Page 132 of Vampires of Eden

[It would be better if you came here, right away. Are you available?]

With my phone in my grip, I stalk to my closet to find a change of clothes. It’ll take me a couple hours to drive all the way to Central Eden, and it’s already getting late. I grab something to sleep in and my toiletries, just in case.

Once I have everything gathered in a small duffle bag, I send Raphael a quick text back.

[I’m on my way.]

CHAPTER 31

Alexander

Sitting in this room with Oliver, he might as well have a gun drawn and aimed at my chest. He doesn’t, of course. He’s on the couch across from me, quietly gathering his thoughts as the silver-white light of the overcast sky bleaches the room.

I’m waiting for him to pull the trigger. To tell me more about how I’ve hurt him in some fundamental way by helping him leave Eden without disclosing how I did it.

“When we were engaged,” he finally begins, and I mechanically inhale and hold my breath, “we… were cruel to each other in some ways, I think. You said and did things that hurt me, and I know that I hurt you as well. But I…”

He pauses and looks up, meeting my eyes. “I misread you. Looking back, in a very short amount of time, you started to comprehend the hostile nature of my life and the dynamics of my family, and you pivoted. You changed, Alexander, and truly understood the situation and what it required of you. WhatIneeded from you. As help. As a good partner.”

Oliver waits as if he expects me to say something. My heart is in my throat and I’ve forgotten to breathe as I blink. “I… It sounds like you might be complimenting me,” I manage, “but that feels like a stretch?—”

“Iamcomplimenting you,” he says, grinning. “That’s exactly what I’m doing.”

Sitting up straighter, I lift a hand to massage the back of my neck. “I have whiplash. A minute ago, you told me I helped you the wrong way and that you weren’t a ‘damsel in distress.’”

“I didn’t want to say it like that. What I meant was, in our interactions, you’ve always had the upper hand. The power, the choice and the wealth. I’ve had none of those things. But with your dowry and helping me? This time, I want… I’d like for us to share that burden. Let me be part of this decision, as your equal and friend. Let me help you in return.”

He takes hold of the messenger bag and digs inside. A moment later, he pulls out an envelope and raises his hand toward me in offering. “This is the first installment of paying you back?—”

“Ah, no way! You’re out on your own, disconnected from your family and trying to build a life outside of Eden,” I reason, taken aback. “You don’t need to worry about paying me?—”

“Alexander.”

His stern tone makes me pause. We both still. Me with my palms against the chair’s arm rests and him with his hand extended, holding the envelope.

“This is my sincere wish,” he says, unwavering. “It’ll take me some time… well, a long time to pay you back in full, but still. Will you respect my decision?” The question is delicately posed between us, and there’s an undeniable but quiet plea behind his blue irises.

The bewilderment in my head swirls, but I nod. I lift my hand and accept the money. “I will, of course. If this is what you want, then… thank you, for this.”

Something in the set of his shoulders eases. “It means a lot to me for you to accept this—and future payments, which I’ll mail regularly. You need your dowry to remain autonomous, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Right. So, let me repay your kindness. And thank you, for… for showing me kindness in a sincere and selfless way when I needed it most.”

I frown and glance over my shoulder, because there’s no way he’s talking to me. Is Aries standing behind me? Where didthatcome from?

Oliver must read my confusion because he chuckles. “Yes, I’m talking to you.”

“You couldn’t possibly be.”

He shakes his head. “I’ve wrestled over whether or not I should tell you this, because I don’t know if it’ll help, but… remember when you came to the safe house and fed me just after I’d escaped from the castle?”

I scoff. “How could I forget?”

“Right.” Oliver lowers his gaze to his hands in his lap. “After you fed me, that night, I dreamt about you. The details weren’t clear, but the feeling behind it was vivid. Intense. It told me that you were genuine as a companion, and that your conviction would be powerful. And honest.

“I think… when you came to the safe house—and the way you stood up to Lord Blakeley on my behalf—you were already showing me those things. Accepting my truth, helping me survive. Caring enough about me to let me go.”