Chapter 29 #2
“Could you have ever imagined this, V?” she said to him as they stood on the Spire balcony directly outside Vivek’s workspace, her wings brushing companionably against the dark brown of his tailor-made suit.
The heart of Illium’s territory spread out in front of them in an undulating wave of green rooftops over which flew angels, and winding pathways on which walked mortals and vampires.
The vehicles had their own low flight paths between both, their motion silent.
“I tried not to imagine anything but the Cellars when I was down there.” Vivek braced his arms on the balcony railing. “It was too painful.”
Because he was hunter-born, had always been meant to be outside, hunting vampires, rather than being confined to the dark and skyless world of the Cellars. Many people would’ve gone insane; it was a measure of Vivek’s courage that he’d found a way to survive.
“I miss my mortal friends to this day,” Vivek said as the wind pushed back the dark strands of his hair, his profile sharply handsome.
“I appreciate and love the ones I’ve made since, but Demarco, Neve, Ransom, so many of the others, I still turn around and expect them to be there, shooting the shit. ”
Vivek had been one of Demarco’s pallbearers, the other spots taken up by their fellow hunter’s children and grandchildren.
As for Ransom…that loss twisted Elena up to this day, but he’d lived a glorious life with his cherished Nyree, had continued to tease his wife for kisses long after they were both in their nineties. “Yeah,” was all she could bear to say.
Vivek closed his hand over hers on the balcony, his skin cool enough that she knew he hadn’t fed yet—but his touch was comfort nonetheless. “How’s Harrison?”
Vivek had known Beth both before and after his vampirism, had met Harrison through her.
“It’s as if he’s in a waiting room, patiently ready for his appointment with death.
” His quiet agony tore at her. “I talked to Nisia before we left New York, asked where she was in her assessment, and she said he still has a number of counseling sessions to go. But as of right now…she’s not getting through. ”
Vivek squeezed her hand. “I had a friend get like that, just done with immortality. He vanished into the High Tatras eighty years ago, and all I can hope is that he found a way to do it quick. Starvation wasn’t an option, not with his level of power.
He’d just lie there, a desiccated corpse, for eons. ”
“Nisia’s told Harrison that if he still wants to end his life after the counseling sessions, then she’ll make it quick and painless.” Throat tight, she stared out at the green of Illium’s lands. “I’m glad Bethie isn’t here to see him like this.”
“I used to be jealous of him and pissed at him at the same time.” Vivek’s smile was sad. “Your sister was a smoke show who adored him, and he’d made a mess of it by getting Made when she couldn’t be.”
Elena scowled. “Hey, no talking about my baby sister like that.”
A soft laugh. “Don’t worry. I was the perfect gentleman with Beth. So was he, Ellie. From what I saw, he was a good husband and father.”
“Yeah,” she agreed. “I hope whatever decision he comes to, it’s one that brings him peace.”
They were standing there in contemplative silence, two longtime friends who didn’t always need to speak to communicate, when Vivek’s wrist device flashed.
Lifting it to his mouth, he answered the call. “Hello, my love. I’m with Ellie.”
Katrina’s response wasn’t audible, so he had to be wearing an earpiece Elena couldn’t see. Like all vampiric and angelic accoutrements, it had to be external—internal tech just got spit out by their bodies.
Whatever Kat said, it made him smile. “No, she and Raphael just dropped by to share a little piece of news. Truly little. About the size of a banana, per my quick search earlier.”
Grinning, Elena nudged him with her elbow. “Stop teasing her.”
“Hold on, Kat, I’ll put you on speaker so Ellie can talk to you.”
“Is Vivek playing with me, or are you with child, Elena?” Katrina asked in that warm but not familiar way she had of speaking to those she liked but who were not her intimates.
Per Illium, he hadn’t yet made it to the intimates list, either. “Far as I know,” the irreverent archangel had said, “Vivek and about two other people are the only ones on that list.”
“Baby angel coming up in approximately twenty weeks or so.”
A pause. “I will keep my ear to the ground. Also, if you wish to eat anything that you are having trouble finding, simply send word and I will acquire it for you.”
Touched, Elena said, “I will, thank you.” And was glad for Vivek that he’d found this woman who loved him as deeply as he did her. Deep enough to care for Vivek’s friends even though she kept a strictly limited circle when it came to her own friendships.
Katrina’s love was apparent all over again when she came to the intimate gathering held the next night in Illium and Aodhan’s private suite. In her hand was a small box. “A gift for the child whenever it is needed.”
When Elena opened the box much later, after she and Raphael were alone, it was to find a business card made of onyx, with a K embossed on it in gold. She whistled. “Wow, our spark is making influential friends already.”
“I like that,” Raphael murmured, his hand on her abdomen. “Calling the baby our spark.”
Elena melted. “I love ‘spark,’ too, though…don’t tell Nisia, but I also feel a weird affection for ‘super-parasite.’ ”
Raphael’s laughter filled her entire world.