10. Vameer
Vameer
My blood hums as I speed through the sky, heading north.
I was forty when I first encountered a whale.
She found me, half dead, sinking, with no shore in sight. And she pushed me to the surface.
Vampires are hard to kill. Only one way, that I know of, to kill one completely. A dagger filled with druid magic through the heart.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t suffer.
We can regrow what is taken from us. But that process is not without pain.
No injury is without pain.
We can go a long time between breaths. A very long time. And if something inside us dies, we regenerate. We heal everything fast. But if you do not remedy the situation that is trying to kill you, you will remain in the cycle of death.
I have witnessed fates where the dagger would be preferable.
But now I have more than myself to live for.
I have Mon Coeur.
My Mate.
I drag a finger over the beads surrounding my wrist, wondering if my girl would like to meet a whale one day.
That first whale, when I woke, she let me feed. And the power in her blood stunned me. Her sheer strength, combined with her high intelligence, provided me with more energy than any other being I’d encountered. Including shifters. So I paid her back with a taste of my sangue.
My mouth pulls into a grin as I remember the way she breached the surface. Just like the one today.
Most animals, humans included, are not strong enough to absorb the power held in vampire blood. But whales are mighty. She proved that with the energy she gave me. And not only could she handle it, but my blood made her stronger.
My finger bumps over another heart-shaped bead, and I remind myself that I’m still undecided on what to do with my Little Human.
I drop several feet as my forward momentum suddenly ends and my weight pulls me toward the ground.
My arm darts out, throwing my gravito forward as I let out a hiss.
A dark cloud appears and bursts in front of my face.
I narrow my eyes at my gravito. “You know I’m right. Being mated to me is a death sentence.”
It’s the truth.
It hurts to say it. But it’s the fated truth.
My obnoxious, too sentient for its own good gravito drops me again.
I growl as I throw even more power forward. Increasing my speed.
A small curl of smoke circles my wrist, over my bracelet.
Pressure surrounds my heart. “Sí, I want her too.”
I swallow down the urge to rage at the injustices of the world.
There is no point. They will always remain.
No matter how many scales I have tried to reset, evil will be reborn. Over and over again.
And I will fight for my mate’s right to exist. Over and over again.
Lights ahead and below pull my attention away from my brooding.
This time my gravito cooperates, slowing with my will.
There are a lot of lights below.
Too many lights.
I slow even more as I reach the edge of the city, grateful that the dark sky above me will cloak my presence from anyone looking up.
Lights blaze in the night. Along streets. In homes. Businesses. Cars.
The cars.
My heart thuds a beat too fast before I’m able to catch it.
The cars are too fast. Too bright. Too sleek.
I slept so much longer than I intended.
I touch the heart beads.
If my mate hadn’t woken me…
My pulse pounds another extra beat.
My brother.
An ache spreads through my chest as I think of Volik.
I did not mean to leave you for so long, little brother.
Gravito wraps around my waist, tightening in a hug. And I force myself to calm.
This is not the same world as the one I left. But I will not let that derail me.