Reclaimed

“Absolutely.”

He turned his back on Elijah, and ran home.

***

They were back at her house in seconds, and she opened her eyes to see him glowering at her.

“This is unacceptable.”

“No, my becoming a vampire isn’t unacceptable. Me staying a human, however, is,” she insisted.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. She knew he was frustrated, but no longer furious, since no storm brewed outside. He clutched her to his chest and kissed the top of her head as he sighed.

“Sabrina, I’ll keep you safe. I promise you, if it’s the last thing I do, I’ll kill Louisa.”

She whispered, “I can’t accept the risk. I won’t allow it to be the last thing you do.”

“You becoming my enemy will solve nothing. It’ll just serve to keep us apart. If you are a vampire, and I follow the rules I, myself, enforce, I can never see you again. If I go with you, knowing you are my enemy, I sign both of our death warrants. A leader can’t just do as he pleases and expect his followers to stay in line. The chances of them discovering anything about me and Elijah are a lot lower than them finding out I’m in love with our enemy. You might as well kill me now, and save me the pain.”

“We can still be together. It will have to be in secret. But still, it’s possible. We could find a way.”

“Stealing away at midnight for a romp in the forest? Not my style, thank you,” he said sarcastically.

She rolled her eyes, and replied, “So you’d rather screw a seventy-year-old woman?”

He looked at her in confusion. “What in the world are you talking about?”

“I’m going to get older. You’ll always be twenty-seven.”

Laughter filled his eyes, and she knew she had lost the battle. “I’m sure you’ll be a delicious old lady.”

She growled. He nibbled her ear and laughed harder. “I won’t allow you to become my enemy because you’re afraid of a few wrinkles. There’s always Botox,” he joked.

“I’m going to die sometime. You realize that, right? If I remain human, eventually you’ll have to hold my hand as I die. It’s inevitable. It might be in a few days’ time when Louisa gets her hands on me, or it might be in fifty years. But regardless of when it happens, it will.”

Pain flashed over his eyes as he contemplated her words. It became obvious to her he’d never thought of this unavoidable fact.

“Yes, of course. And there’s nothing I can do but make sure you live a full mortal life. I can do no more,” he maintained.

She glared at him and bit her lip. He looked into her eyes and pulled her into his arms again.

“This will pass soon, and Louisa will be gone. Now isn’t the time to be making rash decisions.”

“Now is the perfect time to make decisions,” she insisted.

They both knew they wouldn’t agree on this issue. He would keep her safe, and human, at all costs. She remained determined to keep him alive at all costs. They shared a common goal, yet had different plans on how to achieve victory.

They were on opposite sides of the river, and neither would step foot onto a boat to cross to the other side.

There was nothing more to say.

***

“Hello,” she murmured.

He smiled at her, his eyes both cynical and self-depreciating in the purple-strewn darkness. “I had to speak to you. I have to explain our conversation in your house. I haven’t had a chance to tell you why I killed Amelia.”

Sabrina tensed, and stared at him in confusion. “You didn’t kill her. Louisa did.”