CHAPTER 10 #3
We sit in comfortable silence for a while, my head rested against his, enjoying each other’s company. Max eventually lies back on the blanket, staring up at the cave ceiling where tiny crystals embedded in the rock catch what little light filters in from outside. I lie down next to him.
“Tell me something, Seraph,” he says, propping his hands behind his head. “Something about being a vampire that no one talks about.”
I consider the question. “The stillness,” I finally say, tracing patterns in the condensation on my wine bottle. “Humans are always in motion, even when they think they’re not. Their hearts beat, their lungs expand, their blood rushes. But vampires can be truly still. It’s like time stops.”
Max experiments with this, holding himself immovably in place.
After a moment, he chuckles. “You’re right. It’s strange. Like I’m a corpse, but alive.”
His eyes dart nervously then, his jaw tightening—early signs of anxiety creeping in.
“Try focusing on one sense at a time. It helps with the overwhelm.”
He closes his eyes, concentrating. “I hear a stream somewhere nearby. And… animals moving through the underbrush.”
“Peaceful, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
The rest of the day is spent showing him the ropes of his enhanced senses. I teach him to focus on specific sounds or scents while filtering out others. He’s a quick learner, his natural discipline serving him well in this new existence.
I ponder whether I should bring up the anniversary gift he wanted to give me. The proposal I thought would come. But it doesn’t seem to cross Max’s mind at all, so I leave it.
As afternoon bleeds into evening, Max grows pensive again. “My family will be here tomorrow. How do I tell them what I’ve become?”
“Honestly,” I say, looking into his red eyes, “they’ll see the changes right away. But that’s not what you’re really scared of, is it?”
He sighs, then shakes his head in defeat. “They never agreed with my decision to move to Penn City. To become a criminal attorney for vampires. They’ve always thought it’s too dangerous. That I’m better off staying in my hometown where vampires are rare.”
“You’re incredibly brave,” I tell him, and I mean it. Even getting involved with someone like me, it’s not something many humans would do.
His eyes trail to the dagger strapped to my thigh. “May I?” he asks, gesturing toward it.
I naturally hesitate before unsheathing it and handing it to him, hilt first. “Careful. It’s lumen.”
Max examines the weapon with a peculiar fascination, turning it over in his hands. The blade catches the fading light, its edges gleaming with deadly purpose.
“It’s beautiful,” he murmurs, testing its weight. “So this is what kills us.”
I watch him closely, sensing the weight of his words. “One way,” I confirm. “When driven into the heart.”
His movements become unnaturally still then, his gaze fixed on the blade, as if he’s entranced by it.
“Max?” I say cautiously.
Without warning, he lunges forward, driving the blade deep into my abdomen.
Pain explodes through me, white-hot and blinding.
I gasp, looking down at the hilt protruding from my body, then up at Max’s horrified face.
“Seraph!” he cries, panic replacing the momentary trance. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what—I didn’t mean to—”
I try to speak, but blood bubbles in my throat.
The world tilts dangerously as I slump backward, the cave ceiling spinning above me. Max’s hands hover over the dagger, unsure whether to remove it.
“Don’t,” I manage to choke out. “I’ll do it myself.”
The scent of my blood fills the cave, thick and all-consuming. Max’s eyes darken, pupils dilating until they nearly swallow the crimson irises. His nostrils flare, and despite his horror, I can see him fighting a primal urge.
I may not be human, but there’s human blood running through my veins.
“Go,” I wheeze, trying to push him away with blood-slicked hands. “You need to go. Now.”
“I can’t,” he says, his voice trembling with the effort of restraint.
“You have to,” I plead, a frown running through my brows.
I’m just as confused as he seems to be.
His expression curdles into something feral and desperate.
With trembling hands, he grips my shoulders, pulling me closer despite my weakening protests.
If Max is going to feed from me, he might not be able to stop.
I brace myself for the pain that will follow after pulling the dagger out, the sting of his fangs, and what I will have to do to him to get myself out of this situation. To get us both out.
But it’s not hunger that overtakes him.
The dagger is forcefully yanked from my stomach and tossed aside. Before I can react, he grabs me, hoisting me over his shoulder with his newfound vampire strength.
“What are you doing?!” The wound in my abdomen screams as he jostles me. “Max, put me down!”
He doesn’t respond.
Instead, he moves toward the cave entrance with uncanny purpose, the last rays of sunlight having disappeared below the horizon when he carries me out into the forest. The twilight air hits my face as he runs, his vampire speed turning the trees into blurs around us.
Blood drips from my wound, leaving a trail behind us that I can only hope someone will follow.