CHAPTER 23 #2
Damien pauses. When he speaks, his voice has changed—lost its edge, gained something rawer. Something that almost sounds like grief.
“Katya was a violinist. Vienna Philharmonic. An amazing feat for a woman during that time.” He stares at his untouched drink.
“She was fierce and brilliant and completely unafraid. When I told her what I was, she didn’t run.
She laughed and said she’d always known there was something different about me. ”
“She sounds remarkable.”
His face softens. “She was. Twenty-six years I had with her. After centuries of nothing—after believing I would spend eternity alone—I finally had something worth existing for.”
Despite everything I know about this man, despite what he’s done and what he’s planning to do, I feel something shift in my chest. Sympathy. Understanding.
Twenty-six years of love, ripped away in a single night.
“What happened?” I ask, even though I already know the answer.
“Hunters.” The word comes out flat. Hard. “A coordinated attack in Vienna. 1878. They came for all of us—Julian, Margaret, Katya, me. But they were clever. They separated us. Made sure we couldn’t help each other.”
He turns to look at me. His eyes are ancient. Hollow.
“Margaret was trapped in their apartment. Four hunters with silver and blessed blades. Katya was at the concert hall when the fire started. And Julian—” His voice cracks. “Julian had a choice of which one to save.”
“And he chose Margaret.”
“He may have killed the hunter and saved the woman he loved.” Damien takes a deep breath that I know he doesn’t need. Maybe it’s for dramatic effect or the pain he feels; I’m not sure. “But by the time he reached the concert hall, Katya was ash.”
The pool party continues around us. Laughter. Splashing. The clink of glasses. All of it suddenly feels very far away.
“I’m sorry,” I say. And I mean it. Even knowing what he is, even knowing what he wants to do to me—I mean it. “I can’t imagine losing someone like that.”
“I don’t want your sympathy.” His expression hardens. “I want you to understand what’s coming.”
“What’s coming?”
“Tomorrow. At the reception.” He leans closer. “I’m going to reveal what Julian is. Not to the world—that would bring the Council down on all of us. But to your family. Your mother, your sister, everyone you care about. They’ll know exactly what kind of monster you’ve been sharing a bed with.”
My hands clench around the edge of the lounge chair.
“And Julian will have to watch,” Damien continues. “He’ll have to see the horror on their faces. Watch you try to explain how you could love a monster like him.”
“You want him to suffer.”
“I want him to feel what I felt.” His brow furrows as he clenches his jaw. “To feel the loss and pain of losing someone he loves because of the monster he is.”
I think about Julian’s face when he told me everything. The fear in his eyes. The certainty that I would run.
I think about how I didn’t.
“Here’s the problem with your logic: I already know what he is, and I stayed.” I keep my voice steady. Force myself to hold his gaze. “Why do you think I’m a naive victim you need to rescue? Just like Katya, I’m in love with him—vampire and all.”
Silence.
Around us, the pool party continues. Madison-or-Morgan shrieks as someone splashes her. A server walks past with a tray of drinks. The sun beats down on paradise while a monster processes the fact that his grand plan just hit a wall.
“And you’re still here,” he says. Not a question.
“I’m still here.”
Damien studies me with an expression I can’t read. Calculating. Reassessing. Trying to fit this new piece into whatever puzzle he’s been constructing for a hundred and forty-six years.
“Interesting,” he says. “Most humans run when they learn the truth. Or break. Or become obsessed with immortality. You are none of these things.”
“I made a spreadsheet.”
He blinks. “A what?”
“A spreadsheet. Pros and cons of dating a vampire. It helped me organize my thoughts.” I shrug. “Coping mechanisms vary.”
For a moment—just a moment—something like surprise crosses his face. Then his expression hardens again.
“It doesn’t matter,” he says. “You know, but they don’t. Your mother, your sister, your ex-boyfriend and his annoying crystal-loving girlfriend—”
“Right?” I interrupt, even though I know he’s threatening me.
He doesn’t respond. He just continues with his rant. “Tomorrow, they’ll watch you defend a monster and wonder what kind of woman you’ve become.”
“Then I’ll stand beside him.” I lean forward. “They’ll see me choose him. Choose him knowing everything. And whatever they think of me after that—that’s their problem, not mine.”
“They’ll think you’re insane.”
“Maybe. But they won’t think Julian tricked me. They won’t think he’s a predator who seduced an innocent woman.” I hold his gaze. “They’ll see a choice. My choice. And you don’t get to take that away from me.”
Something shifts in Damien’s expression. The confidence wavers. Just for a second. Just enough for me to see that I’ve surprised him.
Good. I’m tired of being underestimated.
“You really love him,” he says.
“Yes.”
“Even knowing what he is. What he’s done. What he’s capable of.”
“Yes.”
“Even knowing he let Katya die.”
This is the hard part. The part I’ve been turning over in my mind since Julian told me the truth.
“He made an impossible choice,” I say slowly. “He had seconds to save two people he loved in danger. He ran toward Margaret because she was his. You would have done the same. That’s not evil. That’s human nature.”
“He’s not human.”
“No. But you both still have your humanity in you.” I take a breath. “I can’t hate him for loving someone enough to save her. Even if saving her meant losing someone else. Even if losing someone else meant losing you.”
Damien’s hands clench. “You don’t understand—”
“I understand that you lost someone you loved. I understand that kind of grief can eat you alive.” I think about Preston.
About the months I spent drowning in hurt and anger.
“But Julian didn’t kill Katya. The hunters did.
Julian just couldn’t save her in time. And punishing him for a hundred and forty-six years won’t bring her back. ”
“You think I don’t know that?” His voice cracks. “You think I haven’t spent every night of my existence knowing that nothing I do will change what happened?”
“Then why keep doing it?”
He doesn’t answer. Can’t answer. The question hangs between us like something breakable.
“The women Julian loved,” I say quietly. “Margaret. Corinne. Anya. You killed them. Or drove them to death. You spent over a century destroying everyone who made him happy.”
“He chose—”
“He chose to save the woman he loved. That’s all he did. Everything else—the revenge, the murder, the decades of hunting—that was your choice.” I hold his gaze. “You could have grieved Katya and moved on. Instead, you became a monster out for revenge. That’s not Julian’s fault. That’s yours.”
Something moves behind Damien’s eyes. Something old and wounded and furious.
“You’re going to regret this,” he says.
“Maybe. But I’d regret running more.”
“He’ll lose you eventually. They always leave. They always die.”
“Then I’ll be another name on the list. But at least I’ll have lived my life with him first.” I straighten my shoulders. “At least I’ll have chosen love instead of fear.”
Silence... well, except for the pool party.
Madison-or-Morgan is doing a cannonball while the other bridesmaids shriek.
Damien stands. Straightens his shirt. When he looks at me again, his expression is unreadable.
“Tomorrow,” he says. “At the reception. We’ll see how brave you really are.”
He walks away without waiting for a response, disappearing into the resort like he was never here at all.
I sit very still.
My hands are shaking. My heart is pounding. The champagne in my stomach threatens to make a reappearance.
But I didn’t run.
Elena appears beside me within seconds, Sofia a half-step behind. They move like shadows—there one moment, materialized the next.
“We should have killed him,” Sofia says.
“Julian’s orders,” Elena replies.
“Julian’s orders are going to get someone killed.”
“Not today.” I look up at them. “Today I handled it.”
They exchange a glance. Some silent communication I’m not privy to.
“You did well,” Elena says finally. “Better than most.”
“Better than anyone I’ve seen,” Sofia adds. Coming from her, it almost sounds like a compliment. “You didn’t flinch. Didn’t beg. Stood your ground against a creature who’s been terrifying humans for centuries.”
“I was terrified,” I admit. “I just didn’t let him see it.”
“That’s what courage is.” Elena’s hand rests briefly on my shoulder—a gesture that feels almost maternal. “Not the absence of fear. The refusal to let fear win.”
“Or maybe insanity,” I laugh. “I just told a vampire that is over a hundred years older than me that his revenge quest is his own fault. At my sister’s bachelorette party. While her and her friends are doing cannonballs twenty feet away.”
“Welcome to the immortal circus,” Elena says. “The drama is eternal, but the poolside service is excellent.”
I laugh. The absurdity of it all crashing over me like a wave.
“I need to text Julian,” I manage. “He’s probably losing his mind up there. My earpiece cut out just before Damien reached me.”
“He’s been listening and watching the entire time,” Sofia confirms. “They cut out your earpiece because vampires have excellent hearing.”
I pull out my phone.
“You can say name and talk,” Elena points to her ear.
“I know, but I’d like this to be just between us.”
“Understood.”
Looking down at my phone, I type with shaking fingers.
ME: We need to talk. I’m okay. But we need to talk
His response comes immediately.
JULIAN: I know. I saw and heard everything.
JULIAN: What you said to him. About choice. About love instead of fear.
JULIAN: I don’t know what I did to deserve you.
I stare at the message. Feel my eyes sting.
ME: You saw me. The real me. Not many people do that
ME: That’s what you did
Three dots appear. Disappear. Appear again.
JULIAN: I love you
JULIAN: I know we haven’t known each other for long. But I love you with every single fiber in my body.
I wipe my eyes. Type back.
ME: I love you too
ME: Now stop being romantic and let me finish this pool party. I have a bridesmaid reputation to maintain.
JULIAN: Yes ma’am.
JULIAN: I’ll see you soon.
ME: Counting on it.
I set down my phone and take a deep breath before standing up on legs that are only slightly unsteady.
“I’m going back to the party,” I tell Elena and Sofia. “I’m going to drink champagne and gossip about boys and pretend my life is normal for the next few hours. After that, I’ll worry about tomorrow.”
“We’ll be watching,” Elena says.
“I know.” I pause. “Thank you. For being here. For helping.”
“Thank us after Damien is ash,” Sofia says. But her voice is softer than before.
I walk back to the bridesmaids. Slide onto my lounge chair. Accept the fresh champagne that someone presses into my hand.
“Everything okay?” Violet asks. “You were talking to that guy for a while.”
“Old acquaintance of Julian,” I say. “Nothing important.”
She doesn’t look convinced, but she lets it go, returning to her conversation about honeymoon destinations and married life—all the normal things that normal people worry about.
I watch her. Watch my future brother-in-law approach with a tray of snacks, and kiss her like they’re the only two people in the world.
That’s what love is supposed to look like. Easy. Simple. Human.
My love story is none of those things.
But I’m happy to choose mine. Every complicated, terrifying, impossible piece of it.