Eternal Reign
Page 36
I waited until his gaze settled back on my face. Anger and frustration still twisted his expression, but the panic had dampened and been replaced with resignation.
How? I mouthed.
“Does the how of it really matter, Cassidy?” he snapped.
I didn’t have the strength or means to hold an extended conversation, so I just stared up at him and waited.
He sighed deeply. “How am I here in daylight, how did I know you were hurt, or how did I know you’d be here, alone, after your prearranged hour of conversation with Greta had expired?”
I let loose a snort of derision, or rather I tried. Blood squirted from the ravages of my throat.
Dominic coughed up more blood. He was struggling to keep it together, to keep us alive, and if the deepening lines bracketing his mouth, the trembling of his hand, and his ghostly complexion were any indications, his struggle was a losing battle. The more I died, the more he took the injury into himself to keep me alive, and the more he died.
He’d obviously known I was hurt because he’d felt the injury himself, and how he’d found me wasn’t nearly as impossible as the fact that he’d found me in the sun without bursting into flames.
I moved my lips: daylight.
“I have human vision and human strength. When I felt your throat being torn and I realized what you’d done, I just hoped that I had human skin as well.” He turned his face to the light. The scent of roasting meat became more prominent in the air, but he didn’t immediately burst into flames.
I raised my eyebrows. At least I thought I did. I couldn’t feel my face. Stupid risk.
His expression darkened. “Look at the risk you took and where it got you. Look at us,” Dominic said, and he began coughing from the overexertion. Blood sprayed in a thick arch over me. Smaller droplets dripped down his chin. He covered his mouth, but his hand trembled so badly, he only managed to smear the blood across his face. It embedded in the crevices of his scar, making him look savage. He met my gaze, and the intensity, even with human eyes, was searing. “No risk, no matter how great, could keep me from you at a time like this. We are one, you and I. Where you go, I follow.”
I opened my mouth to explain myself, to justify what I’d done, but the explanation was too long and too much. Blood squirted from my throat, and Dominic coughed up more of it. A long moment passed before either of us was composed enough to communicate.
Maybe Dominic was right. I didn’t have many words to spare, so the ones I took the effort to speak shouldn’t be the how and the why. I should speak the truth.
I didn’t have the strength to admit my feelings for Dominic before, but now that I was too weak to even speak, my heart had never felt more invincible.
I love you.
“Shut up,” he snapped, suddenly seething. “Do not say that to me right now, not like that, not like you’re saying good-bye.” The panic returned to his eyes, and he looked around, searching the alley and his vast empire of nearly five hundred years’ worth of experience and knowledge, but I knew what he hadn’t yet accepted. The only other vampires able to withstand the sunlight were Day Reapers. No one willing to help from his coven could leave the coven, and no one who could withstand the light would be willing to help.
And I had to confess another truth—a horrible, inevitable, unthinkable truth, worse than admitting that I loved Dominic.
I didn’t want to die.
I could try to fool myself into believing that what I was about to ask of Dominic was a selfless act for the bigger picture. Lives were at stake, an entire city needed protecting, and I couldn’t leave now without putting up a fight, the biggest fight of my life. For my life.
But I’d be lying to myself, because the truth was that I simply wasn’t ready to leave this life—or Dominic, not when I’d just found him. As always, unfortunately for my sanity and the bloating of his already bursting ego, Dominic was once again, unfathomably right. I’d never wanted to wear the vial of his blood on a necklace, but I couldn’t deny that in this moment, the one moment when I actually needed it, I was glad I had it—not for Bex and not for Nathan, and not as proof of the existence of another species; I was glad I had it just for me.
I opened my mouth to speak, but I didn’t have enough air in my lungs to coax my voice to form words.
Dominic noticed my struggle, and he placed his fingers over my lips. Their gentle touch trembled against my skin. “Shut up, and rest, damn it.”
I tried to take a deep breath for courage and strength, but I didn’t have a throat to breathe through.
Dominic coughed up more blood from my effort.
Vampire, I mouthed.
“Impossible. Where?” Dominic stiffened, his gaze snapping up to dart around and above the alley.
I waited until he looked down at me again before moving my lips. No. Me.
His eyes narrowed. “What?” he asked, and there was a mixed awe and horror in that one word that I wouldn’t have guessed would be present in this moment.
Transform me into a vampire.
One Night after the Leveling
Never apologize for surviving.
—RENE ROLAND, in remembrance
Stay tuned for the thrilling
next installment in
the Night Blood Series
Coming soon from
Melody Johnson
and
Lyrical Press
DAY REAPER
And don’t miss the first two books in the series
THE CITY BENEATH
And
SWEET LAST DROP
Available now wherever ebooks are sold
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Melody Johnson is the author of the gritty urban fantasy Night Blood series set in New York City. The first installment, The City Beneath, was a finalist in several Romance Writers of America contests, including the “Cleveland Rocks” and “Fool for Love” contests.
Melody graduated magna cum laude from Lycoming College with her B.A. in creative writing and psychology. While still earning her degree, she worked as an editing intern for Wahida Clark Presents Publishing. She was a copyeditor for several urban fiction novels, including Cheetah by Missy Jackson, Trust No Man II by Cash, and Karma with a Vengeance by Tash Hawthorne.
Constantly striving to hone her craft, Melody is a member of Romance Writers of America and regularly attends conferences and book fairs. When she isn’t working or writing, Melody can be found swimming at the beach, honing her blossoming volleyball skills, and exploring her new home in southeast Georgia.
You can learn more about Melody and her work at http://www.authormelodyjohnson.com and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.
THE CITY BENEATH
THIS TURF WAR NEVER SLEEPS . . .
As a journalist, Cassidy DiRocco thought she had seen every
depraved thing New York City’s underbelly had to offer. But while
covering what appears to be a vicious animal attack, she finds
herself drawn into a world she never knew existed. Her exposé
makes her the target of the handsome yet brutal Dominic Lysander,
the Master vampire of New York City, who has no problem
silencing her to keep his coven’s secrets safe . . .
But Dominic offers Cassidy another option: ally. He reveals she is a
night blood, a being with powers of her own, including the ability to
become a vampire. As the body count escalates, Cassidy is caught
in the middle of a vampire rebellion. Dominic insists she can help
him stop the coming war, but wary of his intentions, Cassidy enlists
the help of the charming Ian Walker, a fellow night blood. As the
battle between vampires takes over the city, Cassidy will have to tap
into her newfound powers and decide where to place her trust . . .
SWEET LAST DROP
TRUST NO ONE
Cassidy DiRocco knows the dark side intimately—as a c
rime
reporter in New York City, she sees it every day. But since she
discovered that she’s a night blood, her power and potential have
led the dark right to her doorway. With her brother missing and no
one remembering he exists, she makes a deal with Dominic
Lysander, the fascinating Master vampire of New York, to find him.
Dominic needs the help of Bex, another Master vampire, to keep
peace in the city, so he sends Cassidy to a remote, woodsy town
upstate to convince her—assuming she survives long enough. A
series of vicious “animal attacks” after dark tells Cassidy there’s
more to Bex and her coven than anyone’s saying. That goes double
for fellow night blood Ian Walker, the tall, blond animal tracker
who’s supposed to be her ally. Walker may be hot-blooded and
hard-bodied, but he’s hiding something, too. If Cassidy wants the
truth, she’ll have to squeeze it out herself... every last drop.