Page 35 of Saved by the Vampire Goddess (Dark Wine Vampires #1)

Chapter thirty-five

Valroy

Minnesota Ark Prime—Moments later

I t would hurt less if I were still crawling across the dance floor being shot by the imperial guards. I drop my head into my hands, rubbing the tears from my eyes. Ingvar’s asking me to make an impossible choice.

But Evelina’s right. My duty is to my sister—it always has been. I can’t think of my own needs. I can’t be selfish. I can’t stay here while Tina goes who knows where.

Protecting her is my highest priority. And I don’t trust Ingvar. He might try to turn her into a kitchen maid, like Maliff did.

Tina deserves a good life among mortals, but I hoped to keep her here, then secure her a home after Evelina’s contract finished. But Tina’s going now, with or without me, and I can’t allow her to go alone. I’m her guardian. It’s my duty to remain with her. I didn’t voluntarily leave her the first time, and this time I can’t in good conscience abandon her. Titus may have protected her in my absence, but she’s not his responsibility. She’s mine.

But Evelina… An ache stabs through my chest. I don’t want to part from her. Does the vampire bond really make a difference to our long-term relationship? She seems to think it does.

Fast as she always is, she returns, holding Tina by one arm.

My sister uses her free hand to rub sleep from her eyes. “What’s going on?”

“The angels,” Titus says from where he still kneels on the floor. “I mean, the Lux are taking us to our new home.”

Tina falls to her knees. Yeah, that will change soon enough. I no longer consider the Lux as messengers of the gods. It’ll take some time, but I’ll break her of the belief.

Rising from the couch, I make my way to Evelina, leaning against pieces of furniture as I stumble my way to her. I grip the back of her neck, holding her close, looking into her deep blue eyes. “I love you, Evelina. I don’t want to leave you.”

“But you should, so go.” She lifts her chin in Ingvar’s direction. “Don’t drag this out.”

“I’ll wait for you. You can visit me on your vacation. Please—” I reach for her, but she steps back.

“Just go.” Then she whooshes from the room through the sliding doorway that leads to the beasts’ kennel.

Ingvar gathers us together, does something to the device on his wrist, and poof , we’re somewhere new where the air is heavy with water, the temperature is warmer than New Rome ever got, and I’m surrounded by lush, verdant plants.

Despite the beautiful surroundings, my emotions crack, tears fill my eyes, and a longing to return to Evelina drags my heart to the depths of despair.

Did she really mean what she said about it being better this way? We need to talk this through. There must be something I can do to return to her.

Ingvar guides us down a pathway. The trees and plants look tropical, filled with blooms in pinks, fuchsias, and deep reds. Landscapes like this are in the photo books my mother hoarded.

No matter how much beauty surrounds me, I can appreciate none of it. I can only picture Evelina’s face when she told me to go.

Ingvar takes us to an office, where we sign electronic tablets, agreeing to abide by a list of rules, and then gives us our own handheld devices. He shows us the basics on how to tap the screens to use them. “Focus on reading the full rules for relocation and skim the handbook on our laws. Tomorrow night, I’ll give you instructions on how to use all the main apps. Ultimately, you’ll each receive a comm crystal that’ll allow you to control the handheld without speaking. We don’t want to overload you with too much at the beginning.”

I’m already overloaded. Evelina used this tech, but I never believed I’d be so privileged.

Evelina…

Ingvar leads us out of the office. “I’m taking you to your temporary apartments. New homes are being built for you.”

We stroll on stone walkways along abundant gardens, and my heart longs to have Evelina here beside me. Everything I see I want to share with her, from the beautiful flowers to the strange birds hopping from tree branch to tree branch.

When we arrive at the apartment building, Tina is barely keeping her eyelids open. She takes her backpack from me and, after a brief hug, stumbles up the two steps to enter the unit next to mine.

Titus continues following Ingvar, and when I glance back at him, his mouth is gaping. His reaction reminds me of my first time in the nature preservation domes with Evelina.

I miss her so much.

I press my hand to the keypad to unlock the door and go in. The first thing I check is the refrigerator. Fresh blood, thank the gods. I’m still not healed, and the glass I had at the ark wasn’t enough, so I heat a pint. My second task is to pull all the drapes closed, as I don’t know what time the sun will rise.

The handbook holds my attention as I sip on pint after pint, although every few pages, something reminds me of Evelina. When an alarm goes off on the device signaling an impending moonset, I tap the handbook to close it, then fall dead asleep on the couch.