“Come away, have a drink with everyone.” Will tugs at my arm. “Those screens will still be there in the morning.”
“Yes, but those drunk humans that wander into the wrong alley and get snatched up by some rogue vampire will not be.” I point at my wall of displays.
“Okay.” Will places his hands atop my shoulders and guides me into the next room. “See all of these people in here.”
“Hi, Anne.” Various voices greet me.
“These vampires are your employees, and you’re paying them double to work tonight. Let them do their jobs. All you do is work. Let’s get out of here. Do something fun. Go for a swim, perhaps? You haven’t been out of this room all day.”
“We have to be vigilant. Next year—”
“Yes, we know all about next year.” Will tugs at my hand, pulling me down the hallway. “But Sonia is sleeping in the House of Uriel. None of them believe in that crazy prophecy anymore. Elizabeth packed your bag. It’s already in the vehicle.”
“Fine.” I follow Will through the main entrance of my condo to the elevator.
In the basement garage, I slide in the back seat and change as Will drives. With the traffic, it’s an hour to the shore, and I climb over the seat to sit beside him.
“You should put on your seatbelt,” Will notes. “I don’t want to get a ticket.”
“You’re so bossy today.”
“Well, if you would do what you’re supposed to do, then I wouldn’t have to remind you.”
“What am I not doing?”
“Well, having fun for one. You work all the time.”
“I work out. I thought you liked our weapon sessions, jogs, and pool time.”
“Aye, I do. But that isn’t real fun.” Will’s eyes cut to me and then back to the road.
“Well, it’s a good thing we’re going out tonight then.”
We exit the highway and weave along the coast to the beach access. It’s cool for Los Angeles, and there are no cars in the lot. Wind whips around us as we exit the vehicle. Clouds mask the stars, and the sound of the high surf drowns everything else out as we walk barefoot to the sand.
I slide off my cover and leave it with a towel. Walking towards the waves, I let the water splash over my feet. I look up at Will. “You’re right. This was a good idea.”
Jumping into the surf, I know Will follows me. He’s usually not far from my side. Still, swimming is the only time I feel free and alone. Then, I remember why I don’t swim much anymore. Idle time in my brain only leads to one thing—thoughts of those we’ve lost. I feel a bit of guilt, like I’m betraying Alec’s memory that Lucas comes to mind so often. It’s because you have no finality, I convince myself.
No matter how hard I try, when I circle back to everything we’ve accomplished this century and take stock of how much I have, I still feel a space in my heart for that one person who would be my other half, Alec if he were still alive, or another who my chances of finding seem to dwindle by the year. You have enough, a wonderful family, Elizabeth, Orm, Jacob, and Will, to keep you company, I repeat in my head and force thoughts of Lucas out of my brain, focusing on the currents, the swells.
It’s over two hours before my body tires, and I make my way to shore.
“That felt amazing.” Will wipes water from his hair.
“It did.” I bundle my locks in my hand, wringing out the water.
My eyes trace up the beach to where I left the towel, and I freeze. Breath catching in my lungs, I stare at his form. He looks exactly as he did two hundred years ago. How can it be that he stands there, blond hair, blue eyes, and broad muscled chest?
“Anne.” Will shakes my arm. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”
He follows my gaze up the beach. “Is that—”
Anger explodes in my brain. How could he not at least, I don’t know, pop in to say he wasn’t dead? Still, I hold my countenance as we walk towards Lucas. It won’t do for Will to think I have some school-girl crush on an ethereal being. I ball my fists at my side and force a smile.
“Lucas,” I call his name as we approach. “You’re alive.”
Will extends his hand to him, and they lock arms. “We took you for dead. Good to see you.”
“Dead?” Lucas’s eyes cut between Will and me.
In my head, I cock my arm and land a right hook on his perfect chin.
Will rubs his stubbled chin. “We witnessed the battle, if that’s what it was, and you didn’t show up last century. But here you are all human-like, and it isn’t even 1999 or the winter solstice yet.”
With emotions vacillating between relief and rage and back to shock, I tune Will’s voice out. Through all of Will’s long, awkward explanation, Lucas’s eyes are fixed on me. As for my part, I can’t seem to look away from his face.
“No, I can’t die. I apologize if you feared for my safety.” Lucas’s eyes cut to Will and back to me. He lifts my towel from the sand and holds it out to me. “Do you need this?”
I take it and let it fall to my side. “No, it’s warm.” My eyes cut around us, and I realize it wasn’t warm before.
“I assume you have some news for us.” Will grabs his phone from atop his towel and opens it. Punching a few buttons, he calls security command asking for a report. He looks to me. “All seems well at the compound. Sonia’s body is still entombed.”
Lucas straightens his back, and his gaze finds mine. “I wondered if I might have a moment of your time, Anne.”
“Of course.” I wrap the towel around my shoulders.
“Would you like me to wait in the car?” Will points to our SUV.
I nod.
“I can take you home,” Lucas offers.
“Do you have a car?” My eyes scan the parking lot.
“No.” Lucas smiles. “But I have wings. Kind of old fashioned, right?”
His attempt at humor angers me further, and I look to Will. “Yes, wait for me.”
Will slides a shirt over his head and walks towards the parking lot. I wait until he’s inside the car and see him switch on the radio.
“Yes? You have news?” I keep my tone flat.
“You’re angry?”
“I’m sorry. Where are my manners? Lucas, it’s so good to see you . . . alive.” I glare at him. “How have you been the last two hundred years?”
“Anger is an emotion, not the one I was expecting, but a passionate one. Perhaps it implies you do care for me.”
“Can we skip any pleasantries and get to the point of your visit?” I lean over and grab my sweatshirt from the sand and pull it over my head.
Lucas turns his head towards Will and the vehicle. “Perhaps we could walk?”
“That would be acceptable.”
We stroll along the beach until the coast turns inland. I hate that I love everything about his presence, the warm air that surrounds us, the smell of his skin, the gait of his walk, blue eyes that seem to suck light from the air.
Reaching for my hands, he wraps his warm fingers around mine. I snatch them from his grasp before the familiar tingle of his touch can spread to my arms. “What are you doing?”
“Please, I’m so sorry. I had no idea you thought me dead.”
Tears threaten to form in my eyes, and I turn away from him. “What were we supposed to think?”
“I don’t know.”
I raise my chin and face him again. “Why are you here? What do you need to tell me?”
He blinks. “I wanted to see you.”
“So, what? Morbid curiosity? Boredom? Hey, I wonder what that Anne chick is up to these days?”
“No, what are you talking about? Who are you right now?”
“Who am I?” I slap my forehead. “Are you even allowed to be in this form now?”
“Yes and no.”
“Enough with the yes and no.”
“I have no other answers for you. You didn’t need me. I was given other assignments. I’m not always free to go where I please.”
I straighten my sp
ine. “You’re right. We didn’t need you. Sonia orchestrated her own demise.”
“But you sealed the deal.” A smile spreads across his face. With a finger, he rakes a strand of hair from my forehead. The familiar tingling sensations spreads from my face to every nerve of my body.
“Don’t do that.” I swat his hand away. His eyes fall, and I regret my anger. “I’m sorry. What did you want to talk about?”
“Anything but how angry you are with me. I’m not sure how else to apologize.”
I hold his gaze. “You can start by telling me why you’re here.”
“I want to be here. I’ve missed you. I’ve watched you struggle and fight, overcome and celebrate, all from a distance. I can’t fight whatever it is inside that draws me to you anymore.”
My brain spins with his revelation. I feel the same, the pull, like magnets. This is the moment I’ve wished for and dreaded since the first time I saw him. I shake my head. “But we can’t feel this way about each other.”
The muscles of his face relax, and his lips break into a smile. “But you do? You feel something for me other than anger?”
I bite my lip, but tears form anyway. Swiping them away, I lean my head against his chest. I take in his scent and melt into him. He kisses the top of my head and tilts my chin up. His lips press into my forehead and trace down to my lips. I push up on my toes and kiss him. He wraps his arms around my waist and the familiar tingle from his touch spreads through me. I could kiss him forever, but he ends the kiss with another quick one.
“Steady, love, I’m more human-like than you are in this form. I still need to breathe.”
My face flushes. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. You’ve made me the happiest man alive.”
His words remind me that neither of us are human. He much less so than me. I lock my emotions away and slide from his embrace. “Thank you for coming and letting us know you are okay. But you should go now.”
“What? Why?”
“Because, we know this can’t be.”
“Yes, it can.” He clutches my hands. “That’s why I came. I want us to be together. I know it’s only a year, but it’s better than nothing. Please say yes. We can get a house right on the beach, lie on the sand, swim in the ocean, drink wine, and whatever else you’d like to do.”
His response catches me off guard, and I’m not sure what to think, what to say. I open my mouth and shut it again. “A year? You have a year?”
“Yes, a whole year.”
Tired of being angry about lost time, I focus on the possibility of us being together. “Do you have any form of identification, a driver’s license? Or know how to drive? What about money? I doubt that your Creator is bankrolling a vacation with a soulless vampire.”
Wings spring from his back. “I can fly. I don’t need a car. I can make a human believe whatever suits me. Did you just call yourself soulless? Since when do you care about souls?”
“That is still the popular belief.”
He wraps his arms around my waist. “Say you will meet me tomorrow. Just give me one day to prove to you that this can work.”
I may regret it for the rest of my life, but I want to see him. “Yes.”
As soon as the word leaves my lips, he disappears. I look to the sky, but there’s no trace of him save the warm breeze that rushes over me.
Jogging back to the parking lot, I meet up with Will halfway.
“Where have you been? I got worried. Where did Lucas go?”
“I have no idea.”
“I don’t like you being alone. He shouldn’t have left you.”
“I’m sure he knew you would find me soon.” I roll my eyes, thinking there’s no way I’ll be able to sneak off to meet Lucas with Will being so paranoid.
“What did he want?” Will asks as we make our way to the vehicle.
My brain works fast as I slide into the passenger’s seat. “To warn us about Sonia. I’m not sure he understands modern technology.”
“Well, that’s not news. I mean the Sonia thing. We’ve every safeguard in place. Our surveillance is the best in the world. We have eyes everywhere.” Starting the vehicle, Will backs out.
Yes, I think, our security is the best. So good, in fact, that I can’t make a move without him knowing. My plan of meeting up with Lucas seems unattainable. Then, I wonder if I really need to hide. Won’t Elizabeth, Jacob, Orm, and Will, want me to be happy?
“Are you cold?” Will reaches over and turns up the heat. He rattles on about how strange it is that Lucas showed up to warn us about Sonia, and I stare out the window, watching headlights streaming by. “I mean, can’t he see everything? Doesn’t he know what we’re up to? And what was with the he-can’t-die thing?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug and return to my study of the oncoming cars.
“What’s up with you? Where are you? Was there something else he said? What aren’t you telling me?”
“I’m just processing.” I lean my head against the window. “I’m tired.”
At the condo, I’m grateful Elizabeth, Orm, and Jacob have turned in. Will retires to his quarters, and I pad down the hall to my suite. With a corner room, windows line the space, and I cross to the glass and look out over the city to the beach. I brush my fingers along my lips, the memory of Lucas’s skin on mine zinging through my body.
As I rest, I develop a plan for sneaking away to see Lucas. The next afternoon I tell Will that Jacob and I are going out running, and then I tell Jacob I am meeting Will downstairs to go to the beach.
The desk attendant stands as I exit the elevator in the lobby. “Miss Scott are you waiting for Jacob or Will to bring your car to the front door?”
“No.” I smile as Lucas waves at me from across the street. ‘“I’m meeting a friend.”
The sense of exhilaration I feel as I step onto the sidewalk alone rivals that of jumping from a sea cliff. Waiting for the light, I cross the street to Lucas.
“Good afternoon, love.” He kisses me and motions to a waiting white SUV.
I slide in the passenger’s seat beside him. “You know how to drive, right?”
“I got here with a vehicle, didn’t I? There are many surprises, so hold on.”
“I’m not taking any chances.” I pull my seatbelt across my chest.
He drives north and west to the coast and turns off the highway onto a private drive. At the end of a lane is a white house fixed atop a cliff overlooking the ocean. When he stops, I jump from the car.
“How did you find this place?”
“I told you, people love me.”
I glare at him but follow up the steps. Unlocking the door, he stands back to allow me to enter.
Seeing the ocean out the windows, I zip to the back deck. When I turn around, he’s still in the front room.
Joining me, a minute later, he wraps his arms around me. “You move really fast.”
“Sorry, habits and all.” I circle the space, running my hand over the railing. The waves crash upon the white sand below. A gull calls from the sky. The breeze catches my hair. “This is amazing.”
“Come, see the rest of the house.” He offers his hand, and I place mine in it.
Upstairs, a king-sized bed, made with white sheets sits in the middle of a large space. Double doors lead to another deck. A staircase winds down to the kitchen.
“Are you hungry? I wasn’t sure what you ate.” He motions to the professional-sized refrigerator.
“Hmmm, well if you bought food, then I’m sure there’s something. I’m fine right now. Do you eat?”
“Living, breathing human.”
“For now.”
“Are you always so negative?”
“No, sorry.”
We take chairs down to the beach, sip wine, swim, talk, kiss, and then kiss some more. With the sky lightening before sunset, I tell him I must go.
“I never want this to end,” he notes as we make our way up the path to the house.
“But all th
ings do.” His eyes focus on the skyline, and I link my fingers in his. “Did I say something wrong?”
“I do not end, I will never be any different than I am now. I am eternal.”
“Can we talk about that? When I was young it was hard for me to imagine centuries going by. I have only just begun to accept it.”
“When you were young, you thought you would be with your love Alec forever, am I right?”
“Yes,” I admit. “But what of you? How many loves have you had?"
He wraps his hand around the back of my neck. “You’re my second. My first was human. We met when she was sixteen. She died giving birth to our second child.”
I find my eyes filling with tears, and I turn away from him. “I’m sorry.”
He wraps an arm around me and kisses my temple. “Don’t ever hide from me. And bring your dinner next time. I don’t want you starving.”
“How long did you know her?”
His eyes cut to the floor. “Four years. This was before we were cursed. Back then, we could slip in and out of this form whenever we pleased. But four of us made the mistake of loving a human.”
“The four lines of witches sired by the four—”
“Yes, the four lines.”
I cup my hand on his cheek. “Again, I’m sorry for your loss.”
“We’re much the same in this manner, being confined by our stations.”
“Is that why you chose me?”
“It wasn’t like that. The first time I saw you was when you lost your parents. Seeing you clinging to the earth, crying into the dirt, my heart broke for you. But your spirit persevered. You took your heartache, the loss of your family, of Alec, and made it something. Your grief, the hardships, could’ve turned you into something bitter, but you didn’t let it. How you made peace with the witches, proved your species to be cousins to the humans using genomic sequencing, brilliant. You’re the most courageous woman I’ve ever witnessed.”
“Brave or stupid enough to love you, I guess.” As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I wish I’d never spoken them.
His eyes bear into mine. “You love me?”
I look to the ocean and back to him. “I believe I do. It killed me to witness the battle so many years ago and have no power to help you. Then when you didn’t return my heart broke again and again. You were always in my thoughts and forever will be, no matter what happens.”
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