No one else is.
Whatever Ryet is to me, whatever he will become, remains to be seen. We are in a relationship. It’s symbiotic through the blood lust, so it’s not a romantic relationship. But it is a relationship. A new one at that. In fact, even though Ryet and I have been through some serious shit over a short period of time, we don’t actually know each other yet.
We’re still in the honeymoon stage. Granted, he’s a monster and I’m a witch and our attraction is mostly about the blood lust, but it doesn’thaveto be that way.
He could love me. If he’s capable of it. If he’s not, well… then what I do next is even more important. If I don’t want to end up like my grandma, then I need to make calculated decisions from this point on.
I need to make sure Ryet and I have a chance to get to know each other again. I need that dream life Paul cooked up for us at the Guild. We were getting along. We were a team.
And if I choose my steps carefully, we can be a team again. I can save that dynamic between us even if I can’t save myself.
Misery loves company.
I don’t like the way that sounds but I refuse to walk into my future without an ally when he’s literally in the dirt next to me and is most likely more than willing to come along. Even if it is only so he can feed on my blood.
So that’s what I have to do. I have to feed him. Hopefully, once I’m done, and if he’s sane, he will feed me back.
That’s the only choice I have at the moment. That’s the only way to keep him.
Making my way through the dirtis a slow process because I’m deep in the earth and the dirt has to go somewhere and the only place is the cavity I leave behind me. One handful at a time, I make enough room to turn. Then, one handful at a time, I start inching sideways.
I’m not sure how long I’ve been doing this when I smell his blood—maybe an hour? Maybe a day? Maybe a lifetime?
But the scent of him wipes away all the exhaustion I am feeling and I claw faster until, finally, my hand finds his shoulder.
I stop here, inhaling deeply, and close my eyes. Because his blood is so close. But this pause is barely a moment because my drive to feed on him is so strong, I couldn’t stop what I’m about to do next if I wanted to. And I don’t.
Both hands are now furiously scooping dirt away from his body and pushing it behind me. “Ryet?” I whisper. “Can you hear me?”
He stirs, but doesn’t wake.
I can see his neck now. I’ve uncovered most of his face and the top of his chest. And I just stare at his jugular—which is throbbing and pulsating with such a fervor, I almost lean down and bite it.
If I had fangs, I would. There would be no stopping me.
But I don’t have fangs. It would be a very gross chew to open that vein.
I’m looking right at him when I think this and his eyes fly open.
I laugh in surprise. “Ryet? Can you hear me? Are you awake?”
He doesn’t look at me. I’m not even sure he hears me, but he starts clawing at the dirt on top of him, scooping handfuls and pushing it underneath him in a way that feels very practiced. Like he’s been digging his way out of the dirt his entire life.
The word ‘instinct’ come to mind again.
Like he’s a mole.
While I’m thinking this, he begins to move upward. Then everything starts happening so fast—his hands, the dirt, the empty space above him—and before I know it, he’s leaving me behind!
I grab on to his shoulders at the very last moment, hooking my arms tightly around his neck. And it’s a good thing I have instincts too because if I had waited another second, he would’ve left me buried behind him.
Moments later we’re breaking through the surface of the earth, the dark, inky night sky a refreshing and rejuvenating sight.
I did it!
We did it!
We’re out.
As Ryet steps out of the ground, I unwrap my arms from around his shoulders and land on my feet. Then I start laughing. It was so much easier than I thought it would be.
Ryet turns and…
My smile drops and my laugh dies.
He and I lock eyes. I don’t know what mine look like, but his are red and there is no trace of the man I love in there.
The next thing I know, I’m falling backwards to the ground and his teeth are ripping through my throat.
