They were all very quiet trying to find the right words to begin the unraveling picture when Eva presented the perfect moment with her next question.
“I’m getting a weird feeling about this visit. Is there something wrong? Arielle, what are you pondering in that head of yours?” she said and waved her hand aimlessly. “I can see the concern in your eyes. I can see that each one of you has a peculiar look on your faces, and that includes you,” she said, pointing at Ian. “Is Gabby all right?” Once again, Eva looked anxiously around the room.
“Yes…Yes…Gabby is just fine. But you are right. We are here to talk about something else, something quite serious,” Arielle replied.
“Oh? Let me hear it!” Eva’s eyes narrowed.
Arielle paused for a long moment. She tried to collect her thoughts, realizing that communicating difficult news was a very unpleasant and stressful thing, even under the best of circumstances. She knew that receiving this type of news was going to be disturbing. The change from human to immortal would substantially alter Eva’s views about her future. It would be devastating, and she was worried about her friend’s initial reaction. She wanted to make sure that she delivered the news in a tender way. She didn’t want Eva to go through major distress or profound sorrow about this change.
“Arielle, what is it?” Eva’s voice shook her out of her reverie. “You are worrying me! What is it?”
Arielle took a seat next to her once again, keeping her eyes on her stress-filled face. She reached over and took her hand, while Ian took the seat on the other side, embracing her attentively. Sebastian and Troy walked over and sat across from her. Eva was scrutinizing their movements cautiously.
“I don’t think I’m going to like this,” she said through clenched teeth. “But I’m ready to hear you,” she said. She sounded like the practical Eva they all knew. She always took news better than the rest of them. Arielle smiled and leaning closer, she gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“Eva,” she said astutely. “If I were dying and Sebastian could save my life by making me an immortal, would you approve?” Her eyes were watching Eva inquisitively.
“I don’t understand what you are trying to say,” she replied, clueless.
“Well, would you think that Sebastian was doing the right thing?” She pressed on. Eva looked a little surprised about Arielle blathering about something so uncanny. However, she did appear to be pondering her question. She finally decided to give her an answer without any reservations.
“Arielle, your question is bloody absurd,” she said. “Of course, I’d prefer that you remain alive. Human, immortal it doesn’t make any difference to me,” she said firmly. A smiled tagged her lips. “I seem to be getting pretty familiar with immortality,” she whispered. She turned away from Arielle, directing her next statement to the guys.
“Troy, Sebastian, I love you both,” she said. She was holding a great big smile on her face. “You look human to me except for the fact that you are both astoundingly handsome.” She chuckled softly. “But all things aside, Arielle, what’s all this about?” Her voice was a little more intense this time.
Arielle drew in a breath and exhaled deeply. “Eva, the night of your accident, you and Ian did not survive the crash…” She accentuated the last words. Eva winced for a quick second. Arielle kept her eyes locked on Eva, and she noticed that she didn’t blink for the next several minutes. She could actually hear her breathing elevating, picking up rhythm. She inhaled and bit down on her bottom lip. Arielle wanted to decipher Eva’s trouble thoughts, but she didn’t have that ability with Eva any longer. Her gaze was still locked on Eva, and she thought that she saw an inexplicable smile tighten her face. Another moment of silence, and finally Eva broke the gaze lock first. She closed her eyes, pulled her hands away from Arielle, and leaned her head back against the chair. She stood like that for a few seconds, and they all remained still, waiting for her next move. She finally opened her eyes and gave a dry gasp. Her voice cracked from sheer agony.
“What did you say?” Arielle reached and tried to take her hands in hers again put she pulled back. Her eyes flickered between Troy, Sebastian and Ian. “What did Arielle say?” Her voice was trembling, but this time she was addressing Ian.
“Eva, you know that I love you more than life,” Ian said, overcome with emotion. “But what Arielle said is the absolute truth,” he continued with a tender voice. He was holding her lovingly.
“But how can that be? We are here! We are alive!” Her eyes were flickering from Ian to Troy, to Sebastian, to Arielle, and then back to Ian.
“No…No… that can’t be possible. Ian, I don’t feel any different than I did before. If this is some kind of a joke, I don’t think it is funny at all.” She was now sounding pretty distraught.
“Eva, baby,” that was Ian’s soft voice. Something in his expression faltered, and they all knew he was extremely concerned.
Eva’s eyes went wide, and she went rigid with disbelief. She swept her hair out of her eyes and opened her mouth to speak, but the sensation of a steel vice closing around her throat kept her utterly silent. She moved her hands up to her throat and looked around the room frantically.
Arielle hesitated for a moment then she reached and hugged Eva.
“Troy is the reason you and Ian are here, alive and able to love each other,” she said with a warm smile.
“He didn’t let us die,” Ian added.
Eva’s jaw dropped, her eyes welled up, and her body started to shudder. Arielle was sure the reality shock was unbelievable. Suddenly she recalled the way she felt when she found out about Sebastian. She could only imagine the way Eva felt right now.
“Ian, that’s absolutely insane,” she murmured, and let out a wheezing whimper. Her face was stricken with shock and her body quivered. “I can’t even comprehend the possibility, of t…” she stopped mid-sentence, as if she was trying to think of the right thing to say, but suddenly she buried her face in her hands and started to sob. Ian frowned, but nobody moved. They knew that Eva was horrified, and they had to wait her out. She finally stopped sobbing. Pushing her hair out of her face, she looked up and let her gaze glide slowly over each face in the room until her eyes met Ian’s gaze. Eva looked at him as if she had never seen his face before.
“No…no…no…no,” she said emphatically. “I know that you are all making this up. It just can’t be true. Look at us,” she shouted, glancing between her friends, and moving her arms wildly between Ian and herself. “We’re a mess. We’re bruised up; we’re in pain, I have a leg cast; Ian has an arm cast. If that were true, according to Sebastian and Troy, we wouldn’t be in this condition.”
“Eva, please, baby,” Ian said and pulled her in his arms.
“But what do we do now?” she asked, with a tremulous voice.
“We don’t have to do anything, sweetheart,” Ian whispered.
Eva drew a deep breath and exhaled cautiously. “Are we immortals? Because I don’t feel any different.”
“No, not just yet, but we’ll be soon.”
“How soon?” She was still scrutinizing Ian’s face.
“Troy and Sebastian said it will be later tonight,” he replied, watching her intently. “Eva, please, baby,” he continued. “We have to accept our fate and agree that eternity is our future.” A soft smile tagged his lips. “I always dreamed of being with you forever. Well, we now have that chance. Together for eternity,” Ian said, chuckling.
Eva looked up and noticed Troy and Sebastian holding a soft smile on their beautiful faces. Shock from bad news is real, and nobody in the room expected her to be delighted after getting this type of news. They were all here to support her in coping with the change. Her denial was a human trade, but in the end, Arielle knew that Eva would accept and face the reality of it. Sebastian moved closer, cupped Eva’s face with both hands and softly spoke.
“Eva, we love you. Troy and I will be here for you every step of the way.” He saw a faint smile tag Eva’s lips, and she
let out a soft sigh.
“I remember Ian telling me how much he wished he was an immortal after he returned from St. Jean.” They heard her voice, soft and shaky. “That was the time you and all of your friends were going after Annabelle, do you remember?”
“How can I forget something like that?” Sebastian said. “That entire trip will remain in our memories for centuries to come,” he said, and chuckled.
“Oh, Ian,” she mumbled and fell in his arms. “I’m so scared.”
“So am I, Eva, but this is better than the alternative. We were killed in the accident. Think about the pain that our families would have to endure. Troy gave us a second chance.” Arielle nodded and kept quiet.
The next voice was the one that Arielle loved, the one that soothed her soul. It was Sebastian, and compassion was spread across his face.
“Eva, let me give you a little advice of my own experience. When I found out that I was an immortal, I assessed the degree of gain versus the loss. I used the information that I received to successfully cope with the change in my life. I’m sure that this is the best outcome of all; I only wish that you could see this now, but it may take a little time. At the very beginning of my transformation, I had absolutely no one to help me move along with my life, but you, you have all of us to support you and love you as you move on.”
Eva smiled softly, thoughtfully. “Sebastian, I’m thankful that I’m alive; however, I’m scared about not understanding who I really am,” she pursed her lips. “I would like to know the things I’m going to live without and the things I’ll now possess. I want to know how this change will affect my relationships,” Eva looked anxious again, as she continued. “My relationship with my mother and my human friends who are not aware of this amazing world you and Troy live in. That is what is freaking me out right now. It’s not the immortality part of it, but the way I move on with my new identity.” She looked down and rubbed her hands together in unease. “I do remember a lot from our conversation at the beach of Saint Jean de Luz, but the revelation of your immortality didn’t include myself so I did miss quite a lot out of fear and astonishment.”
“Eva, Troy and I gave you practically everything that we went through during our transformation at that time, but we’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have,” Sebastian replied with a warm, calm voice. Eva was looking at Ian who leaned in, pulled her even closer, and locked them in a warm kiss.
“Don’t forget that I’m here, and I’m going to walk with you every step of the way on this unknown journey of our lives,” Ian said. “I love you, Eva, and I’m happy to know that I’ll be with you for eternity. I know that people that love each other as much as we do would give anything they own to achieve immortality. ” Ian was lost in her eyes. She held him tight as they locked themselves in another hot kiss, making their friends smile. She broke the kiss a little embarrassed, and smiling, she looked between the three of them and continued.
“I’m still very frightened, but ready to hear the details. What is it that I’ll not be able to do or have as an immortal?”
Sebastian looked at Troy and told him something that neither one of them could hear. He got up and started to pace in front of them. He finally stopped and started to speak slowly and tenderly. Patiently, he began to recount the same things they’d revealed to Ian the night before at the beach.
“Are you saying that I’ll never find a solid ground to build a foundation on this earth? Will I move into infinity without being able to attach myself anywhere?” she asked, totally animated.
Wow…Arielle thought, that was a very deep question. I’d like to know the answer even though it doesn’t pertain to me.
“Eva,” Troy jumped in. “If you try to grasp infinity, then you are right. We as immortals travel, always drifting in uncertainty as our lives never end. The earth moves and opens into infinity as human lives shift, slip past us, and vanish forever while we are still here.”
That is the most amazing explanation I ever heard. I hope that Eva will feel the same way. Arielle thought.
“Eva, I love you and I’m here with you,” Ian desperately waited for her to find the calmness and reassurance he needed so bad right now. She reached out and held him tight again as she tried hard to show that she was all right with everything that was happening right now.
“Eva, you’ll have to be protected against the sunlight, because that will be the one and only thing that could kill you.”
“How are you protected against the sun? I see you and Loren out all the time.” Eva and Ian were now looking at both Sebastian and Troy.
“We wear a type of ring that provides that protection.” Troy extended his right arm, and showed her the beautiful ring that was nestled on his hand between the middle and the little finger.
“Sebastian already acquired the rings for both of you,” he said. Sebastian got up and came close as he took a small box out of his pocket. He opened it. Taking out a gorgeous, elegant silver ring, he placed it on her right finger.
“This ring is now permanently on your finger. No one and nothing can remove it, not even you,” Sebastian said. Eva looked at the ring in astonishment tried to pull it off, but it wouldn’t budge. She was absolutely shocked, and so was Arielle. She never really witnessed anything like this before. He then moved over and did the exact same thing with Ian. Ian’s ring was larger but just as elegant and amazing as Sebastian and Troy’s.
“These rings will be your protection and nothing will ever harm you again. If you get hurt, you will heal in a very short time. You’ll never get sick and will never have the need for a doctor or any kind of care about your well-being.” Troy said.
“Troy, how am I going to fool my mother if we are invited for dinner, and we don’t eat?”
“I didn’t say you wouldn’t be able to eat or drink anything you want. What I said is that none of that will be enough to sustain your body’s energy. You will require a special drink that is called salve, and we’ll show you and Ian how to obtain it. It’s an immortal secret.”
Relief spread across her face as she added, “So no one will know the difference about us?”
“Did you know that Sebastian and I were different?” Troy asked.
“No, I must admit I never did. However, I always thought that you guys were amazing in a strange way.”
“That was only because of your visions and the powers you possess,” Arielle added in a soft voice. Sebastian gazed at her and smiled lovingly. Eva’s face was calming down, but she was still having a questioning look.
“So… what are the powers Ian and I will now possess?” Sebastian was happy to give her the list.
“You will have no fear about anything or anyone. You will remain young and exceptionally beautiful for eternity. You will possess extreme strength, speed, and intelligence. You will absorb information a million times faster than any human and be able to retain everything you learn along the way. You will be able to move between places and countries without using any type of human transportation, if that is your choice. You’ll be able to manifest things at will and keep them for as long as you wish. You’ll become wealthy beyond belief, because Troy and I will introduce you to many people in very high places. You’ll belong to our secret society that takes care of each other and provides everything that we could possibly need to sustain us. You’ll have a man who loves you beyond any reasoning and who will be standing by your side for eternity.” Sebastian never took a breath during that long speech. A long stifling silence fell in the room, while his words draped over Ian, Eva, and Arielle.
Chapter 10
ARIELLE WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZED to hear Sebastian’s voice in such a matter of fact tone. She gaped at him, and her thoughts drifted to a different place. So he is wealthy beyond belief, and he can do just about anything he wants. Suddenly his last words about Eva having the man that loves her for eternity sent her to a painful place. She rubbed her hands together anxiously, and stared at the floor. I won’t be able to be by Sebastian’s s
ide for eternity, and that’s an indisputable fact. No matter what he says, I’m human, and so is Gabby. We will both get sick and or hurt at different times, and eventually we’ll both die.
A shooting pain coursed across her nerves, and her heart sunk in despair, filled with wretchedness at the thought of Sebastian moving on, young and beautiful for eternity without her by his side. She thought of all the beautiful women in his undying world that wanted his affection and that were ready to be rid of her to get it. She winced at the thought of Sebastian sharing his love, and his bed, with someone else. That thought hurt so bad that the agony spread across her face. She swallowed hard, trying to keep tears from escaping the corners of her eyes. She pressed her lips together, and shut her eyes real tight, taking several deep breaths and shifting in her seat. She tried to concentrate on Eva’s issue, but she failed miserably.
“What’s wrong, baby?” Sebastian’s voice was soft. Her eyes shot open, and she was startled to find him standing right in front of her. He knew she was anxious about something. He pulled her up into his arms, and his eyes pierced through hers in complete wonder. She took a few deep breaths, and shook her head trying to get rid of all the distressful thoughts that were invading her mind at that very moment. She shifted from one foot to the other and remained silent.
“Yes, what’s wrong, Arielle?” Eva was now asking. She realized that her mood had become utterly obvious to all around her.
She smiled softly, and her voice came out shaken. “Oh! I was just thinking about Gabby and me.”
“Oh, what about Gabby and you?” Eva insisted.
“Well, you see, we are the only humans left in our small group of six. As I see it right now, Gabby and I will get old and die someday while the loves of our lives and our best friends move on for eternity, young and beautiful forever,” she said, eyes tearing.
Arielle Immortal Quickening (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 4) Page 9