Page 81 of Vampire United

“Orion?”

She nods slowly.

“We did,” Caleb says. He strokes Maddy’s cheek. “She drove the stake through his heart, and he broke into a million pieces.”

Her chin quivers. “Forever?”

“Forever,” Caleb says. It has to be the truth; he can’t bear anything else. It’s why they went out of the way to find the stake, and it was the only goal they had. It’s what they accomplished together—him and Maddy. “He’s gone.”

The words fall heavy in the room.He’s gone.

Every exhausted body and tired soul lifts as the weight of Orion’s impending attack slips away a little more.

“What happened to Malcolm?” Caleb asks, keeping his gaze on Maddy.

“I killed him,” Quinn says, her voice soft but hard.

“Good.”

The silence falls again, and no one speaks for a long time. It’s too much to consider. What does it mean to live a life without the threat of Orion in it? Caleb’s heart swells, and he knows they couldn’t have done it without all of these individuals, coming together to accomplish this gargantuan task.

“Couldn’t have done this without any of you,” he says, his voice rough with emotion. “It’s hard to believe it’s over.”

“It’s over,” Kenna confirms. She’s practically smug as she says it, though, and that grates on Caleb’s nerves. She didn’t have to do everything she did without getting permission or anything else, but he doesn’t have the energy to take her to task again.

The silence spreads once more, and exhaustion floods through Caleb. He adjusts Maddy’s legs and sits down on the cushion beneath her legs. He wants to be there when she wakes up.

She’s the whole reason they made it to the end of this journey, and he wants to be there when she wakes up to realize what’s happened.

Caleb dozes, on and off, and he’s not sure how much time passes.

But finally…

Happily…

Maddy sits upright with a gasp, and he gets to tell her they won the way they always knew they would.

Together.

Chapter29

Madeleine

Maddy bolts upright with a gasp.Caleb!

What’s happened? Her head swivels. Where is she? She doesn’t recognize this place, this living room with ripped curtains, torn carpets, and dirtied couch. But Caleb’s sitting at the end of the couch she’s sitting on. Her legs are on his lap, and he’s squished down in the cushions, snoring lightly. Have they won?

Nobody else is in the room for her to ask. She doesn’t want to disturb Caleb, but she needs to know. Did they all die during the fight, and this is the next life? No, that one is unlikely.

So, did they win against Orion? Is it all over?

Wait. Orion.Orion…

Images of Orion’s last moments flood her mind, and she buries her face in her hands. His hold on Sylvan lessened, and Sylvan distracted Orion so they were able to attack him. Then Orion exploded into a thousand shards while he’d been pinned to the wall beneath the enchanted stake.

That she’d driven into him.

That Caleb had helped her push even farther.