Breathless (Blue Fire Saga #1)
Page 35
CHAPTER 34. EXPLANATIONS
It was a bright cold day. Bradley stood next to his mother on the deck of the Harbor Park Restaurant, leaning against the wooden railing and gazing out onto the sun-dappled river. He was bundled up in a dark green down jacket and wore a matching woolen ski cap drawn down over his ears. A week had passed since Leesa rescued him from the vampires, and while he was recovering rapidly, he still felt the cold more than most. Today was his first real outing, after five days spent lying in bed at Professor’s Clerval’s, warmed by an electric blanket, getting up only to eat and take short walks inside the house. His stay at the professor’s was followed by two more days recuperating at Aunt Janet’s, where he’d gone for a brief stroll outside with his mom each afternoon. Determined to make the most out of this trip to Middletown, he’d insisted they go to the edge of the deck and watch the river before going inside to eat.
“Are you warm enough, Bradley?” Judy asked.
“I’m fine, Mom.” He lifted his face toward the sky. “I thought I’d never feel the sun on my face again. It feels so good. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of it.”
Judy laid her gloved hand atop his. “I know exactly how you feel, dear. I don’t think I will, either. We’ve both spent way too long in darkness.”
Bradley watched a gleaming white pleasure boat chug past heading upstream, fighting the stiff current. “I still can’t believe what Leesa did for me,” he said after a moment.
“She did what she knew you would do, if your places were reversed. You always took care of her, ever since your father left. Lord knows I was no help.”
“You had your own burdens, Mom. Which neither of us truly understood. Or believed, I’m sorry to admit.”
“Well, your sister saved us both.” She patted Bradley’s hand. “I’m so proud of her.”
“Me, too, Mom. Me, too.”
“Is this a private party?” a cheerful voice called from behind them. “Or can anyone join?”
They turned to see a smiling Leesa limping toward them, holding Rave’s hand. She was wearing jeans and a bright blue parka. Her head was bare and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail with a matching blue scrunchy. Underneath the coat, a navy turtleneck hid the scabs on her neck. Rave wore a heavy black and white checked flannel shirt, mostly to ward off any questions about why he wasn’t cold.
“Hi, sweetheart,” Judy said. “We got here a bit early, so we were enjoying the sunshine and the river.”
Leesa gave her mom a warm hug and then embraced Bradley. “How are you feeling?” she asked him.
“Pretty darn good, thanks to you.” He kissed her forehead. “And I intend to stay that way.”
“Then you’d better be a little more careful in your choice of girlfriends,” Leesa teased.
Bradley laughed. “Okay, Sis. I promise to get your approval in the future.” He let go of Leesa and extended his hand to Rave. “Good to see you again, Rave.”
Rave shook Bradley’s hand, using his ever-increasing control of his heat—a control Leesa was enjoying very much—to keep his hand from being too warm. He and Leesa had decided against telling her family about his true nature, thinking they’d had enough of supernatural creatures for a while.
“You, too,” Rave said. He draped his arm around Leesa’s shoulders. “I’ve never seen Leesa happier, now that you’re back.”
“Thanks to her,” Bradley said.
“I still don’t understand what happened,” Judy said. “How did you get bitten, Leesa, but not end up as a vampire? Not that I’m complaining, mind you.”
“I’m not sure I completely understand it, either,” Leesa said. “I passed out when Stefan bit me. When I woke up and felt the scabs on my neck, I thought I was a vampire. I should have known better, because I couldn’t see anything, and if I’d been turned, I would have been able to see in the dark. But my mind was foggy, and I was feeling kind of hopeless.” She leaned her elbows on the railing and gazed out across the river.
“I got the rest of the story from Professor Clerval. He said he’d started to drive away when Stefan appeared out of the darkness, carrying me. Stefan told him I had vampire blood in me.” She smiled at the irony. “It was the grafhym, Mom. You were pregnant when it bit you, so I got some of its essence. Filtered, but grafhym essence nonetheless. As soon as Stefan tasted the hint of grafhym in me, he stopped. He had no idea what would happen if he continued, but was afraid it would go badly. I don’t think he would have taken my blood if he couldn’t turn me in any case, but luckily, grafhym blood tastes really sour to a vampire, so he wouldn’t have gotten any pleasure from drinking mine. He told the professor he released me from our bargain, and since I had fulfilled my part of the deal, Bradley could remain free as well.” She wished she could tell them about Rave’s kiss, how she thought it was meant to kill her, and what an exquisitely pleasurable way to die it would have been, but that needed to remain their secret, at least for now. She was lucky Rave had learned so much control. Otherwise, when she’d locked her arms around his head and pulled her mouth tightly against his, it could very well have turned into a fatal kiss.
She straightened up from the railing. “So I guess you could say we owe it all to ol’ one-fang. The grafhym started all this, but in the end, it’s what saved me.”
Judy smiled broadly and hugged her daughter one more time. “I’m not sure I’ll ever completely understand, but I’m thankful for the way it turned out.” She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a digital camera. “Rave, take a picture of my beautiful children and me, please.” She pressed the camera into Rave’s hand.
Too startled to pull his hand away in time, Rave stared down at the camera, then looked helplessly at Leesa.
Leesa laughed and plucked the camera from Rave’s hand. “You’re gonna have to get yourself a new camera, Mom.”
A puzzled expression creased her mom’s brow. “What do you mean? I just bought that one.” She took the camera from Leesa and began fiddling with the buttons.
“Trust me, Mom. You’re gonna need a new one.”
CHAPTER 35. EPILOGUE
Rave waved as the Taurus pulled out of the parking lot. A smiling Leesa waved back through the rear window. Lunch had been wonderful. The Nylands had been so natural and easy with one another, in a manner he had never seen or experienced among his own people. He loved watching the way they interacted. Even more, he loved seeing Leesa so happy. And Leesa had made sure he felt included in everything. Her mom and Bradley had accepted him completely as Leesa’s boyfriend and as a part of the family. They had even teased him good-naturedly about his refusal to ride in the car with them. A pleasant warmth radiated through his chest, and he knew it had nothing to do with his fire.
Only one thing bothered him, one thing that threatened the idyllic future he envisioned for all of them. The brillig and the tove were continuing to strengthen—Destiratu seemed a certainty. And he knew that could endanger everything.
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Scott Prussing was born in New Jersey, but was smart enough to move to beautiful San Diego as soon as he received his Master's degree in psychology from Yale University. In addition to writing, Scott enjoys hiking, riding his bicycle near the beach, and golf. He is one of the few remaining people in the United States without a cell phone.
Be sure to look for DEATHLESS, Book Two in The Blue Fire Saga
Contact Scott and learn all about his books at https://www.scottprussing.com.