Chapter Eleven
Keryth
W hen Anton’s vampire magic connected with my fae magic, I gasped involuntarily. It felt… massive and overwhelming and hella powerful and so, so, so fucking amazing. Mother of All, our magics combining felt… formidable and… inevitable.
Despite everything that’d happened, I knew, deep down, that he and I were fated to be together. He was my viramore. There was no doubt about it.
I could admit that to myself now.
But as phenomenal as that revelation was, it had to take a backseat because we needed to save Trayben. I would not let that boy die. Not on my watch.
So I pushed my magic, our magics, into Tray, asking them to find his soul and keep it tethered to his body.
His breathing had slowed so much I was afraid we might be too late.
But then I felt his beautiful, bright soul, and I sighed in relief.
It was instinctive to wrap his soul in our magics, and even though I had no idea how I knew what to do, I did. I wrapped it up tight and held it there, keeping it within his body.
Typically, a person drank vampire blood for weeks leading up to their turning because the vampire blood kept the soul tethered to the body, even as that body died. So all I had to do was keep hold of Trayben’s soul now while Anton took care of the body-turning-vampire part.
I could do this. We could do this.
We could save this sweet kid who’d become a member of my little family years ago.
I turned to Anton. “You need to finish the ritual. Make him a vampire. It’s the only way to save him.”
He stared at me for a long moment before giving me a single nod and kneeling in front of the kid. He picked up one of his bloodied wrists, and he was so damn gentle that it made my heart get caught in my chest.
I could tell Anton didn’t want to hurt him, so I placed my hand on Anton’s shoulder, gave it a squeeze, and whispered, “It’s okay. Do it. He wants to be saved.” And I knew that to be true too. It was as if his soul was whispering to me, wishing to live.
Anton bit into Trayben’s wrist and sucked the last drops of his blood out of him while I kept his soul wrapped up safe in our magics.
I felt the moment Tray’s body died, and a few tears fell, even though I knew this was going to work. It was. It had to.
I had to believe we could save this poor kid. I hadn’t been able to get him out or keep that evil man from hurting him—torturing him for hours—but I wasn’t going to let him die. At least, not for good.
This had to work.
Please, Tray, stay with us.
His soul fought me for a few minutes, like it was being called back to wherever our souls came from, but I held it tighter. I was not going to let him go. I couldn’t.
I tightened my grip on Anton’s shoulder, and the vampire placed his hand over mine, keeping his other hand on Trayben’s wrist. I gently touched Tray’s shoulder so all three of us were connected, and I felt the kid’s soul calm, no longer fighting me. It wanted to be saved; I knew that in my bones, and I was pretty sure that made it easier to hold onto.
We stayed that way, the three of us connected, for a few minutes before my entire body became so drained, I had to sit on the floor. I leaned against Anton and held one of Trayben’s hands in my own as my eyes blinked slowly.
I felt heavy. Like the weight of the world was weighing me down.
Anton still had Trayben’s wrist in his hand, and he wrapped his other arm around me, speaking against my hair. “All three of us need to sleep. We need… we need someone to keep us together.”
“Is it… did it work?”
“I… think so. Don’t let go of his soul yet. Give it a few more minutes, but I think you’ll be okay to let go soon.”
That was good news because I was so tired I wasn’t sure how long I could stay awake, let alone how long I could hold onto another person’s soul.
One of Anton’s children—I didn’t know his name—squatted beside us. “We’ll take care of all three of you, okay? Go ahead and sleep now. He’s going to be okay. The vampiric magic has hold of his soul now.”
“Are you sure?” I asked him, staring into baby blue eyes.
He nodded. “Yes. Let go, Keryth. Everything will be fine. You’re safe, and when you wake up, you’ll still be together.”
Through the fragile bond between Anton and me, I could tell how much he trusted this man, how much he loved him, and how much he believed everything he said.
That trust transferred into me, so I nodded, let my eyes close as I released my magic, and drifted off to sleep beside Anton… my Anton, who’d saved me.
I could feel a super soft mattress under my body, but my pillow was a little hard. It was comfortable, though, so I snuggled down into it and hugged it to me.
Then I froze.
Because it wasn’t a pillow.
It was a person.
I wanted to jerk back and see who it was, but my body was so sluggish with sleep, all I could do was twitch. But then a hand landed on my arm, rubbing the skin there, and I sighed in relief, my body instantly recognizing exactly who it was.
Anton. I was lying on Anton.
A few days ago, I would’ve pulled away from him and probably would’ve been hella angry. But after reading his letter, texting, and having him save me, I didn’t want to fight the pull any longer. So I snuggled back in.
My brain felt sluggish, and I wasn’t even sure how we’d gotten here. I felt like I couldn’t think clearly or remember anything.
So instead of freaking out about my lack of a brain, I took a deep breath, taking in Anton’s scent.
Patchouli, mmm, and… blood?
Well. I supposed that made sense.
I blinked my eyes open, relieved the room was dark. Actually, it was almost too dark to see. I almost freaked out, but after a few seconds, I realized there was a blue nightlight somewhere behind me. It took a few minutes for my eyes to adjust enough that I could see Anton’s outline.
“Are… are my girls okay?”
“I’ve only just woken myself.”
That made my chest squeeze tight with worry. “So you don’t know where they are or how they’re doing? I need to find a phone. They’re probably worried sick about me and—”
“Shhh. It’s okay, Ker. They’re okay.”
“You said you didn’t know.”
“No one has come in here since they placed us on the bed—they can’t until our fledgling wakes. But Tan told me before I found you that they were with Bel and Remi. You and I both know the two of them will keep them safe.”
“You’re right.” I sighed in relief. “Oh, thank the Mother. And Tray? He’s alright?”
“He’ll be fine.”
“Good.” After a few seconds, my brow furrowed. “Where are we exactly?”
“In my home. We’re in a basement safe room. There are no windows, so no chance of sunlight coming in. I created this room as soon as I moved in years ago for situations like this.”
From what I’d heard, most vampires had emergency rooms like this built into their homes. It made sense. There was no way in hell I wouldn’t want a completely sunless room as a backup if I was as allergic to the sun as vampires were.
But still… “I don’t know where that is. I’ve never been to your home before. Are we still in the city?”
“Yes. On the outskirts, about a five-minute walk from my bookstore.”
“Oh.”
That didn’t tell me an exact location, but at least I knew the general area.
Curious, my gaze moved about the room before landing on a giant lump on the other side of my vampire pillow, and I gasped.
“T-Trayben?”
Anton gave me a squeeze since he was apparently hugging me as much as I was him. “Shh. It’s alright. His body’s still going through the transition.”
Transition? Oh shit. It only took a few seconds for memories of what we’d done to try and save the kid to come back to me. “He’s gonna wake up, though?”
“Yes. Thanks to you.”
“What do you mean?”
He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. “I’m not sure my magic alone could’ve changed him. It’s been a very, very long time since I’ve turned anyone, and since Trayben hadn’t been ingesting my blood leading up to it, I’m unsure it would’ve worked. But with your fae magic mixing in and calling to his fae magic and his soul, I… I think it worked. And I can feel… a slight bond between all three of us.”
Um… what? Seriously… what? “What does that mean? I thought you and I were…”
He kissed my forehead. “Yes. We are, my darling. Trayben’s bond to us is different. But I’m afraid that your bond to him is the same as mine—a sire-fledgling bond.”
I blinked at that. “But… but I’m not a vampire.”
He shrugged. “No, but you helped turn him, so… I guess our magics decided for us.”
“Can two people even make a fledgling?”
He lifted one shoulder. “Apparently, they can. At least when it’s the two of us.”
I swallowed thickly and couldn’t help but look over at the kid only a few feet away. I had a… fledgling? What the hell was I gonna do with him? Did that mean I had another kid?
Shit. I’d have to move into a bigger place because there wasn’t anywhere for him in my apartment. He’d spent the night before, but he always slept on the floor in the living room, which wasn’t good for the long term. And he’d need a vampire-proof home—so no sunlight—which… shit. That was definitely not my home. I had plants all over the place with sun streaming in through the windows to help them grow. How the hell was that going to work?
“Hey.” Anton grabbed my attention. “Don’t panic. We’ll figure this out. Together.”
I sucked in a breath, and only because I was so damn tired right now did I give him a nod and try to let go of all my questions and worry. Those things were Future-Ker’s problems.
“We need to find my kids. I need to talk to them,” I said a few minutes later.
Anton hesitated before letting out a small sigh. “I… don’t think that’s a good idea.”
I stiffened. “Anton, I need to tell my kids I’m okay. I need to see them.” My heart lurched, my chest tightening in remembered fear. “I… I didn’t think I’d ever see them again.”
As I tried to pull away, Anton tightened his hold on me, pulling me close. “I know, beloved. I know. But we can’t do anything that might hinder Trayben’s transition. He needs to be close to his sires, and we need to be sure we’re focusing on him… at least until he wakes up.”
“You… you really think it could hurt him if I go get a phone?”
“I… do. I’m sorry.”
I nodded and let him hug me as I relaxed into his hold once more. Then, because I felt compelled to, I reached over and placed my hand on Trayben’s bicep, giving him a little squeeze of comfort, even though he likely couldn’t feel it yet.
After a few minutes, I whispered, “Do you think he’s okay over there by himself? Is he close enough to us?”
Anton’s voice was just as soft when he replied. “I’m not sure. This is unlike any other transition I’ve been a part of.”
“How?”
“Well, for starters, I’ve never laid in a bed when waiting for my fledgling to wake.”
“Then… where were you?”
“Buried in the ground or in a coffin, holding them. It requires complete darkness, so this room is fine for that—the blue light won’t harm him. There’s no way for the sun to get to us down here, but… I do usually hold them.”
I sucked in a breath. “Then maybe you should be holding him too, instead of me.”
“He’s our fledgling, Keryth. So if that’s the case, we both need to hold him.”
I thought for a few seconds, then gave Anton a nod. “Alright. Let’s roll him into the middle of the bed so we can lie on either side of him.”
“I… do not have the strength for that just yet.”
I sighed. “Neither do I. Shit.”
“He’ll be okay. I can feel the transition taking hold of him. His wounds are closing.”
“They are?”
“Yes. He’s going to be just fine.”
“Yeah, but… what if he’s scared? He’s just a kid.”
Anton’s voice was a quiet whisper when he said, “I know.”
Then he reached over and placed his hand on Trayben’s shoulder, close to where I still had my hand on him. The second he touched him, I felt a strange jolt shoot up from my hand—coming out of Trayben—through my body and ending right in my heart. It didn’t hurt, not exactly, it was more like a zap of awareness.
And then I could feel it.
The bond.
Holy fuckin’ shit.
Trayben was my fledgling.
I, a fae, had a motherfuckin’ fledging.