Forever (Fallen 3)

“What?!” we screamed this time.

“I can’t do this again,” I whispered and my heartbeat seemed to affirm that. “I won’t make it,” I looked up at Jonathon.

The look he gave me was of pure horror. “No,” he growled. “You’re stronger than you think. You can do this! You can pull through! I know you can! I believe in you! I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you.” I kissed him with as much passion as I could muster, which wasn’t much. All my energy was gone and I knew I was going to die this time.

Jonathon’s shoulders shook with silent sobs. “This isn’t the end,” he gasped. “It can’t be.”

I looked at Dr. Crane. “Let’s get this boy out,” I said with a resolve I didn’t know I had.

He nodded solemnly.

With my next contraction, and a deep breath, I pushed as hard as I could.

I heard a gasp. “I can’t believe it,” murmured the doctor.

I was fading and quickly. It felt like my insides had been ripped apart. I took a gurgling breath. My throat was filling with blood. I had thought that I was going to make it but I wasn’t. The second baby had taken the last of my energy and in the process my life. My body had been able to handle one baby but not two. I didn’t know how Amelia had survived this.

Jonathon’s teeth bit into my neck and I could feel the venom entering my bloodstream. “Stay with me,” he whispered.

“I… love…you…”

I wasn’t sure if I said the words out loud, or just in my head. In the end, it didn’t really matter.

My heart stopped beating.

Chapter Fourteen: Burning

I was in hell. There was no other explanation for the heat. The burning in my veins was unbearable. I thought I knew pain. I thought giving birth to my sons was the most painful experience I would ever endure. How wrong I was.

My body began to shake and convulse and it was out of my control.

I wanted to cry. What had I done to deserve going to hell? I was a good person wasn’t I?

But then I felt my heart beating way too fast. I thought it would beat right out of my chest. But if I was dying, why was my heart beating?

Then it clicked into place.

I was changing.

I was becoming a vampire.

My throat began to burn and ache and I screamed with the pain as the flames consumed me. It was ironic in a way, this burning. You had to burn in order to become a vampire and one of the only ways to truly kill a vampire was to burn them. If I hadn’t been in so much pain I would have laughed.

But the fire wasn’t going away. It was only getting stronger. I could hear voices but I couldn’t make out their words.

I clenched my teeth to try and quiet my scream. It helped… some.

I kept my eyes closed but behind my lids it felt like they were about to burst. And I was so thirsty.

My whole body shook uncontrollably from the pain.

“Make it stop!” I screamed. “It burns!”

I felt a cold hand touch my skin but it did nothing to cool the burning. “Principessa, you’ll be fine. I promessa. It will stop soon.”

I screamed again and my body shook with it. My back arched up off the table and slammed back down. I had no control over my own body.