In calling me his One, he’d granted me a great deal of power.
“I’m you’re One?” I asked, feeling as surprised and happy as Considine had felt during my declaration of love.
“Yes,” Considine whispered. “I didn’t think I’d know for sure until you returned my feelings. But being stuck in that metal coffin with only darkness…I knew it then.”
He pressed his lips to my temple, and stayed there.
I tried to swallow. “Considine, that’s…big.”
“Too much for you?” he asked.
“No,” I said. “Never. It’s just…I’m not that special.”
Considine chuckled. “No, Jade, that is where you are wrong. You’re incredible. You’ve brought back so many sensations and feelings in my life that I had lost long ago. You’re my One, because you mean the world to me.”
But if I’m his One…then he might die when I die. And if he doesn’t…could he ever forgive himself?
I pulled my captured hand free from his grasp so I could wrap my arms around his neck and pulled back so I could look into his eyes. “This means a lot to me. Itreallydoes. But I need to tell you something that is vitalfor you to remember in the future.”
Considine slowly nodded, a smile starting to form.
“If I die—” I started.
“No,” Considine started to pull away, shaking his head. “No.”
“Just hear me out, Considine.” I clung to him. “While I’m willing to let you drink my blood, and I’m open to the possibility of…everything, Ineedyou to know this. I don’t plan on dying, but should the worst happen, you have to know it. Okay?”
Every muscle in Considine’s shoulders tensed under my arms, but he slowly met my gaze.
“If I die, you need to know that it’s okay if you forget me. It’s okay if you can’t hold on to the memories.”
Considine shook his head again. “No, it’s not.”
“It is,” I interrupted him. “It’s okay, as long as you remember that you areloved.”
Considine froze, his expression caught somewhere between refusal and confusion.
“You can carry me in your heart as long as possible, but while I can become a distant memory, what I want you to feel as long as you breathe is the memory of love,” I said. “I want you to know deep in your bones that the loss doesn’t mean you were loved any less, and that you still carry love with you even if you can’t remember where it came from.”
I hugged Considine, resting my chin on his shoulder. “I’m sure Ambrose would feel the same way.”
“He would,” Considine exhaled as if there was a weight on his very soul. “But that doesn’t make the pain of loss any easier.”
“I know,” I said, thinking of the slayers my family had lost over the years. “I’ve lost family, too. And even in my short human days I’ve wondered if the pain is worth it. But on those rough days, when it feels like your heart is ripped in half, I want you to know you walk in love—and that will stay with youforever.”
Considine held me, silently.
I stayed in his arms, trying to express without words just how much he filled my heart.
We remained that way for a long time—an hour, maybe—until Considine released a ragged breath.
“So,” he started. “You love me?”
“Yes,” I confirmed again.
“Wonderful. The seduction was successful.” He laughed—a sound I felt as my cheek was pressed to his chest.
“Yes,” I agreed with him. “All done.”
