination. “Let’s go stop the apocalypse.”
Part III
EDEN
Chapter 16
“There it is,” muttered Kanin.
I looked up from the railing, icy wind whipping at my hair and clothes, spitting water and flurries in my face. Around us, the black, roiling expanse of Lake Erie stretched on forever, unchanging. The waves tossed our little boat, bobbing it like a cork in the water, and I kept a tight hold on the rusty metal rail surrounding the deck. Kanin stood up front, arms crossed and eyes forward, a motionless statue against the churning waves and black sky. Jackal leaned against one of the rails and alternated between gazing out over the water and shooting me knowing smirks. When Zeke and I first arrived at the dock, my blood brother had taken one look at us and barked a laugh, though, shockingly for him, the only comment he made was a rather triumphant “About bloody time.” I’d been waiting for him to say something else, bristling and ready for a fight, but so far he remained mute on the subject, which was rather disconcerting.
I tried to ignore him as I gazed out over the water, squinting in the direction Kanin was facing, searching for the island. At first, I didn’t see anything but waves and flurries, swirling endlessly in the void. Then I saw it, a glimmer of light, cutting through the snow and darkness, beckoning like a distant star. As we got closer, more appeared, until I could vaguely make out the island, a black lump speckled with dancing lights against an even blacker sky.
Zeke moved behind me, slipping his arms around my waist and laying his chin on my shoulder, gazing toward the distant Eden. I laid my arms over his and leaned into him, feeling his solid presence at my back. “Home,” I heard him mutter, his voice pitched low. “I wonder what it looks like now. If anything can ever go back to normal.”
I didn’t know the answer to that, so I just squeezed his arm, watching the lights of Eden get brighter through the snow.
The boat bounced over a wave, coming down with a jolt that snapped my teeth together, and Zeke’s hold on me tightened. The shadowy mass of the island loomed closer, the outline of trees and rocks taking shape through the darkness.
The boat finally came to a drifting, bobbing halt, several feet from land. A snow-covered shoreline, probably a beach, stretched away to either side, glittering coldly under the stars.
“This is as far as I go,” the pilot said, his voice low with suppressed fear. “I don’t want them monsters swarming my boat if I get too close.” He pointed toward Eden with a gnarled finger. “Township and docks are in that direction, along the western side of the island. But we stopped unloading people there because of the rabids.”
“Thank you for your assistance,” Kanin replied, finally moving from his spot at the front of the boat. “We’ll continue on foot from here. Allison, Ezekiel.” He glanced back at us. “Let’s go.”
Jackal snorted, pushing himself upright as we moved to follow Kanin. “What am I, chopped liver?” he muttered, and swung his long legs over the railing. There was a muffled splash as the raider king dropped into the water and waded toward shore.
Zeke and I followed Kanin, stepping from the boat into the black waters of Lake Erie. Almost as soon as we were off the deck, the engine rumbled, and the boat turned around in a spray of icy mist, heading back toward the mainland. Apparently, no one was sticking around to take us back. We’d have to find our own way off Eden.
Curling a lip at the rapidly disappearing boat, I struck out for shore. Water sloshed against my legs and drenched the bottom half of my coat, bitingly cold even though the chill didn’t affect me. Waves smacked against my arms, and the ground under my feet kept shifting as I marched doggedly toward Eden.
I was relieved when my boots finally hit solid ground. Ice and pebbles crunched under my feet as I walked up the shore with Zeke, joining Kanin and Jackal at the edge. Beyond the embankment, a dark line of trees shimmered with distant lights twinkling erratically through the branches. Aside from the churning of waves on the beach and our footsteps in the snow, everything was silent and still, as if the island itself was holding its breath.
Kanin’s eyes, dark and solemn, bored into Zeke as we drew close. “Where would Sarren be?” he asked, and even his quiet voice sounded unnaturally loud in the stillness. Zeke paused, staring into the trees, his eyes narrowed in thought.