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“Ryan. You need to help me carry him. I know it’s not going to be easy, but we need to move as fast as we can.”

The boy nodded his understanding, still not speaking.

“I’ll come back for you as soon as I have him somewhere safe,” she told Iona.

“Don’t worry about me,” the sorceress said. “I’ll manage. Just take care of your vampire.”

She nodded. “Thanks.”

Elizabeth
returned, the throw from the back of the couch clutched in her hands. “All done, and I thought this would help.”

Serenity smiled at her. “Good girl; smart thinking.”

Serenity and Ryan climbed out of the car and made their way around to the back, so they stood together with Elizabeth beside the trunk.

“We need to move him as quickly as possible. Are you ready?”

She could hardly believe she needed to trust a couple of kids to help her save the life of the only man she’d ever truly loved. Solemn-faced, they both nodded. “Okay, on my count of three. One … Two … Three.”

She swung open the trunk, trying not to gasp at the state of Sebastian, the smell of charred flesh bursting from the enclosed space. Every muscle in her body froze, her brain struggling to comprehend that the bla
ckened, charred mess in the trunk was the same man she’d loved for so many years. He groaned, his eyelids flickering, revealing red, raw rims around his eyes.

Before she had the chance to think too deeply, Elizabeth threw the blanket over his body. She was thankful, not only for the protection, but for the removal of the sight of Sebastian’s face, the sight of which had frozen her into inertia.

Will he make it back from this? Is such a thing even possible?

Serenity gritted her teeth and pushed the thoughts from her head. Now was not the time to wallow in doubt and misery. She needed to focus on getting him to a place of safety so he could heal.

She realized both Ryan and Elizabeth had scooped Sebastian’s body into their arms, both leaning into the trunk, waiting for her move. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hoisted him up and out with every ounce of strength she had left.

“Go, go,
go!”             

With Ryan at his head, Serenity in the middle and Elizabeth holding Sebastian’s feet, they carried, dragged, hauled and wrestled him through the front door, along the kitchen floor and finally down toward the cellar.

In immense relief, they got him through the small door and into the total darkness. They dragged him down the stone stairs, each of them wincing every time his body made contact with the unforgiving stone. Awkwardly, the three of them tried their best to carry him down. Serenity thought she was going to lose her grip and they’d all end up in a pile of broken limbs at the bottom of the steps, but somehow they made it down in one piece.

Serenity laid him out on the cold, damp floor and carefully removed the throw from his face and body. What she saw brought tears to her eyes. His thick, luscious hair had grown brittle, flaking away from the scalp. His eyelids fluttered and she caught a glimpse of milky eyeballs and vicious raw flesh. Where once there had been perfect, smooth skin, there was a now only black crust, like the surface of a desert.

Movement came at the top of the stairs and Serenity looked up to see Iona gingerly trying to hobble down the staircase. She’d found a broom and had the brush end wedged under one armpit, using it for balance.

Elizabeth shot to her feet and went to help her down into the cellar.

“Help him,” she begged of the young sorceress.

“He needs blood.”

Serenity looked back to Sebastian. He wasn’t even conscious; he would never be able to bite anyone. “I’ll have to …” She was about to finish with “get a knife” but something else dawned on her. She glanced behind her to where the refrigerator filled with vampire blood stood against the wall.

She jumped to her feet. “I have blood!”

True, the blood wasn’t human, but would that matter? If anything, she thought, vampire blood should be even better. After all, how many times had she been fed vampire blood to help her survive?

She ran over to the fridge and yanked open the door, dragging out polystyrene sleeve after sleeve filled with tubes of blood. She started to unplug them. “Here, help me!”

Elizabeth, Ryan and Iona all took a handful of the glass cylinders and began to pull out the stoppers. Not bothering with the pipette as she did with herself, she simply took Sebastian’s head in one arm, nestling it in the crook of her elbow to support him, and then lifted the tube to his lips. She tipped, but the blood ran down his chin and he made no attempt to swallow.

“Drink, damn you!”
Tears burned in her eyes.

“Keep trying,” said Iona.

She blinked away the tears and picked up a fresh vial. This time, she tipped his head back as she dribbled in the red fluid.

His throat moved.

“Oh, God, more! We need more.”

They handed her more blood and she repeated the process, over and over.

“Mom, look!” Elizabeth pointed at the skin on the backs of his hands. Where there had been only burned flesh, the black began to recede, revealing pink, new skin beneath.

“Oh, thank God,” Serenity breathed in relief. “Give me more blood.”

As she fed him, he grew stronger, starting to swallow. Then he reached up and clutched at the hand holding the blood, drawing it toward his own lips. The hand that held her wrist was strong, the fingers clear of burn marks.

His eyes fluttered open and he saw Serenity and tried to smile.

“Dad!” cried Elizabeth. Tears welled in the girl’s eyes and she looked around at the others. “He’s going to be all right. Everything is going to be all right.”

Chapter Twenty-four

They all needed to rest.

Sebastian had healed at a remarkable rate
, the blood working with such speed the burned skin vanished before their eyes. But now, with everyone safe, he struggled to fight against the pull of sleep.

With
him unable to enter the main part of the house due to the sunlight, Serenity sent Elizabeth and Ryan into the living room to bring down all the cushions from the couch. She would sleep down in the cellar with him. After almost losing him once again, she couldn’t bear to leave his side for a moment.

It wasn’t only Sebastian she’d almost lost. She
had
lost Vincent, and that the other vampire had died for her family sat like a burning hole in her heart.

Elizabeth could have been killed as well, and Serenity hadn’t forgotten that fact—as if she would ever forget the events of that night. But she knew Elizabeth wouldn’t want to b
e babied. The superficial cuts on her throat had already healed, leaving only pink lines, which, she suspected would soon turn white and then vanish. Whatever else had happened, Elizabeth’s half-vampire genetics had remained the same.

“Don’t worry, I’ll look after her,” said Iona with a smile.

Serenity’s first instinct was to argue, but then she reminded herself Iona wasn’t a child anymore. She was an adult and after everything that had happened, Serenity trusted her.

Iona and Elizabeth would take Elizabeth’s bedroom, while Ryan would take the spare room for the day.

“The only reason I’m not killing you, boy,” Sebastian said, forcing himself to stay awake, though his words cane out slurred with exhaustion, “is because of what you did
to help save Elizabeth. But if I hear of you speaking badly or plotting against us, I will not hesitate to rip your throat out.”

“Dad!”
Elizabeth exclaimed. “He helped us stop Conner, his own father! Don’t you think that takes some guts?”

Serenity agreed. “Yes, it does. But he also played a part in all of this too, Elizabeth. Don’t forget that.” She directed her attention to Ryan. “I’m sure Ryan understands that, though we’re grateful for his help, we wouldn’t expect him to be contacting us after today.”

Ryan stared at the floor and scuffed his foot across the concrete. “Yes, ma’am. I understand, I mean.”

She almost felt sorry for him.
             

“I’ll take him back with me,” Iona told them. “His place is with my people, even if his father was cast out from us. I know he played his part in everything that happened, but I won’t hold a child responsible for a parent’s actions.”

Serenity couldn’t pretend she wasn’t relieved. She’d not wanted him to stay at the house—not with Elizabeth living here—but she didn’t have the heart to physically throw him out either. Sebastian had killed his father, and though the boy had proven he’d not been on Conner’s side by helping Elizabeth, she was always aware that blood was thicker than water. So far, allowing those who had been wronged in any way to walk free from the aftermath hadn’t worked out so well for them. He might only be a boy now, but he would soon be a man.

Elizabeth had so far shown no more signs of her
vampiric episodes. While she was always going to be half vampire, Iona seemed to think Elizabeth’s shift into womanhood, together with the magic Conner had stirred up, had been responsible for such a dramatic change in her. Serenity had been nothing but relieved, whereas Elizabeth seemed to be a little more disappointed.

“You mean no more amazing displays of strength,” she said, her mouth turning down at the corners. “No more leaping buildings in a single bound?”

“I’m not going to say it won’t come back,” Iona warned. “But you should be happy you didn’t burn in the daylight and that the urge to feed from people has gone. Imagine trying to explain those problems to your principal and friends at school.”

The girl shrugged. “I guess.”

Sebastian tried to struggle to his feet, but Elizabeth raced to his side and crouched beside him instead, holding his hand. “Whatever challenges you have to face in the future,” he told her, “you won’t have to deal with them on your own. Don’t ever feel you need to go to someone else for help.”

“I’m so glad you’re okay, Dad,” Elizabeth said, throwing her arms around Sebastian’s neck and squeezing him tight. “And it’s really great to see you again.” She pulled away and her brow creased in worry. “You’ll still be here when I wake up, right?”

Sebastian nodded. “I promise.”

Elizabeth grinned. “Good.”

Iona led Elizabeth and Ryan up into the house, leaving Serenity and Sebastian alone. Exhaustion weighted on Sebastian’s face and he closed his eyes. Within seconds, he’d given in to the sleep he’d been fighting for so long.

Serenity lay down beside him and pulled a throw Elizabeth had brought down over the top of their bodies to protect against the chill of the cellar. She curled up against his side and fell into a deep, contented sleep for the first time in years.

Serenity woke to find herself
lying with her head on Sebastian’s broad chest, his hand in her hair. When she lifted her head and looked toward him, she was relieved to find him staring down at her.

He’s really here. He’s still here.

His face had completely healed, no sign of the black crust that had covered it earlier. From the single bulb still dimly lit above their heads, she could see his eyes were back to the brightest green. She lifted her hand and touched his cheek, and he lowered his face to rest his forehead against hers, their noses brushing. Happiness welled in her heart and she closed her eyes briefly just to absorb how good it felt to be with him again.

His forefinger touched her chin gently
, and she opened her eyes again to find him staring at her intently, his smile gone. She recognized the intensity in his eyes and shivered in anticipation.

“I’m a mess,” she said, glancing away, suddenly shy. She realized they still lay on cushions in their dank cellar. “And this is hardly the most romantic setting in the world.”

“I don’t care about any of that,” he said, reaching out and brushing a lock of hair from her cheek. “All I want is you.”

He kissed her, tentative at first, and then with more force. She returned his hunger, trying to drown the years of deprivation she’d suffered for so long.

His hands raked through her hair, his lips leaving hers and pressing kisses all over her face until his mouth found hers once more. She kissed him back with equal passion, losing herself in the taste of his tongue. Part of her had never thought she’d be able to do this again, to trace every inch of his perfect skin with her fingers. She wanted to bind herself to him, to make them one person.

He tugged the faux fur throw from her body and then reached up and cupped one of her breasts in his hand, his thumb grazing the nipple. She whimpering in response and pressed her body closer to his, her leg hooking over his hip and locking herself against him.

Filled with a sudden urgency, she could no longer stand the feel of material between their bodies. She tore at his shirt, exposing the hard lines of his chest and abdominal muscles. How hard to imagine that same skin had been so badly burned only hours before. He returned the urgency, pulling her shirt up over her head, tearing down her jeans hard enough to leave marks on her skin.

With them both naked, he pushed between her thighs, joining them together. She clung to his shoulders, her face buried against his shoulder, gasping as he moved inside her. She buried her blunt teeth in his shoulder, stifling her cries as her release built, not wanting to disturb the rest of the house.

She felt him tip over the edge, filling her with hard thrusts as he moaned her name.

They clung together, her face pressed against the delicate skin of his throat, dampening it with her tears. The final throes of their lovemaking basked them in its warm glow, and Serenity’s breathing returned to normal.

“You saved me,” he said, lowering his head to plant a soft, cool kiss on her lips.

She smiled against his mouth. “And you saved Elizabeth.”

“I had some help.”             

“You could have died, you almost did die.”

“It turns out that Elizabeth’s life is even more important than a vampire’s built-in sense of survival.”

“I guess I should be happy about that, even if you did give me one hell of a fright. I thought I had lost you again, permanently this time.”

“You didn’t lose me.”

She snuggled in closer to him.
“What are we going to do now? I know I can live without you, but I don’t want to have to live without you. Please don’t tell me you’re going to leave us again now.”

Sebastian shook his head. “Not if you don’t want me to. The whole reason for me leaving in the first place was for Elizabeth, to try to keep her safe, but things have changed. She smells different.”

Serenity frowned. “What do you mean?”

“She’s more vampire than human now. Even if I wanted to hurt her,
which of course I never would,” he added hurriedly. “But if someone should try to force me to harm her, through magic or anything else, it would be physically impossible.”

Hope lifted her heart. “So you can come home, be with us again as a family? That was the
only
reason you left, right? Because you were frightened someone might force you to hurt her.”

He lifted his hand and pushed her dark curls away from her face with the back of his knuckles, grazing her cheekbone. “But what about you?” he asked, softly. “I can still
cause you harm.”

“We’ve been here before, Sebastian.”

“And yet, here we are again. This isn’t something we will get past while you’re human.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to be a vampire, Sebastian. I don’t want to have to kill.”

“I don’t want you to be a vampire either. I love you like this—soft, warm, fragile. But I can’t help but be frightened that I’ll hurt you.”

She searched his intense, green eyes. There was something else, something he wasn’t telling her. “Why would you ever hurt me?”

He glanced away, unable to meet her eye.

She squeezed his hand, drawing his attention back to her. “What is it you’re really frightened of?”

His voice came out as barely a whisper. “Biting you.”

“What?” She couldn’t hide the surprise in her voice. Of all things, she’d not been expecting that.

“I’m frightened of biting you, of wanting to feed from you. Of not being able to stop.”

“You’re frightened of wanting to bite me?”

He nodded, his gaze shifting away from her in shame.

“You
want
to bite me?” It was something he’d never admitted to before.

“Every time I look at you, I wonder how you’d taste. It’s who I am. I can’t help myself.”

She wriggled even closer to him, their bodies separated by only the thinnest sliver of air, and looked up into his eyes. “So do it. If that’s the one thing keeping us apart, let’s conquer the fear.”

“But what if I can’t stop?”

“You will. I love you and I trust you.”

“If I start to feed from you, with you also taking my blood, we will be the closest any two people can ever be. We’ll be like one being, sharing the same life force.
You taking my blood, me taking yours.” His smoldering eyes took her in, his gaze seeming to scorch its way through her soul. “Our blood … our lives … our love … will all be a circle. It will be endless. You know, no matter how long we’ve been separated for, how I’ve felt about you has never changed. I’ve never stopped loving you, not for a single moment.”

“So do it.”

“Serenity—” he started, but she silenced his words with a kiss, deep, passionate.

She lost herself in the sensation of his mouth on hers, his tongue seeking hers with an expertise that left her panting. She forced herself away. They had more important things to focus on right now.

“I won’t let anything come between us again,” she told him. “I want this, I want you. You know that being dependent on someone else again has left me uneasy, but maybe this is a way of evening the playing field.”

He smiled at her. “You’re going to use sports metaphors now?”

Serenity shrugged. “As long as you understand what I’m trying to tell you.”

“You’re trying to tell me that you want this too.”

“Sebastian, I’d give myself to you in every way possible. I can’t not have you in my life. I love Elizabeth with all my heart, but now we know she’s going to be safe, we need to think about ourselves as well. In a few years, she’ll be grown, leaving home and living her own life. You and I will still be here, still together, forever, I hope.”

“Forever,” he repeated, his eyes fixed upon her face.

She reached up and swept her hair away from her throat. “I wanted you to do this only days after we first met, do you remember?”

At the exposure of her throat, Sebastian’s face took on a different look, his jaw hardening, the green of his eyes melting to yellow. His face seemed harder than normal, his skin paler. She was aware of every moment, every inch of her skin, how it ached to be touched by him, to join herself to him permanently. Her blood sang in her veins; her senses on hyper-alert, she could even feel the pulse thrumming in her throat—that sweet spot—the place he would bite.