by Amy Sparling
I stand with Theo in the middle of the library while we wait on Riley and Kyle. He watches me, his golden eyes never leaving me as I pace the length of the carpet in the middle of the room. “Babe, I love you,” I say, stopping in front of him.
“What are we doing?” he says, gripping my arms tightly.
“We’re testing out a theory.”
The door opens. Riley and Kyle enter. Kyle’s looking a little green with worry, but Riley’s face lights up when she sees me.
“Spill it,” she says, scampering up to me with delight in her eyes. “How are you going to save us?
“Perpetual lifeblood,” I say. Theo and Kyle exchange a glance, but Riley nods.
“Did you figure out what that means?”
“I think so.” Riley’s grin is contagious, so now I’m smiling even though I’m still a little nervous. “Theo, you said you knew of an immortal who fell in love with this lifeblood a long time ago, but you never knew what happened to her.”
“We still don’t know,” he says.
“I think I do. She didn’t become an immortal, but she didn’t have to die either. When we were in the Dover castle, I noticed the necklace Lord Marcus’s wife was wearing was kind of odd. It had a big band through the middle of it, and I didn’t know why you’d cover up such a beautiful stone. Lord Marcus had the same thing.” I look at my bracelet. “Then it hit me. She doesn’t have one stone. She has two.”
The room goes as silent as the pages of the books around us. I reach into my pocket and pull out a dagger that I’d stolen from Lady Em’s jewelry box. The blade is short and sharp, the handle encrusted with precious gems.
I turn my wrist over and press the point of the dagger into the center of my immortality stone. Theo inhales sharply as I press it down, the blade cutting into the stone easier than I’d imagined. The stone breaks in half, a perfect cut. All eyes are on me as I twist and slide off one half of the stone. I pull it off the bracelet and hold my breath.
Nothing happens.
I place the loose half of my stone into Theo’s hand and then lean up on my toes and kiss him. I reach inside his shirt and take his necklace, cupping it in the palm of my hand. “It can’t be away from my skin for very long,” he says softly.
“I’ll only be a second,” say, smiling up at him before I pierce the dagger into his stone, breaking it perfectly in half again. It’s almost as if the stones were created to be split like this, I think as I slide out the top half of his stone. I take mine from his hand and place it back into the setting. The two halves pull together as if magnetized. I press the pendant back to Theo’s chest, then place his half of the stone onto my bracelet. The same thing happens—both stones press together in the center.
I take a deep breath and look into his eyes. “I feel fine,” I say.
He nods. “Me too.”
“Perpetual lifeblood,” Riley breathes. “Oh my God, you did it.”
“What does this mean?” Kyle says, his own hand touching his necklace on top of his shirt.
“I think it means we’ll both live forever,” I say. “I’m giving him life while he’s giving me life. It goes on forever.”
Theo scoops me into his arms, lifting me off my feet. “You are amazing,” he says, holding me tightly. When he pulls away, there are tears in his eyes. “I never have to lose you,” he says.
I grab his shoulders and kiss him with all that I have. “I hope you’re okay with that.”
“Are you kidding?” he says, grinning from ear to ear. “This is a dream come true.”
“Okay lovebirds,” Riley says, yanking the dagger out of my pocket. “Kyle, are you with me?”
He rips the button right off his shirt, pulling open the fabric to reveal his necklace. “There’s no one else I’d rather be bonded to for life,” he says with a playful grin. “Let’s do this.”
We split their stones and the process goes perfectly. After a little while of jumping up and down and crying in my best friend’s arms, we realize that this is the start of a new life. A life of happiness and family and love. An immortal life, forever bonded with the people we care about.
It’s getting late, and I still owe a bedtime story to the younger kids, but we call an emergency meeting with the other adults. I explain it all to them, and everyone eagerly agrees to be bonded to their immortal or lifeblood. Since our pilot is several hours away, we agree to wait until the morning to complete everyone else’s perpetual lifeblood transformation. Everything goes smoothly, and for the first time in a long time, I can breathe easily. There is hope for the future, and I’ve never felt so alive.
***
“What is this about?” I ask Theo as we make our way through the mansion.
“No clue, but for once, I’m not internally freaking out at the idea of a meeting,” Theo says, tossing me a grin.
It’s been a week since we all became immortal, and Henry just called a meeting. I’m living in Theo’s room permanently now, so it feels weird always being on this side of the mansion. After the kids got used to the place, they started wanting more space so we gave them my old room in addition to the other empty rooms. Now they sleep three kids to a room, and they all seem very happy.
Bethany, Nia, and Olivia are doing well, too. Now that we’re all immortals, it feels like we can take things slowly, figure out what we want to do with life. Nia has enrolled in art school and wants to pursue a career as a tattoo artist and Olivia has started cosmetology school. Bethany has been spending a lot of time with the kids, saying she’d love to homeschool them and help out in the future if we ever adopt more orphans. As for me, I’ve just been taking it easy. I spend the nights with Theo in our bed, and in the mornings, I sleep late curled up next to him. I’m allowing myself to enjoy every little part of the man I love, knowing that nothing will take him away from me any time soon. Eventually, I’d like to find my place in this life. Find a cause I can work on, a way to make the world a little better. For now, I’m hanging out with the kids, redecorating the room I share with Theo, and getting to know my new immortal family on a deeper level.
When we get to the den, everyone is already there. Bethany is sitting weirdly close to Russell on the couch. They’re bonded forever now, and although I never pictured them as a couple, I can kind of see it now. I think they like each other. It’s an unusual paring, but it’s cute anyway.
“Theo, Henry says, dipping his head toward him. “I’ll get right to the point.”
Nerves fly around in my stomach because Henry is being so formal. It almost feels like how a meeting with Alexo used to feel. Theo must sense it too, because his shoulder stiffen.
Henry’s stoic expression turns to a smile. “Every immortal clan has a leader. It’s usually the eldest of the group, or so we’ve seen with our research. But we have chosen you.”
Henry gestures to me. “And Cara. You two have saved our clan and helped reshape it into what it is now. We want to keep the tradition going. We want to be a clan that goes down in the history books for good, not evil. We will swear an oath to protect each other for the rest of our days.”
Everyone in the room stands, even Riley, who winks at me. It all feels so formal. Henry holds out a hand to Theo. “Brother, do you accept?”
Theo looks at me. I nod and he shakes Henry’s hand. “I accept.”
Henry pulls him into a hug and then steps in front of me. “I would be honored to call you sister,” he says. “Do you accept?”
I take his hand and shake it. I only say one word, but it’s filled with the promise of all of the good things to come.
“Yes.”
***
The End
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About the Author
Amy Sparling is the author of The Summer Unplugged Series, Ella's Twisted Senior Year, Deadbeat & other awesome books for younger teens. She loves coffee, the beach, and swooning over book boyfriends.
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