Jazmine stared at him wide eyed. How had this happened? Everything had gone so wrong.
“Tough choice, isn’t it? A lover for a lover, wouldn’t you say. I guess the real question is who means more to you? Her or him?” Thane laughed, amused with himself.
Jazmine knew either way one of them was going to die and she would be the one to end their life. Jazmine could feel her rage explode, she wanted to rip his throat out, her lips peeled back, exposing her white canines.
“I see I’ve made you mad,” Thane taunted. “Well, since I don’t see Christian then I guess I’ll have to kill her.”
Thane grabbed Celeste’s head in between his hands. Jazmine lunged forward and out of the corner of her eye she caught a flash of skin as Christian leapt out of the darkness and separated Celeste from Thane. Celeste fell to the ground and Jazmine rushed in to grab her, falling to the ground herself.
She pulled her body onto her lap, resting her head on her thighs. Jazmine looked her over to see if she was okay when she noticed two small marks on the side of her neck. Jazmine shook her hard trying to get her to speak. Celeste’s eyes were open, and Jazmine could now make out the vacant look in them as she realized Celeste had already been dead. Thane had drained her body and used her as a ploy to get Christian.
Jazmine held her head in her lap and screamed. Anger coursed through her veins as her attention fell back on Thane and Christian now locked in battle only feet from her. Jazmine gently placed Celeste’s head on the ground, closing her eyelids shut. Looking back up, she saw Thane’s large, sharp fangs sink into the soft flesh of Christian’s neck. She stood up and her body flew at Thane as he threw Christian’s limp body on the ground.
Thane did not have time to react as Jazmine grabbed a hold of Thane’s head and flung it to the side, her teeth sinking into the flesh, her lips locked on him. Thane thrashed and screamed trying to pull her from his body. The fury and anger ignited strength she had never known as she held on tighter the more he squirmed. She drank deeply, enjoying the rush she felt as she drained every ounce of life from his body.
Jazmine drank until he was within inches of dying and then released him. Thane sank to the ground. He wavered back and forth trying to hold himself up. Jazmine grabbed the top of his hair in her fist and held his head straight. Pulling a dagger from her waist, she looked him in the eye and watched his look of terror as she sliced his neck, separating his head from his body and flinging it into the night.
Adrenaline ran through her veins still as she swooped over to Christian and swept him up into her arms. She could still hear the fighting from the village, but that no longer mattered to her anymore. Christian was the only thing she needed or desired and she must save him. His body was heavy in her arms as she mustered every last ounce of strength she had and carried him away. Jazmine ran not really knowing where she was going. She just knew she had to get him away to a place where no one would find them.
She could feel his life slipping away as she reached the old, abandoned apartment she grew up in. Jazmine needed to get him blood or he would die soon. Making a long slice with her fang across her wrist, she placed the fresh cut to his lips. At first, he did not stir. A single tear began to slip down her cheek, scared it was too late.
“Please,” she begged of him, leaving her wrist upon his lips. “You can’t leave me alone. I need you!” she cried.
Christian made no noise, Jazmine’s blood slipped down his cheek. “Drink, damn you,” she wailed.
Jazmine sobbed as the realization that he was gone overcame her. Jazmine was about to pull her wrist from his lips, when a pair of hands reached up and clasped onto them holding them in place. She felt the slightest movement of lips on her skin and then a faint sucking motion, which grew stronger with each passing second. Jazmine’s tears of sorrow turned to tears of joy as she watched the life return to Christian.
Letting him drink, she leaned down placing kisses on his eyelids and forehead. “You are mine for eternity,” she whispered.
Epilogue
“How’s he doing?” Shane asked, sitting at the table with Jazmine.
Jazmine smiled, “He’s getting stronger every day. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to bring him back after Thane almost killed him. It was touch and go for a few days, but he’s strong now.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” he smiled back. “So when do you think you’ll return?”
“That was actually why we asked you to come see us,” Jazmine stated. Just then, Christian walked out of the bedroom. They had been able to fix up the apartment enough to make it livable over the last few weeks. They only planned to stay there until Christian was ready to travel.
“Oh,” Shane stated, as Christian sat down at the table between them.
“Yes. We wanted to tell you that we’re not coming back,” Christian spoke.
Shane's eyes darted back and forth between them, trying to read if they were messing with him. From the expression on their faces he figured they were quite serious. “You’re not? Then who will lead us? After the battle we lost so many, and now we need you both as we rebuild.”
“Well, we talked about it and we both came to the same conclusion. We think that person should be you,” Christian stated bluntly.
“Me? I...I can’t…” Shane stammered.
“What do you mean you can’t? Who found me all those hundreds of years ago and made me the leader I am today?” Christian announced. “You can lead anyone, and they admire you, it’s only fitting that you should be the one to take our place.”
“Yes.” Jazmine replied. “You can tell everyone that we died in the battle with Thane. No one else knows where we are, only you know that we’re alive. And if you tell them we died they’ll believe you,” she added.
Shane sat in disbelief. He had raised Christian his whole life, preparing him for this role, and he never thought that maybe this was not what he wanted. “Are you both sure?”
Christian and Jazmine both looked at each other and nodded. “Yes.”
“Well then,” Shane stated as he stood up, “I shall miss you both.” With no more fanfare, Shane excused himself and walked out into the night.
Jazmine turned back to Christian, “Are you sure about this? This is truly what you want?”
Christian took her hand in his, “All I need is you, nothing else matters to me as long as we’re together.” He smiled and placed a kiss upon her lips.
They were finally free.
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