Page 12 of Vampires of Eden

“There were no issues, you know? Everything went smoothly and now I’m officially on the other side. It’s really happening.” His voice is so full of wonder and excitement—in a way that I’ve never heard him speak. Pure, unfiltered joy.

Why wouldn’t I do everything in my power to help give him this moment? How could I ever regret my decisions?

The only thing I regret is that I didn’t see this part of him sooner. That I failed to see this need from the start. Maybe, if I had noticed earlier—if I hadn’t been so arrogant, stupid and selfish, I could have…

No.

Stop it.

“It’s really happening,” I repeat. I take a deep, silent breath and blow it out. “I’m excited for you. It’s going to be an amazing adventure.”

“It’s incredible—and scary, but good,” he says. “Okay, I don’tknow exactly where I’m going, so… I think I should hang up. I need to pay attention.”

Again, I laugh. “That’s probably a good idea. Have a safe flight, Ollie. I… Just take care of yourself.”

“You too. I’ll send you a message when I get to Bangkok, okay? We should keep in touch. I know you’re busy, but, still. Sometimes?”

With my eyes closed, I rest my head against the seat. “I’ll respond. I promise. Goodbye, Oliver. Safe travels.”

“Thanks—and thank you, for this. For everything, Alexander. I mean it.”

Dropping the phone in my lap, I end the call and clamp my eyes shut. Fighting the rush of dark emotions threatening to overwhelm me.

This moment feels like the closing ceremony to a vital era of my life—maybe the most important era? Truly, it is the end of something that I’ve tightly held onto for so long. And I… I don’t know how to carry on?—

“Hey.”

My eyes flash open and my heart pounds and races after a loud tap on the driver’s side window breaks my train of thought. On the other side of the glass, a pair of ghostly, lilac-hued eyes set in a pale face stare back at me. If it wasn’t for his bright orange parka, I’d assume that I was looking at a literal ghost.

My voice is pitched embarrassingly high from shock. “D-Daniel Lim?”

His eyes narrow. “Why do you say my first and last name every time you see me? Like we’re in the waiting room of a doctor’s office.”

I blink, my heart still racing. “What?”

“What are you doing here?”

Jesus, this vampire man rattles my nerves. Every goddamn time. I clear my throat and look straight through the windshield, trying to calm myself down. “I have a meeting with Roland.”

“About?”

I frown and glance back at his narrow face. “Well, that’s… not really any of your business, is it?” The better question is, what the hell ishedoing here?

Unbothered, without another word, Daniel stands straight to where my only view of him is the puffy chest of his ridiculous coat. He walks away and toward what looks like a worn path of treaded snow snaking into the barren woods.

“Ah—fuck.” Panicking, I check my watch. 4:35. Swiftly, I unfasten my seatbelt, hop out of the car and brush and smooth my coat as I make my way toward the front door. Glancing toward the trees, I see Daniel’s gaudy jacket in the distance.

The truth is, I admired him when I was younger. I thought he was exceptionally talented and… I don’t know. Poised? Cultured and elegant in a way that commanded the respect and attention of everyone in the room.

Many Eden purebreds subscribe to the notion that ranked vampires are beneath purebreds, because their vampiric bloodlines are no longer pure.

When I first saw him, it was as if Daniel was a direct challenge to that notion.Thisvampire? He isn’t “beneath” anything. I don’t know what the hell it was, but something inscrutable and heady sang through me that night, like a dark and glittery enchantment.

He inspired me and I prattled on about him for weeks until my mother put a hard stop to it.

Now, though? Daniel is just… a creepy ass vampire in an ugly coat, wandering around the woods in the dead of winter.

Life. You never know.