“Just put in a bunch of bottles of water in case I need it, though the thought of drinking it still baffles my mind. But why not? My hunger will intensify as I starve, and you cannot open that door no matter what.” I shot them both a serious look. “No. Matter. What. I’ll kill you both in a frenzied state if you open that door before, I’m human again. I’ll have no control over it. Do you understand?”
The both exchanged a worried glance and then nodded.
“I’m going in that room with some water and when I come out, I will be human. You can watch me on the video cameras to verify it’s safe for me to come out. But you don’t open that door until you are sure I’m safe. And not a second before... no matter what I say or do in there. Understood?”
“We understand. I don’t like it, but I’ll do it,” Mark said before slapping his thighs and standing up. “I’ll get the water.”
“Mark,” I said, stopping his exit. “I’m going to need you as a human to help Emilia while I transition. But when this is over if you still want to be a vampire, I will have someone in my family turn you. A promise is a promise.”
“Well, now that you won’t be my vampire side-kick I need to do some thinking on the whole subject. But thank you, Aiden. I appreciate your willingness to hold up your end of the deal and when you come out and things are settled, I will let you know my decision. I do hope that the new human Aiden/Emilia relationship is a little more careful with couture clothes,” he said, raising an eyebrow at the state of her dress. “Until then I’m condemning you both to nothing but outfits from Target until you can treat clothes with more respect.” He shot us an accusatory glare before walking out of the room.
Emilia giggled, and I stood up, lifting her to the ground. “It’s time.”
The worry danced across her face and I hated that I’d put it there. But the sun inched closer and closer to the horizon and I only had a few minutes to settle into my cell. I’d built it in case of any rogue vampire problems, something I’d dealt with often in my previous life. A life I abandoned for this simpler one a decade ago. I’d never used the cell in this house, so I could only hope it would hold under the force of my self-imposed exile. When a vampire starved, a frenzy took over, and we became feral. If those five-foot thick metal walls weren’t strong enough, I could demolish them and even my love for Emilia wouldn’t stop me from sucking her dry. It just gave me more resolve to end this way of life. I was ready to be human. I was ready to be hers.
Together we walked holding hands down the stairs to the basement. I pressed the hidden button on the brick wall. Bright lights illuminated a plain metal room when the door creaked opened. Mark walked up behind us carrying two cases of bottled water. He moved past me and set it in the corner of the room before stepping back out and turning toward me.
“Don’t die, Aiden.” He threw his arms around my neck and I paused for a moment before returning his embrace. “I’ll see you on the other side.”
“I’ll see you soon, Mark. Take good care of Emilia while I’m in here.”
“I’ve already got the alcohol ready. She and I will need a lot to get us through knowing you’re locked in a box in excruciating pain.”
“Just don’t you open this door, Mark. No matter what. Not until you’re sure.”
“And how will I be sure?” He scrunched his brow.
“Well, for one, if I’m a vampire I can’t drink liquids without spitting them back up. Watch me drink water through the cameras. And just use your judgement. I trust you not to open that door unless you’re certain it’s safe.”
“You have my word,” he said, and with a tip of his head he turned and headed up the stairs leaving Emilia and I alone in the musty basement.
“Are you sure?” she asked, as she slid her hand into mine. “You don’t need to do this.”
“I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life... other than my love for you.”
Tears bubbled behind her eyes and burst free as she tossed her arms around my neck. “I love you so much, Aiden. Please, please be okay. Don’t leave me here without you.”
Taking one last inhale of her sweet smell, I closed my eyes for a moment before pulling back and pressing my lips to hers. “I said I would never leave you and I meant it. I will see you soon, my love.”
Squeezing my eyes tight, I pressed one last kiss to her lips before whooshing into the room and slamming the door behind me. I couldn’t bear to see her cry and saying goodbye for what could be a month caused me more pain than I had felt in centuries. When I slid down the wall, I wrapped my arms around my knees and waited for the pain that might take days to come. I heard the click of the lock and closing my eyes, I pictured her face and remembered my reason for doing this.
I’D LOST TRACK OF THE days a couple weeks ago when the intensity of my hunger had me screaming for release. Mark had come over the intercom and I’d heard the shaking in his voice when he’d told me he didn’t think he should open the door. For a moment I’d known he’d considered it but my release would mean their deaths, so even in my state of agony I’d found the will to fight it. Her face flashed through my mind and I’d known I would kill her if I’d made it past those walls. Although every instinct in my body had shouted for me to find a way out, I’d slammed my fists on the wall and pushed back the urgency of my nature and demanded Mark ignore me.
I’d spent weeks in unbearable pain as the need for blood tore through my body. I’d writhed on the floor, crippled by the desire to feel my fangs suck every last drop of blood from someone. The insatiable desire for the coppery tang of blood on my tongue had me questioning if these walls could hold me. Instead of the blood loss weakening me, my powers and strength seemed amplified. A primal urge of survival like an adrenalin boost needed to save your own life. Fighting the urge, I closed my eyes and remembered the touch of her lips and the sound of her laugh. I just needed to fight a little harder... endure a little more.
The pain began to subside what must have been a week ago. My hunger for blood faded each day and for the past several days the need had all but gone. After spending centuries as a prisoner to my lust for blood, I no longer craved it. A foreign feeling I still struggled to process. The last time I’d felt this way was a distant memory I barely recalled. I saw the bottles sitting in the corner and felt a dryness in my mouth. And for the first time since I’d knelt by the stream in Scotland before turning, I wanted to drink water.
Walking over to the corner I pulled a bottle from the case, examining it before twisting off the cap and smelling it. Pressing the bottle to my lips I let the cool liquid fill my mouth before swallowing. It tasted good, refreshing. I waited for my body to reject it like it did when I’d tried drinking after I’d first turned. But it didn’t. Not only did I not spit it up, but I wanted more. I tipped the bottle to my lips and guzzled down the rest of it, relishing the taste of something other than blood passing my lips for the first time in centuries. It didn’t have much flavor, but it was one of the greatest things I had ever tasted in my life.
Tossing the bottle to the ground I rubbed my finger along my teeth and tried to extract my fangs. Nothing happened when I tried, and a wide grin stretched across my face.
I’m human.
“Mark!” I shouted up at the video camera. “Mark!”
Moments later I heard Mark’s voice over the intercom. “Aiden? Are you okay?”
“It worked, Mark!” I shouted my excitement up into the little camera in the corner. “I’m human!”
“Are you sure?” he asked, the doubt thick in his voice. “How do I know you’re not lying just to get out and tear us apart?”
I laughed and pointed to the water bottle on the floor. “I drank water! If I was still a vampire, I couldn’t do that.”
“Do it again so I can see it for myself.”
I chuckled and nodded, pleased he took his job of keeping Emilia safe from me seriously. Popping off the cap I hoisted the bottle in a cheers to the camera and tipped it back, guzzling every las
t drop of the clear liquid before crushing the remnants and tossing it onto the floor. I opened my mouth and showed him that it was gone.
“Interesting,” he said.
“And look, no fangs!” I tried to make them pop again and failed.
“You could be pretending,” he argued. I couldn’t see him, but I could picture his face pulled tight with skepticism.
“Mark, I promise I’m a human. I’m safe. You can open the door.”
There was nothing but silence and I called out to him again. “Mark?”
Pacing the room, I waited for him to come back on the intercom. The minutes ticked by and my stomach growled. The rumble inside startled me and I looked down at it and listened again to the grumbling my newfound hunger caused. I wanted food, but it had been so long since I’d tasted it, I wasn’t even sure what flavors begged to touch my tongue. I just knew I needed to eat.
The lock clicked, and I turned to the door. It cracked open, and I waited for Mark and Emilia to come in. It sat there unmoving, so I went to it and pressed it open. The darkness of the basement was a stark contrast to the lights in the room I had been under for the better part of a month. Blinking, I stepped out into the musty air and searched the room.
“Hello?” I called, and then my eyes adjusted, and I saw Mark across the room with an old wooden-handled axe in his hand. I stifled my chuckle while he shifted back and forth, ready for my incoming assault. He tightened his grip on the handle and watched me with wide eyes.
“Aiden!” I heard Emilia’s voice and she raced down the stairs.
Mark huffed. “Damn it, woman! It’s not safe! Get back upstairs!”
“He won’t hurt me,” she said, and I saw her smile when she stepped into the dim light of the lamp swinging overhead. Mark stepped in front of her and blocked her from my sight.
“Stay behind me, Emilia. We can’t be sure.” Mark lifted the axe in preparation for what he apparently thought would be my attack. “If he comes at us, just run up the stairs. I’ll try to stop him, but if I fail, the sunlight will. Just go into the light, Emilia. And I mean the sunlight... not the ethereal one that means you died because Aiden killed you.”
“Mark, I’m fine.” I laughed. “I promise.”
Her face peered out from behind him, and my heart raced at the sight of her. “Emilia,” I breathed, stepping toward her. My arms ached to wrap around her.
“Be careful. It could be a trick,” Mark whispered to her. “Don’t make me decapitate you, Aiden!” he shouted at me and hoisted his axe higher.
“Aiden,” she said, pushing out from behind him and bolting across the distance between us. She launched into my arms and I encircled her waist, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. I felt her hands on my face and her lips colliding with mine while I inhaled her sweet smell. My body lit up in a way I had never experienced while we melted together, our needs and desires exploding into one.
“Oh, my God, you’re okay!” she said between desperate kisses.
“I’m okay,” I answered and slid my hand behind her head, pulling her lips in for a kiss so powerful that it brought me a flash of pain. It was a good pain, but the first time I’d felt pain in as long as I could remember. It felt good and made me feel... alive.
“Well, it looks like I won’t be needing this,” Mark said, and I heard the axe drop to the ground. “I’ll just give you two a minute.”
My lips were too busy devouring hers to answer him. Her skin felt softer than I remembered, and her tongue tasted sweeter. Every inch of my body blazed from her touch. It wasn’t just her absence creating this feeling... it was being human. So many years as a vampire and I hadn’t even realized how dull my senses were to her touch. Little electric sparks shocked everywhere her desperate fingers clawed, and I sighed my ecstasy. Every second of agony had been worth it to feel her touch and return to her arms.
“I missed you so much,” I said as her kisses peppered my face.
“I missed you, too. That was so awful to watch, Aiden. I almost opened the door. I would rather have you kill me than to suffer that way another second.”
“I’m so glad you didn’t. I’m human again, Emilia. I’m human.”
The weight of my words stilled her kisses and her eyes moved to mine, searching. Searching for the truth, searching to see into my soul, just searching. Her fingers moved to my face, a long slow stroke moved across my skin and I closed my eyes and savored the way it crackled beneath her touch.
“You’re warm,” she breathed.
“I’m alive. For you.”
We locked eyes, and she smiled. A tear welled up and slid down her cheek. I wiped it away with my thumb and pulled her lips back to mine. The soft touch sent shivers snaking down my spine, and I knew in that moment I had made the right decision.
I wanted a life at her side. Every single second of it. I didn’t want darkness to hold me captive from her again. The feeling of knowing it would end someday suddenly sank in, but it sweetened the taste of her kiss and intensified the feelings rushing through me. Knowing there was an end, an expiration date, only made each second our lips touched more special... more important. I knew now, really understood, why she wouldn’t want to give this up.
“How do you feel?” she asked, pulling back to study my face.
“Better than I’ve felt in six hundred years.” I smiled. “And do you know what I want now?”
“What?” she asked, smoothing a hand through my hair.
“I want to walk out into the sun with you.”
Her eyes grew wide. “Are you sure it won’t hurt you?”
“No.” I grinned wider. “But isn’t taking risks what being human is all about?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Some risks. But not the kind that cause you to burst into flames and disintegrate into a pile of ash.”
“Well, there’s only one way to find out.” I waggled my eyebrows and took her hand in mine leading her through the dark room to the stairs.
“Are you sure?” she asked, tugging me to a stop before I opened the basement door. “It’s noon, and it’s really sunny.”
“The good news is if it doesn’t work, I don’t instantly disintegrate. We’ll have about twenty seconds of me engulfed in flames and screaming in agony before it happens, so just push me back down the stairs and close the door.”
“Oh, that’s promising.” She huffed.
“I’ll be fine. I’m ready.” With a tight squeeze on her hand, I reassured her with my eyes.
Biting her lip she nodded. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
Holding her hand tight, I turned the knob. The door creaked open, and I squinted at the bright light slipping through the crack. It touched my skin, and I felt its warmth without pain. I pushed the door open and felt Emilia’s grip on my hand tighten. The sunlight filling the room washed over me and I froze, the air drawn from my lungs in an exquisite release. The warmth pulled me forward, and I moved through the sunny room to the front door. Emilia squeezed my hand while I pushed it open.
Together we stepped outside, and I closed my eyes and let my head fall back while the sun’s rays caressed my skin and enveloped me in their warmth. The sensations of the heat and the light were like coming to life again, a spring after a winter so long I had forgotten what it felt like to bask beneath their glow.
“It’s incredible,” I breathed as she stepped to my side.
“Is it what you remember?” she asked.
“It’s so much better.” I opened my eyes and squinted against the light. The warmth filling my face only deepened the grin spreading across it.
“Are you okay?” Mark called from behind us. I turned to see him standing with a fire extinguisher at the ready, the little black hose pointed at me while he clutched it tight in his hands.
“Really?” I asked, gesturing to the red cannister tucked beneath his arms.
“I was trying to be prepared. You never know,” he argued, and then set it down.
“And the axe? Really?”
>
“I didn’t know what to expect! If you were still a vampire, just trying to trick us, I wasn’t going to let you bleed her dry!”
“You do know if I was still a vampire that axe would have bounced off my neck and I would have eaten you both anyway.”
Mark rolled his eyes. “I’m pretty strong. I’ve been working out a lot, so you never know. I had to try.”
“Of course, you did.” I smiled and stepped toward him. “Thank you, Mark. Thank you for taking care of her and protecting her.”
I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him in for a tight embrace. He froze for a moment before returning the gesture and wrapping his arms around me.
“Thank you, Mark. For everything. You are the greatest friend I could have ever asked for.”
“Holy shit. Human Aiden hugs and is appreciative? This was unexpected... welcomed, but unexpected.” He tightened his grip on me. “I’m so glad you’re okay. You scared the shit out of us a few times there.”
“I scared the shit out of me a few times, too.”
We broke from our embrace and he skimmed his eyes over me. “So, this is real? You’re a human again?”
I nodded and pursed my lips. “It seems so.”
“Holy shit.”
“Holy shit,” I answered back, and we shared a chuckle.
“So, what now?” he asked, looking over to a beaming Emilia.
As much as I enjoyed these moments in the sun, I craved something else now as a human. “I’m hungry.”
They exchanged a worried look and Mark took a step back. I laughed from the belly and shook my head. “No. I’m hungry for food. Human food.”
“Oh.” He touched his chest. “I thought for a second you were going to ‘rarr!’” He lunged toward me with fake claws and a growl.
“No.” I laughed. “Those days are over. I want food.”
Mark swiped a hand across his forehead. “Phew! What kind of food? I’ll call the girls and have them whip up whatever you want!”
Into The Light (Immortal Hearts Book 1) Page 20