Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
I stood up quickly, taking a step toward her, but Saros tucked her behind himself. My head was dizzy, and I wasn’t sure if it was confusion or the burning ache in my stomach. The only time I’d had a break from the incessant drum, from the hollow feeling deep in my gut, was when I’d lapped at my finger. I lifted it into the light. There was no sign of where I’d bled earlier.
I swallowed down my panic, pulling out my phone and turning on the camera, holding it up to my face.
Glowing red irises stared at me, a set of fangs peeking from my upper lip. “No. No. No. This can’t be happening. You should have let me die. The hex—”
My attention snapped up to the coppery orb, meeting the gaze of the Moon Goddess for the first time ever. Though I’d known the reality of her, seeing her now was no less awe-inducing.
She was skyclad, skin the shade of illuminated honey, nearly camouflaged in her rocky throne. Long raven tresses cascaded from her head, blending into the night sky, stars woven in their depths. She watched me, lips peeling up into a knowing smirk.
“Died with you, right?” Oakley asked, tone rattled with fear.
My chest felt lighter than it ever had. I wasn’t sure if that was from whatever had happened to me, or finally being released from the curse that had plagued my family for generations. But when I looked up at the Moon Goddess, I somehow knew the hex was gone.
“Yes,” I croaked, tears pricking my eyes at the knowledge I’d been able to keep our son safe.
Oakley released a loud exhale, smiling. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she pushed Saros aside to take a step closer to me.
Thump-thump-thump. Thump-thump-thump. Thump-thump-thump.
With each movement, the beat of her pulse called to me, beckoning me to taste her blood.
To feed.
I stumbled backward until I hit a felled tree trunk, feet brushing through the thick blanket of pine needles. Oakley’s chestnut eyes looked up into mine, pleading, tiny flecks of copper shimmering through them that I’d never noticed before. “I know this is terrifying, but living without you was worse.”
“You havethem. You would have been okay,” I said, voice less raspy but with more gravel in its sound than I was used to.
“They could never replace you.” Oakley rooted herself firmly in place, not coming any closer but not retreating either. “You each have a piece of my heart, and I’m selfish enough to want to keep you all.”
My hands shook. I was weak, but I thought back to when I’d moved Lynx’s hand away and the bruises that still marred his flesh. “What’s happening to me?”
But I already knew. I was turning into a monster.
A vampire.
“You need to feed.” Saros was so calm it unnerved me. I frowned. “Come here, lover boy,” he said, dryly.
He held out his wrist, then slid up his sleeve, exposing the veins running along his forearm, slightly covered by the constellation tattoo.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
“Seriously?” My brows pinched together. “You?”
“I drew the short straw.” He chuckled. When I didn’t look amused, he continued, “You aren’t sinking your teeth into Oakley until we know it’s safe. I’m the only one of us who’s been fed from before, so I already know what to expect.”
Why would he do this?
My eyes slid to Oakley, memories of the masquerade fading in and out, so fuzzy they felt like a lifetime ago. How much time had passed since then?
“What happens when I drink from them?” I asked Vivaldi, wanting to understand what I was getting into.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
“Their blood will give you power, and feeding from them tonight will tether you to them. You will be able to always sense them. Even hear each other through a mental connection. You’ll be bonded to them. Eternally.”
Eternally.
