Page 34 of Saved by the Vampire Goddess (Dark Wine Vampires #1)

Chapter thirty-four

Evelina

Minnesota Ark Prime—A short while later

W hat a holy heck of a mess .

Relief buzzes through me when we arrive at the ark, and I park the snowmobile inside the garage. All I want to do is collapse onto the bed and rest, even though it’s only one in the morning.

“You smell so good.” Valroy has his face buried in my hair, where it was for the entire ride, his arms tightly wrapped around my waist, protecting me from the harsh winds and cherishing me at the same time.

“Thanks.” I snug my butt tighter against his crotch.

My gloved hands are so frozen that I can’t make my fingers release the handle grips. So I slide them off the grips’ ends, and they’re now curled around nothing. With the back of my gloves, I wipe the dirty slush off my goggles and fling the debris to the floor of the garage, then work my fingers until sensation finally returns.

Mud, ice, and who knows how many caustic chemicals coat the front end of my snowmobile. The whole thing needs a thorough wipe-down after sitting in the snow and pollution for forty-eight hours. I should wash and dry it before doing anything else. I give the cleaning supplies on the counter a longing look.

But with two exhausted mortals and a wounded vampire to care for, cleaning the machine will have to wait. I’ll be darn lucky if the front skis don’t rust and fall right off their spindles by tomorrow night.

I give the cleaning supplies one last regretful glance and tsk .

“Is everything all right?” Valroy asks, his arms still around me.

“Just warming up.” I pat his entwined fingers. “We’re home.”

Our home .

Warmth fills my chest. After all we’ve been through, I’m gonna give our relationship a solid try. “Let’s get everyone through decon. You take Titus, I’ll take Tina.”

“You and Tina go first.”

I pat his hands one more time. “You’ll have to let go.”

“Oh, yeah.”

I slide off the seat and help Tina out of the trailer. She’s shivering and tucks her fingers under her armpits.

“Let’s get you into a warm shower.” I grab the suitcase, then guide her to the shower and explain the decon procedure. Once we’re both washed and dried, and I’ve put the suitcase through decon too, I find her some clothes in the stack I keep in the clean room.

Tina is taller than me, so my sweats on her look like high-waders. An oversized t-shirt fits with room to spare. Dressed, we wait in the hallway for the guys. Titus manages to keep a pair of Valroy’s sweats around his hips by pulling the string tight and knotting it. He still has the lankiness of youth.

“Put your arm around my shoulder,” I tell Valroy, supporting his weight as he limps into the living area. After settling him on the couch with his face in the cushion, I bring him some warmed dark wine.

He rises enough to slurp it down, then hands me the empty glass and flops onto his stomach.

Poor guy. I wish there was more I could do for him. I can tell he’s in a bit of pain, though he hasn’t said one word of complaint.

I kneel next to him and stroke his head, avoiding his back. “Do ya want more of my blood?”

He turns his head to face me. “Maybe later. Take care of them first.”

I kiss him, a gentle press of lips, and my heart warms even more. As I back away, our gazes meet. The love in his about sends me to the moon.

But we have guests watching us.

With regret, I turn and find Tina and Titus sitting at the kitchen table. “Anyone hungry?”

“We are, thank you,” Tina says. “The imperial guards arrested us before our dinner was served.”

“All righty. Dinner for two, coming right up.”

I cook a quick supper for them. Tina eats about half of what I serve her before she nods off.

I touch her arm. “Let me help you to bed before you fall face first onto that plate.”

She startles and sits up straight. “Thank you. The meat was very good. I’m just too tired.”

“No problem, sweetie.”

For now, she’ll get the only bed I have. I swipe a hand across my forehead. Christ on a crutch . Too many details to think about with two mortals living here now. I guess I’ll drag a mattress out of storage for Titus and he can sleep on the floor by Valroy.

Before I can show her the room, she rushes to Valroy’s side and kneels by the couch, at eye level with him. “Brother, will you be all right?”

He glances up at me. I give a quick nod.

“I’ll be fine, Tina.”

I pat her shoulder. “By tomorrow night, he’ll be as right as rain. Now, let’s get you to bed.”

“Good night, dulcissima .” Valroy leans in to kiss her forehead.

What a nice nickname— sweetest . I start to tear up at the care Valroy shows his sister. It isn’t just duty. He loves her deeply.

I tuck a hand under her arm and help her rise. “This way.”

“I could sleep out here with him.” She tugs her arm out of my grip. “In case he needs something.”

“Don’t worry, Tina. We have him covered.” I guide her into the bedroom. “The moon rises before dawn, so we’ll stay awake until it sets at three in the afternoon. I’ll make you breakfast before Valroy and I conk out. Come on, climb in.”

Tina is asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow. She’s been through a lot in one night.

I join the guys, and the perimeter alarm goes off. F’n Lux . I whoosh to the reset button and slap my hand on it to stop the noise from waking Tina.

When I return, Ingvar stands by the kitchen table. Titus is on his knees, head bowed, and from the couch, Valroy groans. He sits up and touches three fingers to his forehead.

“You succeeded?” Ingvar asks in that haughty way of his.

I scoop up the roller bag and plop it at his feet. “All here. And a barrel holding other spent rods is being delivered to the reclamation container. You can pick it up there.”

“It is your responsibility—”

“Try again. We’re exhausted. The extra rods were above and beyond our deal. You owe us sixteen extra cases of clone blood for that.”

Ingvar fluffs out his wings. “On the contrary, you owe a penalty for bringing two mortals with you. The last cases are forfeit.”

“Oh fer cute. Let me spell this out simply for you. We put our lives on the line to fix your mistake. They helped us. If we didn’t remove them, the head honcho’s guards planned on killing them. Can’t repay loyalty with treachery, now, can we?”

Yeah, I know Tina and Titus didn’t really help us. But Ingvar doesn’t deserve the truth.

“Speaking of treachery,” he says, sounding all huffy even through the translator, “killing New Rome’s leader has destabilized their government—”

I give him a glare that would put the fear of God in any mortal. But with him, it’s useless. “Again, birdbrain, let me put this so you’ll understand. I did what I had to do to fix a problem your neglect caused. You do not get to second-guess what I did to save your bacon, fer sure.”

“But something must be done—”

“Listen up, mister.” I poke a finger at his chest. “You have a lot to answer for. Do you have any idea what you’ve allowed to happen in New Rome? Why we’re in this mess in the first place?”

“I am well aware a vampire sold them forbidden nuclear rods.”

“I’m not talking about that, ya stupid dickhead. They forced a sixteen-year-old girl to marry. Sixteen! That’s crazy. And they have people starving and sleeping in alleyways, while that pig of an emperor piled his table high. Are you getting any of this?”

“The Lux cannot interfere with what mortals do to each other.”

“Oh, stuff your cheese and f’n crackers where the sun don’t shine.” I clench my fists so hard my knuckles crack. I’m about to lose my flippin’ mind. “You already have interfered , and you can again.”

Ingvar harrumphs . “I’ll apprise our elders of the circumstances. In the meantime, what do you plan on doing with the mortals?”

“That’s up to them. I’ll train them to work the ark. The girl is Valroy’s sister. This one”—I point at where Titus trembles, kneeling on the floor, his mouth gaping open at the angel—“this one protected her.”

Titus rights himself and makes the starburst. “Sir.”

Ingvar’s wings rise higher. “We cannot allow the mortals to stay here. We’ll relocate them to a mixed dome.”

“What?” I snap. “You allowed Valroy to stay here.”

“And you turned him in that time. The vampire population cannot continue to grow.”

“That was an emergency.” I’m close to screaming and take a deep breath, preparing to lower my voice. “And I wasn’t breaking any laws.”

“That is a matter of opinion.”

“Geez Louise. I’m not going to turn sixteen- and nineteen-year-old children into vampires. But you said it’d take too many resources to reeducate Valroy. Now ya can provide for two more?”

“Nonetheless.” Ingvar glances at the multipurpose communication device on his wrist. “We found a mixed dome willing to adopt all three.”

“Wait one rootin’-tootin’ minute. Valroy’s my fledgling. You can’t take him away from me. And you can’t take his sister away from him. My contract’s over in two years, ’cause of the deal you and I made. I can take all of them to Sierra Escondida then. We won’t be here forever.”

“The transition will be easier for the sister if she goes now and enters school in a mixed dome. So she and this other mortal are leaving. You have no say in the matter.” Ingvar shifts his wings slightly. “I suppose we cannot force your fledging to go or force you to let him go. Decide. Now.”

Everyone in the room turns to Valroy. He’s frozen in place on the couch. Then the starburst he holds to his forehead folds into a fist and he drops his hand to his lap. “My sister has just returned to me, and you angels want to rip her away? May the gods curse you.”

That’s the most disrespectful thing he’s ever said to Ingvar. I whoosh to his side before he says something else to inflame the situation—not that I haven’t already taken Ingvar’s measure and served it up like a berry pie.

I slip my fingers around Valroy’s. “Hot stuff, listen.”

Ingvar huffs.

“You”—I point at Mr. Feathers—“knock it off.” I raise Valroy’s hand to my lips. Sadness tightens my throat, and I swallow hard to clear the lump. “Hot stuff, ya gotta go with them. Your sister needs you.”

Tears fill his eyes. “You don’t want me?”

“I want you—” I choke out, tears sliding down my cheeks. “I…I love you with my whole broken heart. ”

There. I finally said it.

He wraps his arms around me in a tight hug. “But I don’t want to be apart from you.”

“And I don’t want to be apart from you.” I glance over at Ingvar. “Once his sister is all settled, he can come back, right?”

“No. It’s a one-way trip. We don’t need another zookeeper at this location.”

I release Valroy, afraid I’m hurtin’ his back with how hard we’re squeezing each other, and face Ingvar, swallowing my pride. “Please.”

“He is unnecessary here. We don’t have enough work for two vampires in this ark.”

“But what about my vacation? I can take it now and go with him.”

“Your vacation isn’t for another eight months.”

“Nothing in my contract—”

“We can’t get a replacement on short notice. And you agreed to the vacation schedule—Roy signed a contract to cover for you, and getting qualified vacation relief is difficult.”

Valroy squeezes my hand. “Evelina, I’ll wait for you. It’s only eight months.”

“But that’s the problem.” I gaze at where his fingers wrap around mine, and more tears fall. “The bond will be dead by then. If I don’t keep taking your blood, our connection dies.”

He tucks his fingers under my chin and gently raises it until our gazes meet. “I’ll love you even without the bond.”

“I know you say that now…”

“I mean every word of it. I loved you before you turned me, and I’ll never stop. If the bond is so important to you, I’m staying.”

I jump to my feet. “You can’t. Your sister’s been through too much already.” I gotta convince him to go, and I cough past the agony filling my lungs. “Maybe it’s better this way. You’ll be free to stay with your sister as long as she needs you. Nothing ever lasts between vampires, anyway. Wait here. I’ll get her.”

He closes his eyes for a moment. “I see.”

There’s heartbreak in those two words. And a wall slamming down.

“Valroy—”

Ingvar flaps his wings. “Get going, Evelina. I don’t have all night. I’ll settle the mortals and give the brother an opportunity to spend his sister’s mortal life with her. Then we’ll find him an appropriate assignment when she dies.”

I can’t think. I look at Valroy. He’s still staring at me. Waiting for me to speak.

I know he’s…he’s my mate.

But I can’t force him to abandon Tina.

Ingvar strides over to us. “I’m taking them to a dome where the sun will rise in an hour. We should leave now, so I can get them settled.”

I pivot on my heel, my back to Valroy, and head to the bedroom, my heart cracking. The fractured pieces slice through my flesh. I press my fingers into my chest, wanting to dig out the glass and throw the pieces of my heart away, so I’ll never feel this way again.