"She took good care of you when I couldn't," I said truthfully. "I like her already."
“It was Mark’s idea to bring you here,” he added. “We were desperate. I would have done anything at that point.”
"I've never heard of an Elder giving of their blood like this," I said to Trey, still trying to wrap my head around the story he'd told me. "I still can't believe you convinced him to do it."
"It didn't take that much convincing, honestly," Trey said, twisting my wedding band around on my ring finger. "The important thing is that it worked. You look better already."
"Do I?"
"Yeah," he said, followed by that irresistible half-smile. "The bluish veins around your eyes are gone and your skin has that sort of ethereal quality back to it."
"Ugh ... I must have looked awful."
"You're beautiful," he said, cupping my cheek with his hand. "You always have been." I opened my mouth to respond, but a glance into Trey's cool blue eyes whisked my breath away. I'd wondered, during my time in the endless fog, if I'd ever get the chance to drown in the intensity of his eyes like this again. Looking at him now, I wanted to fully appreciate just how stunning he was. I reached up, letting my fingers run along his chocolate colored hair. "Hey," he said softly, cocking his head. "You okay?"
I nodded, letting my fingers trail down the side of his face and along the strong line of his jaw. The absence of his breath on my fingertip as I traced over his perfect lips was still strange to me. In ways, I’d probably always see him as the human I fell in love with. He met me halfway when I leaned into him, his lips covering mine in a slow, sweet kiss. For the second time since I'd fought my way out of the fog, I felt Trey's emotions swirl up inside of me, blending seamlessly with my own. It would have been impossible to separate them, and I had no desire to try. There's no way to describe how amazing it is to have someone else's feelings so completely in tune with your own that there's no need to explain yourself. When the kiss ended, I leaned against Trey's shoulder and tried to relax, but my mind was wandering.
"What is it?" Trey asked after a moment. "Not that I'm complaining, but your mental fortress is back up in full force, so I have to ask."
“I feel … different.”
“That’s not too surprising considering you were dying a short while ago.”
I sat up and saw that Trey was smiling at me, but it didn’t mask the sudden concern in his eyes. “It’s probably nothing,” I said, more to convince myself than anything. Then, more to change the subject than anything I said, "I still can’t believe this all comes back to Malena. If only I had known…."
Trey was silent for a moment and then he said, "You couldn’t have known. No one could. She even had Antonio fooled, and I think we both know that’s not easy to do.” He reached over and took my hand in his, entwining our fingers. “What do you think he’ll do about her?"
"I don't know," I admitted. Mark had gone to call Antonio, but I hadn't talked to him yet. "Whatever he does, it won't seem like enough."
"You can say that again."
"This must be hard for you," I said to him. "We finally know who orchestrated everything, including hiring the vamps from Miami who killed Wes. You must want to tear her throat out."
I felt his body tense as I spoke, and when he responded his words didn't surprise me. "I came real close to trying," he admitted. "At the beach house, when I wasn't sure if you were going to make it, I wanted to hunt her down and make her pay for everything she's done."
"What stopped you?"
"Beck." Trey chuckled and wrapped an arm around me as he spoke. "He talked some sense into me. I probably would have gotten myself killed otherwise."
"I'll have to thank him," I said, smiling. "What have you been telling the guys? They must be wondering where we've run off to."
"The truth. At least, as much of it as I could," he said. "I told them you were sick, and I was taking you to see a specialist."
“This whole thing must have thrown a wrench in your rehearsal schedule. I bet they're freaking out."
"Hey," he said softly, biting back a smile. "The only thing that matters is that you're going to be okay now. Everything else will work itself out."
“I should call Kacie,” I said.
“She knows you’ve been sick, too,” he added.
“Did you call her?”
“I didn’t have to. She and O’Shea have been spending a lot of time together lately.”
This made me smile. I had definitely seen it coming, but still the news of Kacie and O’Shea dating, even if it was pretty casual, made me happy for them both. They deserved to have love. If I deserved to be happy with Trey, they definitely deserved it, too.
Trey’s phone beeped, and he lifted it up to see that he had a text from O’Shea. “He’s probably worried about you,” Trey said. “I should give him a call.”
“Tell him hi for me,” I said.
Trey got to his feet, buttoning his shirt back up. “I won’t be gone long.” He bent down and kissed my cheek.
“I’ll be here.”
He smiled and let himself out of the room. I had no misgivings about the identity of the vampire who knocked on the bedroom door just moments later. The hum of his power was unmistakable.
"Come in," I called out.
Stanislav Vidic opened the door and let himself in. He smiled at me kindly, and I had to remind myself that I'd nearly died, and there was nothing I could do about the fact that the Synod Elder was seeing me lie around in bed like this.
"Dr. Conry informed me that you were awake a few hours ago. I thought I'd give you some time to get oriented before I checked in on you." He gestured to a chair nearby and said, "May I?"
"Of course," I answered, sitting up a little straighter in the bed.
"I'd ask if you're feeling better but the fact that you're awake and responsive must mean that's true."
"I am," I said. I thought about my choice of words carefully before I spoke again. "I want to thank you for what you did for me. I know it was not a small thing Trey asked of you when he brought me here."
"That's true," Stanislav said, holding my gaze. "But when you've lived as long as I have, you learn things that the misguided agendas of youth cannot perceive." I held my tongue and waited for him to continue. "Our kind must stick together," he said at last. "If we do not, we are evolution's failure indeed."
I don't know why his generosity still surprised me. Maybe it was because the only two times we'd ever come in contact prior to my stay at the vineyard were times I hadn't been on my best behavior. The first was when he mentally interrogated me about my association with Trey, and the second was at the Lunar Eclipse Ritual when I very publicly blew off the only member of his family he has contact with.
"You and Trey are quite the pair," Stanislav said, pulling me from my thoughts. I thought he meant the fact that Trey had been human until recently, but I realized that wasn't what he meant at all, as he continued. "A famous rock star and a beautiful, budding artist," he said wistfully. "You're the perfect example of young vampires taking advantage of your abilities to take the world by storm." I tried not to let it show on my face, but I found that a strange comment to make, especially considering Trey was so new at vamp-life that he hadn't used his abilities for much of anything yet. I wanted to ask what he actually meant by it, but Stanislav stood to excuse himself. "I trust you have everything you need to continue to recover," he said. I nodded. "Please feel free to stay as long as you need. There's no hurry."
"Thank you," I said. And just like that, he was gone from the room again. He was a strange man, Stanslav, and I just couldn't put my finger on exactly what it was about him that bothered me. If it weren't for him, I'd most likely be dead by now, but something about him just didn't settle well. Maybe I was just still tired from all the almost dying. Maybe I was just being paranoid, because a vampire from my own brood had betrayed me in the worst possible way. I didn't have much time to try and decipher the reasons behind it, because I felt
Mark approaching.
“How are you doing?” he asked as he knocked on the open door.
“Better,” I said. “Thanks to you.”
He shook his head, and although he was smiling, he couldn’t hide the troubled expression beneath it. “I … I don’t deserve any credit for the fact that you’re still alive.” I frowned at him before he spoke again. “No,” he added, holding out his hands in a gesture that was all-encompassing. “This was all Trey.” Mark shrugged and walked toward my bed, sitting on the edge to look at me. “We were losing you,” he said slowly. It was clear from the look in his eyes that the words were painful to speak. “I had exhausted every idea , and nothing was working.” I reached over and took his hand in mine, squeezing it gently. “But Trey … Trey was convinced there had to be another way. I realized that if I didn’t think of something, I might lose you both because Trey could do something stupid like rip his own heart out to replace yours.” My soft laugh made Mark smile, and he squeezed my hand back.
“Thank you,” I said. “For keeping both of us alive.”
“It’s not a job I would wish on anyone,” he teased.
“Can I ask you something?” I said to him. He nodded at me, and I bit my lip, trying to find a way to express my thoughts. “Obviously, I haven’t been able to let Trey feed from me every night like I had planned. I never even got the chance to teach him how to feed from a human before everything went down with Malena. He said he drank from the stash at the beach house, and I know there’s no shortage of blood/wine here at the vineyard, but that’s not usually how things are done.”
“You’re wondering if he’s okay despite the lack of fresh blood in his system?” Mark said. “The situation hasn’t been ideal by any means, but he seems to be handling it pretty well. You’ll be feeling better soon,” he said, smiling at me and trying to lighten the mood. “You can give him your blood again then. For now, he’s making it work.”
I nodded, feeling a little relieved at his answer. The last thing I wanted was for Trey to grow weak due to lack of fresh blood. He was still a new vampire, and he was healing from a fight, to top it all off. I just had to get better so I could take care of him again like I’d intended.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand, and Mark reached over and handed it to me. It was Antonio’s name on the screen.
“I’ll leave you to talk,” Mark said, smiling. “Call for me if you need anything.”
I nodded, answering my phone as Mark let himself out of the room. I couldn’t have known just how much I needed to hear Antonio’s comforting, fatherly tone until it came on the line.
Chapter 49
Trey
AURORA SMILED AT ME from across the large bathroom in the guest suite at Stanislav's. I was sitting on the tile floor a few feet away from the bathtub, lounging against the wall. The only part of Aurora I could see above the white froth of bubbles was her face, but at least she was smiling. One of Stanislav's vampire assistants, a woman this time, had brought her a new change of clothes this morning, and Aurora had insisted on having a bubble bath before she wore them. She'd been soaking in the bubbles for about twenty minutes now.
"Feel better?" I asked, admiring how peaceful she looked as she rested her head against the back of the deep, claw foot tub.
"You have no idea," she said slowly. "I feel like a new woman already."
I chuckled, and she flung some bubbles at me. A knock sounded on the bedroom door, and Aurora looked up in response. We both knew it was Mark knocking.
"Enjoy your bath," I said, giving her my best lazy grin as I closed the bathroom door behind me and went to answer the other one. "Hey," I said, greeting Mark.
"What's the plan?" he asked as he stepped into the room.
"She wants to go home," I answered. "Do you think she's ready?"
"I can hear you," Aurora called from inside the bathroom. "And the answer is a big, definitive yes."
Mark grinned and shook his head at her antics, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets. "Well, that depends," he said.
"On what?" she asked. I could hear the tub draining now. I was about to tell her that she didn't have to get out yet, but I could already hear a zipper being done up and the sound of a towel rubbing together at lighting speeds.
"On how you're feeling," Mark continued without missing a beat.
Aurora came out of the bathroom, hair towel-dried, and completely dressed, just to prove her point. "I'm fine." I couldn't help but smile. It was great to see her looking like herself again. She stepped forward, taking my hands in hers. "I just want to get out of here and go back to our lives." I nodded, knowing exactly how she felt.
An hour later one of Stanislav's servants was carrying Mark's medical equipment out to Mark's car for us.
"You're sure you won't stay another day?" Stanislav Vidic said as one of his vampire servants opened the doors to the mansion, letting the sunlight trickle inside.
"You're very kind," Aurora said. "I can't thank you enough for your generosity, but we don't want to overstay our welcome, and Trey has teenage girls to make swoon."
"Well, if I can't convince you...." Stanislav looked at me and offered his hand.
I shook it firmly. "Thank you, again," I said. Mark and Beck were already waiting for us in the car. I led Aurora to the car, and Beck opened the door before I reached it. Aurora and I slid into the backseat, and Beck climbed up front with Mark who was driving.
"Ready?" Mark asked.
"Let's go home," Aurora said.
Aurora was amazed by the devastation we saw as we drove back to Clearwater. The closer we got to the coast, the more damage the storm had done. Mark, Beck and I weren't surprised. We'd witnessed the effects of the storm firsthand on our way to the vineyard just a few short days ago. The majority of it had been cleaned up. There were no large fallen trees blocking the roads, for instance, but not all the evidence of Mother Nature's wrath had gone yet. Gardens and landscaping had flooded and cars still had their tires half-buried in mud. Windshields and house windows alike were cracked and damaged.
"I can't believe you guys drove through this," Aurora said under her breath as she stared out the backseat window. "How do you manage to make it as far as the Vineyard?"
"It wasn't easy," Beck said. "Believe me. I wasn't sure we'd make it."
"I would have carried you on foot, if it came down to it," I said to her, making her smile.
"I don't know how I'll repay all of you for everything you did to save my life. I mean that."
"Never getting staked again would be a great start," Mark said, grinning. "I mean that, too."
"I second that," I agreed.
Aurora entwined her fingers in mine and leaned her head on my shoulder. I smiled at the way she played with my wedding band as Beck argued with Mark about which radio station to listen to. When Mark pulled up to our house, I opened the door for Aurora and we said our goodbyes. I unlocked the front door, and Aurora walked in before me. She paused in the entryway, looking thoughtful.
"What is it?" I asked, putting an arm around her waist. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes," she assured me. "It's just nice ... being here. It feels like home." I smiled, and she leaned in to me, giving me a soft kiss on the lips. I probably could have stopped my vampire heartbeat from racing, but I liked that she still had that effect on me. It made me feel more alive than anything else could.
“You're right about one thing," I said. "It is nice to be home with you."
“Are these all wedding presents?” Aurora said in astonishment as she made her way into the living room. There were piles of gifts stacked up all along the far wall.
“Yeah,” I said. “Chase and Jonas offered to gather them all up after the reception and drop them off.”
“How did anyone find the time to get a gift?”
“You have to remember, you’re the only one who didn’t know about the wedding until the day of,” I reminded her.
“What do you think people got us?” she said, rea
ding the card on the nearest gift.
“I guess we’ll have to open them and find out.”
"I guess you’re right,” she said. “I don’t think I’m in the mood to open them all right now, though.”
“I don’t think that’s a typical girl quality,” I teased. “Aren’t women supposed to love getting gifts?”
“You didn’t marry a typical girl,” she said, grinning at me. “You should probably call the guys now that we’re home,” she added. “Tell them you'll be at rehearsals tomorrow.”
"You're sure?" I asked.
"Your album drops in two days. You haven't spent nearly enough time getting ready. It's going to take an all-nighter as it is. You won't have a problem pulling that off, but I hope the guys are up to the challenge of keeping up with you and your new vampire stamina."
"They're going to have to learn sooner or later," I teased as I pulled my phone out, dialing O'Shea's number. He answered on the fourth ring.
"Hey man, what's going on?"
"I'm back in town," I said. "Are we on for rehearsing tomorrow?"
"Absolutely," he countered. "It's going to be crazy, but we have to work out the kinks."
"We have a lot to make up for," I admitted. "That's my fault. I'm sorry."
"We'll figure it out," O'Shea said. "We always do. How's Aurora feeling?"
"She's on the mend now," I said. I'd told the guys she was battling a serious infection. They thought I'd taken her to see a specialist a few hours away. It was the best I could come up with in the situation. Thankfully, they'd bought it hook, line and sinker. It had been close to the truth, at least, as close to the truth as I could tell them.
"Glad to hear it," he answered. "Is she coming tomorrow?"
"I don't know ... I'm not sure she'll be up to it yet. We'll have to see." Aurora rolled her eyes at me and I shrugged at her.
"Well, tell her hi for me,” O’Shea added.
"I will."
"I'll call the guys, and let them know we're on for tomorrow."
"Thanks."
Immortals And Melodies (Blood And Guitars #2) Page 25