Vameer
The warm, rich taste of chocolate slides across my tongue.
My head throbs.
My jaw. My bones.
I blink.
Was that…?
Did my heart…?
Did I really see… her?
Lying in my cave, I inhale the scent of… apples.
My eyes roll back. And my throat works as I swallow the single drop of melted chocolate.
And the combination crackles to life inside me.
My gravito electrifies.
And my power fills the cave, pressing against the walls until the mountain rattles.
My heart beats rapidly inside my rib cage, and I force my eyes open.
I look for her.
But then my spine arches off the altar.
Over the rumble of the mountain, I can hear my joints creak.
And I smile as my heels slip off the end of the stone slab.
I’m getting taller.
The leather of my sandals cracks.
I’m getting bigger.
My fingers tremble as I hurry to loosen the belt around my waist before it snaps.
The pants beneath my robe shred around my thighs.
And I open my mouth as the ache in my jaw flips to ecstasy.
My fangs lengthen.
I press my tongue to the tip, feeling them as they get longer. And sharper.
Then the pressure in my skull releases as my horns grow. Longer. Sharper.
Chips of rock fall from the ceiling.
Something heavy falls outside the door.
Gold coins rattle in my pocket.
I fill my lungs with the delicious fruit scent still clinging to the air.
Her.
I call to my gravito. I call it back to me.
The power rattling the stone around me recedes in a snap, slamming back into my body. The weight of it is heavy inside my chest.
And I feel…amazing.
I sit up.
My legs are still straight, but now my feet are hanging off the end of the altar.
I lick across my bottom lip. Tasting the air. Tasting the barest hint of the decadent dessert blood.
My heart is thudding.
Fast.
And I close my eyes, because I know it’s her.
It’s her heartbeat I’m feeling.
I breathe her in.
I focus on the crisp, sweet apple scent of the angel who woke me. And I calm our racing heartbeat.
Another breath. And our pulse slows.
Opening my eyes, I turn to look at the unblocked entrance.
Then, for the first time since falling asleep, I use my voice.
The word grates out of my dry throat. But it’s the most beautiful word to wake to.
“Mate.”