Immortals And Melodies (Blood And Guitars #2) (26 page)

“This is incredible,” I said to Aurora, stopping in my tracks to pull her close to me. Her hair was getting wet from the rain, and tiny droplets of water were trapped in her dark eyelashes as she gazed up at me. I wiped a raindrop from her face, and she smiled, rising up on her tip-toes to brush her lips against mine. The kiss might have gone on forever if a bolt of lightning hadn’t surprised us, making us laugh and pull apart. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and pulled her back to my chest as we gazed out over the stormy ocean, beautiful in its own menacing way.

“You can hold your breath forever,” I stated, thinking out loud.

“So can you,” Aurora said as I let my chin rest on the top of her head. “Although I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s really hard to talk without breathing.”

I smiled. “Touché.”

“We don’t need oxygen in the same way humans do. Our bodies get everything we need from the blood we ingest.”

“Are you saying I’ll never enjoy a good cheeseburger the same way again?”

“You can eat a cheeseburger whenever you want, but it won’t beat the taste of blood.”

Then I remembered what Aurora’s blood had tasted like, and I knew she was right. Nothing could compare to that. Especially not a cheeseburger. When I heard Aurora’s voice again, it echoed around inside my head.
Speaking of blood, I could really use a glass.

I smiled in disbelief, glad to have confirmation that I’d been granted the ability to read thoughts. Once the pain had set in during my change, I’d lost all focus. At the time, I hadn’t been certain it would work.

“Let’s get you back inside and get you a drink,” I said to her.

Aurora narrowed her eyes at me, grinning. “Did you just ...?”

“Get used to it. I have some getting even to do,” I teased. Aurora laughed and let me lead her back to the beach house as thunder rumbled in the clouds above.

“Be right back,” Aurora said as she disappeared into the kitchen. I went back into the bedroom, found the remote for the gas fireplace and turned on a fire. I was waiting on the bed when she returned with her glass of blood. She snuggled up next to me, sipping the red liquid, and I was surprised at how normal the entire scene felt. The cold didn’t affect me in the same way that it had as a human, but there was something comforting about enjoying the fire with her by my side.

“Feel better?” I asked.

“Much better.” She smiled and leaned her head against my shoulder. “Since I chose another ability this month, I can’t hear the questions buzzing around inside your head. You’re going to have to ask them out loud if you want answers.”

“I was just thinking that I feel totally invincible right now.”

“Immortal,” Aurora corrected. “There’s a difference. We’ll never die of old age, or of any sickness that plagues humans, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be killed.”

“What about a stake to the heart?” I asked, grinning.

A small laugh escaped her lips. “I’m fairly certain a stake to the heart would kill anybody. I don’t really know why, but we’re particularly vulnerable to wood. The stake thing isn’t just a myth in that way.”

“No one knows why?”

“Well, I suspect the Synod Elders know. I don’t think they want it to become common knowledge for obvious reasons. No one really talks about it.”

“Okay, so slivers are about to become unusually bothersome. Got it.” She grinned and set her empty glass down on the nightstand. “What about your whole mind-block thing? Will I have a power like that?”

“You probably do,” Aurora answered. “Your moon-given talent isn’t always obvious right away. I’d been blocking my thoughts for a few months before I realized Antonio’s berating me about putting up too many walls wasn’t a metaphorical lecture. It took some time for me to learn to control it, and then even more time before I learned to trust anyone enough to open up at all. I’m still not good at that last part.”

“You mentioned once that Mark is a natural healer,” I said. “How did he figure that out?”

“All vampires can heal minor injuries to an extent. For example, we have to be able to close the wounds from our bite after feeding from a human, but Mark was able to do it unintentionally with his mind. It surprised him as much as anyone when it happened after his first feeding. His gift was pretty obvious after that.”

“I wonder what mine will be,” I said, staring into the fire’s hypnotic flames. “I’m anxious to figure it out.”

“I have to admit, I’m curious as well. For now, though, I’m sure you’ll find the mind-reading thing entertaining enough.”

“Then, I get to choose again at the next full moon?”

She nodded. “You’ll like that part. Unlike tonight, the ritual makes you feel more connected to what you’ve become.”

“Sitting here with you after everything we’ve been through, I feel pretty connected right now.” She smiled and leaned her head on my chest, and we sat in comfortable silence. I ran my fingers over her long black hair, enjoying the silky feel of it against my skin. “So, did this whole vampire thing ruin your favorite song?” I asked her after a few minutes.

“What do you mean?”

“My heartbeat’s changed along with everything else. I know you used to love the sound of it, but there’s nothing like having a cover band do a terrible rendition of your favorite song to ruin it for you. I’m just saying.”

Chapter 34

Trey

IN TRUE VAMPIRE FASHION, Aurora and I slept the entire next day away. It was almost ten o’clock the next night when I woke up to find that she was no longer in bed. I called for her and she came out of the bathroom wearing a robe, her hair still damp from a shower.

“I’m starving,” I said with a groan as I stood up and stretched, making my way over to her.

“You need blood,” she said, reaching up to play with my hair.

“Already?”

“You need it quite often at first, but it won’t always be this way.” She took my hand and led me to the bed where we sat. She slid the robe off of her shoulder and brushed her hair out of the way, exposing her long, slender neck. I realized then that she expected me to bite her. The thought was mortifying.

“I ... I’ll just use some of the stash,” I said.

“Don’t be silly. Besides, my blood will do more for you than anything from the stash could.”

I stared at her, not sure what to say. Her mental fortress may have been absent last night after changing me had taxed her, but it was back in full force tonight.
 
I couldn’t so much as glimpse what she was thinking. “I can’t do it,” I said, letting out a humorless laugh. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

The look on her face changed from mild amusement to understanding. She took my hand in hers. “You won’t hurt me. I promise.”

I shook my head and pointed at my fangs, which had unsheathed themselves at the mention of blood. “These things are dangerous,” I said. “I might do something wrong.”

Aurora gave me a sympathetic smile. “You’re going to have to learn eventually,” she said. “But for tonight ...”

Her unfinished sentence hung in the air while she brought her wrist to her mouth and bit it. I moved to stop her, but it was too late. By then, the intoxicating scent of her blood hit me like a brick wall. She offered her bleeding wrist to me, and I cradled it gently in my hands and obediently drank. Her blood burned down my throat, heating me up from the inside out, burning away any thought patterns. The last time I drank from her, I’d been so caught up in the fact that I was dying that I hadn’t been able to appreciate the way her blood spread through my body, lending strength to every fiber of my being. I felt the rush of it from head to toe, like a light tingling on the surface of my skin. I didn’t take much, and when I was finished, Aurora ran her tongue over the puncture wounds and healed them.

“Better?” she asked.

I smiled, feeling content. “Much better. Thank you.” It was the truth.

“We’re going to work on your whole aversion to biting,” she said, smiling at me. “Just wait. You’re going to surprise yourself one of these days.”

“What are we doing tonight?” I asked in an effort to steer the conversation away to any topic that didn’t involve me having to bite Aurora.

“We have an appointment with the Emissary,” she said casually.

I blinked at her. “We do?”

“It was Antonio’s idea. He thought it would be good for them to see you now that you’ve been changed.”

“Now that I’m no longer a threat to the secret.”

She nodded. “Hopefully, they’ll call off the Emissary detail now that you’re one of us. I like to at least pretend the Emissary have better things to do with their time than babysit the two of us.”

“Guess we’re about to find out,” I said. “In that case, I’d better get dressed.” I went to the closet and rummaged for something to wear. I was just starting to button up a fresh shirt when I glanced down and realized with a twinge of panic that my Catalyst tattoo was barely visible. I hurried to the closest mirror to get a better look. Sure enough, my tattoo had almost faded completely.
 

“Hey,” I called to Aurora. “I … uh … something’s happening. This can’t be right.” I heard the blow dryer turn off, and Aurora walked into the room, searching my face.

"What's wrong?" she asked, walking toward me.

"It's my tattoo," I said, gesturing to the spot on my chest where you could see the remnants of what used to be a full-blown tattoo. "It's disappearing."

She stepped closer to me, tracing her finger over the faded design. She looked almost as confused as I was feeling. "You're right."

"What's going on?" I asked. “How can this be happening?”

"I ... I'm not sure, exactly. I think your body is absorbing the ink. It's probably a side effect of the change."

"So I need to get the tattoo redone or something?" That wasn’t so bad. I knew a guy who could fix it for me in a heartbeat and wouldn’t go blabbing to the media.

Aurora bit her lip, considering me for a moment. "I don't think I've ever seen a vampire with a tattoo," she said slowly. "Actually, I’m almost certain I’ve never seen an inked vamp but I’ve just never really thought about it. Our skin probably isn't conducive to holding the pigment."

"You mean there's nothing I can do?" She touched my cheek until I met her gaze. "The guys will kill me," I muttered. "They'll think I had it
lasered
off or something. That’ll be great for band morale. What will I tell them?"

"We'll figure something out," she promised.

"Like what?" I asked. “Someone’s going to notice sooner or later.”

She smiled, and I could tell an idea was forming in her mind. "I'll paint it on for you," she said. "We'll get an airbrush gun and spray it on."

"Every night?"

"If we have to. No one will ever know the difference."

I considered her for a minute and let myself relax a little. "That might actually work."

"Of course, it will," she assured me.

I smiled and wrapped my arms around her. "It must seem ridiculous for me to get so worked up over a little ink. It’s just that getting these tattoos as a band was a really big deal for us. It sort of represents everything we’ve worked so hard for. I can’t imagine not having it anymore. Not to mention, that word would spread like wildfire that I had it removed if anyone ever noticed.”