Page 55 of Blood Ties (City of Blood #1)

Bash

Hanging up after hearing the relief and confirmation in Jack’s voice, I feel lighter than I have in weeks. I have no idea what I am walking into with her, what has happened to her or what will become of us now, but I feel as though I can breathe again.

My sun has returned.

Before I can get to her though, I promised I would kill them all and I intend to do just that.

Jack will keep her safe. A man approaches me as I walk through the house, his posture submissive, his movements weary.

I bare my fangs at him, a show of intimidation, not that he needs it.

He shows me his throat, an attempt to surrender.

I grab him by the neck, lifting him off the ground and bring his face level with mine.

“You took something that was mine and now you’ll die for it,” I tell him, so close I am almost breathing into his mouth, his toes skimming the floor.

“I- I didn’t. Nicolas did. He wanted her.”

“Well, now you’ll all die for him.” Placing my hand against his chest, I claw my fingers, and slowly press into his chest cavity, wrapping my hand around his heart.

He hisses out in pain as I squeeze the organ pumping blood through him.

Squeezing tighter and tighter, his eyes bulge before I finally pull my hand out, blood dripping, holding his heart, his light flaring into the room around us.

I drop both, his body and his heart, to the floor at my feet.

Walking down the deserted hallway, I throw the door open at the end and find a lone woman with short blond hair cowering behind a large desk.

“Hello, darling. Why don’t you come out from back there,” I say to her as I shut and latch the door behind me. I know I am a terrifying sight, the devil himself, covered in bright red blood, my fangs dripping. The sounds that erupt from my throat are inhuman.

Shaking her head, she slides backward across the carpet until her back hits the paneling. I approach her slowly, prepared for attack.

“Don’t do this, please. Sebastien, right? You’re here for her, aren’t you?” She looks up at me from the floor, her eyes pleading. “I’m her friend, I tried to help her. Don’t do this.”

I laugh cruelly in her face. “I’m not sure friend is the correct word for holding someone hostage.” Reaching down, I grab her by the collar and lift her feet off the ground, holding her at arm's length. “Who are you?”

“Nobody. I’m nobody.” She trembles with fear.

“I don’t believe you. Who took her, and why?”

“I don’t know, I don’t know,” she repeats over and over.

“Ok, well, if you aren’t going to be useful.” I lift my hand and plunge it into her chest. Her eyes widen momentarily before the light flares from the hole I created. I drop her body, her heart still clutched in my fist. It hits the carpet with a wet thunk.

Turning, I walk out of the room, shutting the door behind me.

I open door after door until I reach a room that smells so much like Elina it damn near brings me to my knees.

The room is empty but I prowl inside anyway, closing the door behind me.

There is a stainless table full of tools and implements, all covered in blood, not unlike the one in the dungeon of the cathedral covered in Talia’s blood.

Elina’s blood covers this one. The wrist and ankle restraints are stained red, and there are blood droplets everywhere—the entire room is drenched in Elina’s blood.

The fire of fury in my chest reignites with a power I have never experienced.

I storm out of the room, freezing to listen for any sounds from inside the house.

I hear nothing but muted fighting somewhere far off.

I continue my room-by-room inspection and don’t find any other vampires.

On the second floor, I find another strong hit of her.

Behind a splintered and broken door that looks the same as all the others, I find a bedroom.

The bed is unmade and smells so strongly of her that I want to roll around in the sheets.

On the small table in the corner there is a bowl of gumbo, uneaten, and spilled blood. Most of it is from the glass that is on the floor with some droplets of Elina.

What happened here, Tesoro?

Satisfied that I have found everyone there is to find, I make my way down the stairs and out the front door.

I am coated from head to toe in blood—it's in my hair, dripping from my brow, seeping into my clothing. I leave bloody footprints in my wake. I am a distorted version of the man Elina last saw and I am afraid of seeing her, of her reaction to me.

Walking into the street, I see her standing under a streetlamp, leaning heavily on Jack. His arms are around her as he murmurs in her ear.

The air around me disappears, the street beneath my feet fades into nothing. A spotlight shines on the brown hair hanging down her back and on her drawn, exhausted face. She’s lost weight, but she is still soft and I want to squeeze her tight to me. My heart cracks at the sight of her.

She looks up and her eyes find mine. The happiness that breaks across her face causes the air to crackle around me. I can feel her happiness in my body like blood, flowing through me with relief.

She breaks out of Jack’s arms and runs to me as I open my arms to her. She flies at me, inhumanly fast, and slams into me, wrapping her arms and legs around me. Enveloping her in my hold, I sink to my knees and we both sob.

“Fuck, baby, I was so fucking worried about you.” I breathe into her hair, not wanting to let her put even an inch of space between us. “Are you ok? Please tell me you’re ok? I killed as many of them as I could, I’ll kill them all. Tesoro, fuck, I couldn’t breath with you gone.”

“Bash, I love you. I love you so much. I knew you would come.” She sobs into my neck. “Bash.” I can feel her reluctance, her hesitance. Something is weighing on her.

“No, Tesoro, we have time later. Reunion now.” I squeeze her as tight as I safely can. I hear people filling the streets and I release her, quickly, pushing her behind me, crouching and growling at the vampires approaching.

“Sarah!” She runs out from behind me and jumps into the arms of her friend. She takes a big inhale and widens her eyes comically. “You’re…you’re a vampire.” Sarah startles as the sentence, confused.

“How do you know that?”

“I can smell it on you,” Elina tells her, hesitantly. “I can smell Bash on you.”

I gasp at the same time as Sarah.

“Elina, are you–”

She hangs her head, in shame, I think. “Yes.”

Walking up behind her, I wrap my arms around her and take a deep breath of her essence, realization dawning for the first time that she is different now. “I love you so much, Tesoro. I can’t wait to spend forever with you. No one will ever come between us again. Never. In eterno.”

She spins in my arms, looking at me before giving me the biggest grin I think I have ever seen, beautiful fangs on full display for me before latching her mouth to mine forcefully.

It's raw. It’s pure emotion, something I never thought I could claim for myself. It's bloody and it's perfect.

I can’t think of a moment I have ever been happier in my life.