Davina (Davy Harwood #3)

by Tijan

  “Talia.” Tracey was moaning, rocking back and forth. Her hand went to touch her sister’s cheek, then lifted away. She started to touch her niece’s cheek, but her hand raised once again and began to go back to her sister. She couldn’t decide who to touch and in the end, she merely bent forward and pressed her forehead to Talia’s stomach. She grabbed ahold of her on both sides and cried.

  Wren let out a soft breath and stroked Tracey’s back.

  “Oh no.” Davy’s hand found Lucas’s. “They’re gone.”

  Brown stepped forward. She told Davy and Lucas, “They gave their power to Davy—”

  Davy finished, “I needed more. I couldn’t break through the barrier. They gave everything to me so I could and . . . it cost them.” She lifted her haunted gaze to him. “They died so I could live.”

  “No.” Brown grabbed one of Davy’s hands. She held it to her chest. “They died so The Immortal would be defeated. If it was another thread-holder, if it was another time, you would’ve done the same.”

  “I’m alive, though.” Tears were fast falling down Davy’s face again but the celebration had gone. There were losses to mourn.

  “And they won’t be forgotten,” Brown said. She readjusted her hold on Davy’s hand, holding even tighter. “I promise, Davy. They will never be forgotten. We will remember. We will live for them now.”

  Lucan joined the circle. His face was a mask. His lips were in a flat line. His eyebrows were fixed. He wore a bland expression before he turned to Brown. “I hate to strike while there are grieving ones here, but . . .” He lifted his eyes to his brother. A smirk showed and a chill sliced through Lucas once again.

  He growled, his hands forming fists. “What are you doing, Lucan?”

  “Well.” He let out a frustrated breath. “You see, everyone forgot why I was helping. I mean, yes. Take down The Immortal. Hear, hear. All cheers for her demise, but,” he cringed, smiling at the same time. “No one thought about the afterwards, and well . . .” His hand gestured to Talia and to Davy. “I have to strike while I can, and the time is now.”

  He stared at Davy, but Brown gasped. Her head flew back and her chest arched up. Her hands spread out. She cried out, “Davy!”

  “Brown!”

  “There’s pain.” A bloodcurdling scream ripped from her. She cried out, hoarsely, “Something’s happening inside of me. I can’t—oh my God! I can’t—Davy!”

  “What?” Davy grabbed both of her hands. “What is going on? Lucan! Stop it. Whatever you’re doing, stop it!”

  Lucas started for his brother, but he was grabbed and hauled backwards. Five Mori warriors restrained him. He scanned the group, and all of his warriors were being held back by Mori. A high-pitched scream sounded from Lily as she was picked up and handed off to her mother. “Mom!” She hit at the Mori mother, but her futile attempts were ignored. She was whisked away.

  Tracey kicked out. She tried to break free, an animal-like growl coming from her. She couldn’t. She was too weak. So was everyone else, Lucas himself, and his eyes found Davy’s, too. She was the weakest of all.

  All that power, everything that had been given to them would be for nothing.

  Lucan double-crossed them. As Brown kept screaming, Mavic moved around so he was standing in front of Brown and Davy both.

  “Yes. Yes.” Lucan stood in front of his twin. His breath was hot as he was laughing. “You’re starting to piece it all together now, aren’t you? You were my way of breaking the thread from existence, but you’re my enemy. You were my weapons against her and it all couldn’t have worked better for me if I had planned it myself.” He leaned close and said softly, “Thank you, brother. Thank you for putting one of my own coven members in touch with a Bright witch. Thank you for allowing him to mold her into his own weapon, because you see, her magic wasn’t released at all. No, no. He’s not able to perform miracles, but he was able to channel other magic inside of her. She was the trusted one. She was sent here to help you and one of mine traveled with her. So while she was in The Immortal’s head with you and Davy, she thought she was helping you free Davy, but she wasn’t. Her magic wasn’t created to do that. Her magic was weakening Davy so that now I can kill her. Finally. The thread will jump to Brown, and then right to me. It’s all been planned. I’ll get what I wanted. I’ll be the first and only male thread-holder. I’ll be the final thread-holder.”

  His brother’s delight repulsed him.

  Lucas shook his head. If the thread were pulled from her, she would die. The thread made her immortal and as he watched, it was happening. Brown was connected to Davy still and Mavic was performing a spell on both. Davy’s skin was literally jerking. The thread was going to be ripped from inside of her.

  Think, Lucas. He had to think. He had to calm down and just . . . think!

  Turned. That was the last piece that Davy told him in his dream. Everything else had come true. The innocent. The forgotten. The one would come back, but she said she would have to be turned . . .

  His brother had everything planned.

  But what if she died before the spell was completed? That would stop it from going to his brother. No. The thought sickened him. Davy wanted to be human. That was all she dreamt about, to be normal. He couldn’t . . . no, no. He couldn’t take that away, but as he continued to watch—he couldn’t see any other way. Davy would die. He had no doubt his brother would kill everyone else.

  He had to do it.

  He closed his eyes and focused. He needed to call upon all the Hunters again, but there was other power in him still. The Immortal gave him her power. He used most of it up, but he still felt it in him. He needed to use all of it. He had to make it count.

  “Davy,” he thought.

  Her eyes found his, so terrified.

  He said, “I’m going to kill you.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t be afraid. I have to do it. It’s the only way.”

  She nodded, moving her head only a tiny bit. She was held captive by the spell, but at her signal, Roane erupted into motion. He launched himself backwards and then jumped over his five captors. They were too slow. Everyone was too slow.

  He was at Davy’s side within the blink of an eye and in the next, his fangs were in her neck. There had been blood trickling down his arm and he raised his thumb to her lips. He brushed it over her mouth, and her tongue darted out to swallow a drop. His other hand grasped the back of her neck, and as she drank, he told her, “Turn, Davy. Turn for me.”

  She gasped, one last needed breath, and he snapped her neck.

  DAVY

  They told me I slept for three days and I started laughing. Three days. How cliché was that, but it was true. It had been three days since my final death. And I say final because it felt like I had died a thousand times over, but three days ago had been my last time. I was no longer The Immortal. I was no longer even a thread-holder. I wasn’t empathic, and I wasn’t a human.

  I was a vampire.

  Lucas told me when he killed me, the thread jumped out of me. It hadn’t been in enough time for Lucan’s spell to do whatever it had intended to do. It went straight to the nearest thread-holder, Lily. Talia’s little girl was the newest and according to a prophecy that I never knew about, she was the last thread-holder. Tracey explained that Lily would always be the thread-holder. She doubted anyone would try to separate the thread again, not after word spread far and wide how powerful The Immortal had been.

  I felt horrible. I felt Talia’s second death. I felt all of my sisters’ second deaths, but in the moment I hadn’t realized what the impending doom was that I was feeling. I had been selfish. I had been so happy to be in Lucas’s arms again, for real, but Tracey reassured me that Lily isn’t a normal thread-holder. Apparently she was still able to see her other sisters, Talia too. Because she grew up among the Mori, who had their own magic, her body wasn’t normal. I was thankful to hear the sisters still lived on another plane, but I wouldn’t see Saren again or hear her annoying voice
in my head.

  It was done. All of it. Even Lucan.

  When she became the thread, Lily saw Jiyama’s death. She told the Mori leader that Lucan killed her and where he had deposited the body. Any assistance Lucan got from the Mori was done. Apparently, there had been suspicion, but there was proof now. One of their own saw it. Lucan was hauled into their prison while Lucas and the rest of us were treated as guests. Tracey laughed. The Mori were never going to harm any of us, but they were following what Lucan had promised—that they still needed to complete what they had originally set to do, which is to destroy the thread. They weren’t aware of Lucan’s secret plan of putting the thread into himself. They were ashamed once they found out the truth. Kates was set free, as well. It was realized that Lucan forced her to turn on us. When the others discovered the torture she endured from Lucan, she was welcomed back, but I knew it would be a long time till she was trusted.

  I was in bed waiting for Lucas to come back. He went to see his brother, one last time, and we were leaving for home the next day. Lucan was going to be executed at the same time, but Lucas didn’t want to stay for it. He knew it would happen. That was good enough for him. All the killing had been too much. He had kissed me and told me, “I just want to get home. I want to get you home. Finally.”

  Home.

  I never thought I would be going home again. That night, the first night that I woke as a vampire, Lucas made love to me. I cried the whole time because I never thought I would be in his arms again. I never thought I would have a second chance at life.

  The opening to our tent lifted, and Roane slipped inside. I sat up and smiled. “Goddess.” I shook my head. “I will never get used to seeing you. I’ll never take it for granted. I will never,” I paused as he came over, a grin teasing the corners of his lips and I laid back. He started to fall on top of me, but switched to rest beside me. One of his elbows propped him up and his eyes traced all over me, from my eyes, forehead, cheeks, and to my lips. He lingered there. “I will never take it for granted myself.” He leaned down and touched his lips to mine.

  I sighed, happily. It was like coming home. I caught the side of his face and whispered, “Have I told you how much I love you?”

  He nodded, moving his lips over mine. “Say it again. I like hearing it.”

  “I love you.”

  His eyes darkened, and he shifted so he was lying on top of me. “And again.” His mouth dipped to my throat.

  An ache was forming between my legs. I knew he would soon be there, filling me, making me feel whole again, and I sighed as his lips moved up my jawline to find my mouth again. “I love you.”

  “And again.” He kissed me. Long. Lingering. And so damn lovingly.

  “I love you.” I would never stop telling him, just like he had done the same to me the night before.

  After he was inside of me, after we were moving together, after we reminded each other that we could still touch one another, he lifted his head and gazed down. “You mentioned last night that you wanted a new name?”

  I laughed, arching my back and pressing against him. “Is now the right time for this?”

  He smiled down at me. “I want to know what name to call you when I make you scream tonight.”

  “Oh my God.” I laughed, but then sobered up. “Davina.”

  “Davina?”

  I nodded. It was my full name, one that I hated, but I was different. I was changed. I was no longer the happy and giddy college girl, only hoping to deal with being empathic. I would find that girl again, but it would be a while. It might be a long while, but it felt right. My hands splayed out over the side of his face. I looked up into his depths as he gazed down to mine. I murmured, “It’s a new life for me. I’m no longer Davy. She died when The Immortal took hold of me, but I can still be Davina. That’s my name.”

  “Okay.” He leaned down, and his lips lovingly moved over mine. “Have I told you how much I love you today, Davina?”

  I laughed and then relished as he proceeded to, over and over again. We were still showing our love for each other as the sun dipped down, the moon came out, and still when the early morning started to peek out again.

  When it was morning, I fell asleep, but there were no more worries anymore. I was in Roane’s arms again and I knew if I stayed there, all could be handled. When we woke, we packed up. The rest of our group was waiting for us. The goodbyes were spoken. Lily hugged me tightly and I barely managed to hold back tears. She was such a little girl, but I was reassured that she was protected by an entire village. Tracey and Wren said goodbye. Wren decided to stay with the Mori. She would help protect the newest thread-holder and she wouldn’t have to leave her lover again. There was a special goodbye between Lucas and Wren. She had been one of his best warriors for centuries. She would be missed, but it was a good goodbye, not a sad one. He was holding back some of his own tears as he stepped next to me and took my hand. After the last goodbye, the Mori headed for the center of their village. The bells began to toll. Lucan’s execution was near. As the Mori headed past us, we walked the other way.

  We left.

  We were outside of the village, and the bells had almost faded when a sudden cheer filled the air.

  We all stopped. Gavin, Bastion, and Brown. Gregory found his daughter, so she came with us. We glanced back, and then to Lucas.

  His brother was dead.

  We traveled another mile when we heard a bush rustling. Both Gavin and Bastion drew their swords, but then we heard, “Hey, man. Shit. What’s with the swords? I thought we were all friends.”

  “Yeah,” a second voice crawled out. “You told us to stay put and we did. We’ve been chilling for a week and holy cripes,” a pair of eyes found me and widened, “the psycho bitch is back.”

  It was Cal and Spencer.

  Gavin’s mouth fell open. He groaned, hitting his hand to his forehead. “We completely forgot about these guys.”

  Lucas frowned. “Who are these guys?”

  All eyes came to me and I laughed, nervously. “Uh . . . so, it’s a long story, you see . . .”

  And, as we continued home, I held his hand and told him everything that happened, and it was a long story indeed, but it was a good story. In fact, it was a great story and while Spencer and Cal were finally sent home, I knew this was a story that I would tell our child. The one thing I never told anyone since the beginning was that I was pregnant, and even though I was a vampire now, with Mori magic in me, I was able to give birth to a healthy little girl.

  We named her Saren.

  Lucas said the wedding could be in his restaurant or the new hotel he bought, but the idea of being indoors hadn’t sat right with me. It hadn’t sat right with me ever since we returned to Benshire. Being captured by Lucan and then again by The Immortal, I’d been yearning more and more to remain outside. It was wintertime, but I still did. The winter didn’t touch me, which was one of the nicer qualities about being a vampire. Still. I was transitioning to my new state in life. I was free. I was a vampire. I was going to be a wife, and feeling my hair getting tugged, I looked down at the best transition in my life. I was a mother.

  Saren waved her plump hands in the air and started to tip back, laughing. She didn’t go far. I had her tucked in my arm so her head hit my arm lightly, but she loved it. Peals of more laughter filled the air.

  “Is she hungry?”

  Pippa asked the question, eager, but Brown was right next to her. Since we got back, Brown had been wonderful. She’d been by my side the entire time, making sure I was okay. Pippa came for Saren’s birth, and she stuck around. She was going to try college again. So was Brown. Both had dropped out because of my captivity. I knew that was the elephant in the room. They wanted me to go with them, but neither asked yet. Vampires could go. It’s where I met Lucas. We could walk in the light. We could do almost everything a human did, but it was different.

  I had to mourn not being a human. Going to college—it would be in my face every day. I would never
grow old, weak, diseased . . . and I was an idiot. I was grieving not being fat? I was a vampire. They were always gorgeous and since my transformation, I’d gotten the gloss over too. It wasn’t that my looks were totally changed, but my skin was clearer. My eyes darker. My hair was shinier. I was already slender, but I became more toned.

  Saren started kicking her legs and gurgling.

  This one, my hold on her tightened, she was worth it. Everything. If I hadn’t spent so much time with the Mori, Lucas’s sperm in me wouldn’t have taken root. I was human, but he wasn’t. It was their magic, just being in their lands, that helped make Saren possible.

  “You should get your dress on.” Pippa came forward. Her hands were already up and she was smiling at Saren. “I’ll take the little one.”

  Brown jumped beside her. “I can’t wait. A bridesmaid. I’m a bridesmaid. I’ve never been a bridesmaid.”

  Pippa slid her hands under Saren and stepped back with her. She grinned at Brown. “You’re a Bright bridesmaid.”

  “And you.” Brown clapped her on the shoulder. “You’re a werewolf bridesmaid. I can’t wait till I get drunk. You’re nursing, Davy—in a . . .” She trailed off, glancing away.

  That was another transition.

  I told her, “It’s fine, Brown. You’re not the only one. Trust me.”

  Pippa groaned, rocking Saren back and forth. “Oh yeah. I’ve been calling her Davy since I arrived.”

  Both sobered and gazed at me. Brown sighed. “It’s not that we don’t want to call you Davina. It’s just . . .”

  They were torn. They loved Davy. I was alive. I reached for both of their hands and squeezed them. “I’m different. I know, but I’ll get back to my old self.”

  The Immortal.

  Lucan.

  Losing my humanity—the last year before Lucas broke me free had been hard, but I felt the old me coming back. The old me would come back. I squeezed once more. “I love you guys, and you are helping the old Davy spark to life again. Thank you. And thank you for being a part of my wedding.”