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Looking at him was a mistake. He was too focused when he was like this. Like this was the only conversation that mattered. She looked back to the horizon, doing her best to ignore the feel of his stare, and reached for her earlobe to caress a cross that wasn’t there.

“I love her. And we both know what that means. Either I join her or it’s over.” Except that Ashley regretted becoming a vampire. Would she grow to regret Esther changing as well?

“What if there’s another way?”

“I can’t even begin to wade through the social stigma of what our relationship would look like if I continue to age and she doesn’t, how that would leach into our daily lives. It’d erode our trust. Me, worried I’m not what she asked for, getting tired, and losing mobility. And her young as always and getting bored with the choice she made but feeling obligated to stay. If she didn’t change her mind on her own, I’d end up pushing her away.”

“And you think an eternity together is a better solution? Humans are lucky to manage a lifetime of love together. What are you going to do if fifty, a hundred, two hundred years down the line, one or both of you decide to call it quits? What then? You’ll still be a vampire.”

“It would be worth it.” Esther scooped water into her hand, watching it spill through her fingers before she balled it into a fist. “She would be worth it.”

“Esther.”

“Look, I don’t have an eternity of life goals. The plan was just to lie low and carry on, and then Ashley…” Esther trailed off, the words, her feelings, impossible to pin down.

“And then Ashley,” August said with a huffed laugh. “I love her too, Esther.”

Esther reached under the waves and took his hand. She knew he did, and Ashley in her way loved him too. It wasn’t a romantic love, like the way Esther felt for her, but they had built a sort of family, the four of them, and it struck Esther how painful it would be to lose August and Uther.

The horizon wavered as her eyes watered. “I don’t want to lose you. Either of you. Any of you. I just… I don’t know what else to do.”

“There’s another option.” He was animated now. Not in movement necessarily—he stayed in the same spot, and his hand still held hers—but there was an energy about him like every atom in his body was vibrating with the need to express this thought. “We could cure her.”

“What?” Esther took her hand back and stepped away. She’d never seen a fire like this in August’s eyes, and something about it scared her.

He continued, using his hands to shape his words and freeing small drops of water back to the ocean. “There’s a cure. We could turn her human again.”

“What are you talking about? What cure?” She was getting all of her vampire knowledge from pop culture, but there was one common denominator: Vampirism was permanent. Her body chose fear over hope—the safer of the two options.

“That page we got from the vampires,” His words came in quick bursts, like a horse pulling at its tethers. “Do you remember? The missing page from the grimoire. It describes a potion that can reverse the effects of the vampire curse. It can return her to before. We just need one more ingredient.”

“We? You mean the witches.” Esther was backing away, but August continued to follow. He probably didn’t even notice they were moving, he was so engrossed in the topic. “The witches that hate vampires. The witches that were looking for this book before you even knew Ashley.”

But August wasn’t listening to her.

“And you happen to have that final ingredient.” His gaze dipped to the chain around her neck, and a hungry look she didn’t recognize crossed his face.

Without thinking, she grabbed the charm, blocking it from his view. “It’s a weapon, August. You have to see that. Those witches don’t care about curing Ashley. They just want to be rid of vampires.”

“And a cure would do that.”

“No.”

“Esther,” he said. They were barely in the water, enough to cover their feet. “Just think about it. Think about Ashley as a human, here on the beach with us.” He opened his arms wide, taking in the sun and waves. “Think about growing old together. Never having to drink blood or lie about your age.”

No. There had to be a catch to this. The offer sounded too good.

She couldn’t trust those witches. But now that the words were out, she couldn’t block the picture of Ashley splashing in the waves, her hair whipping in the wind, and her smile lighting up Esther’s heart. She could be free.

“All we need is that vial of blood,” he said, “and you two can live happily ever after.”

“No.” Esther shook her head and stepped fully out of the water.

August didn’t follow her, but his shoulders slumped.

“I can’t betray her like that. This vial is a symbol, and you want me to give it to people who actively hate her. I would never hurt her like that, and I can’t believe you would ask me to.”

“The choice is yours, Esther. But I think you’ve known for a while now that Ashley shouldn’t be a vampire.”