I won’t die in the sun like a fledgling vampire, but prolonged exposure will be uncomfortable all the same. “I can enjoy the sunrise,” I answer honestly, “if you’ll watch it with me.” I haven’t witnessed a sunrise in centuries. There’s been no need for it. But the way Sienna’s eyes light up, their natural glow brightening to rival the stars, makes this moment matter.
Her voice is softer than I’ve ever heard. “I’d like that.” She leans back against my chest and easily determines which way the sun will rise by the positioning of what few stars still glitter across the sky. A peaceful silence falls between us until I catch her muttering under her breath as she counts the stars before they disappear.
While Sienna whispersgood morningto fireflies curiously buzzing nearby, I study the way she feels in my arms.
This isn’t the night I envisioned, but it’s better than I could have dreamed.
I haven’t been with another person in a long time. Vampires are solitary by nature; we enjoy the company of our immediate family—namely, one’s sire and one’s spawn—and spend the rest of our time alone. There are banquets, of course, and decadent balls, enchanting feasts, and splendor galore. But to take a lover as a mate is so rare that most of us no longer know why we need one. If the vampiric council didn’t decree it, I’m not sure many of us would ever take a mate.
The risks far outweigh the benefits.
. . . or so I’ve always believed.
There’s something about sitting in comfortable silence that fills a void inside my chest. Perhaps it’s the magic swirling in the air like incandescent stardust. Or the melody threaded within a special woman’s voice. Or the tender look in her firelight eyes as she gazes up at me—not with anger, distrust, or embarrassment.
But with curiosity.
I want to ask her about what happened during the Mating Games. How she feels about her new transformation. What she understands about it. And how it changes her picture of the future. I want to know if she’s still in love with Revyn, if her incomplete bond with Alistair still tugs at her heart, and whether or not she’s understands the consequences of gifting me her mortal life in exchange for an eternal bond.
I tuck away each and every lingering question for another sunset, another midnight, another morning. Answers are like riddles; reveal them too soon, and the joy of the puzzle is lost.
The sun rises and paints the sky in early shades of spring. My wildflower sleeps with the first rays of light catching on her lashes, the morning frost dusting her dimpled cheeks, and the eternal gratitude of a man remembering the comfort of a tender embrace.
Chapter 27
Sienna
Two daysafter the Winter Mating Games have concluded, every inadequate student failing to meet the academy’s performance standards has the distinct pleasure of a rude awakening.
As one of these disappointments, I’m up at the crack of dawn to squeeze into one of the many overcrowded seats of the largest lecture hall Heartsflame has to offer. Students are packed so tightly that there isn’t any room between them, myself included. Gemma’s thigh touches mine as she bounces her knee in place, the only one of us who seems well-rested. Thorn sits behind us with his feet planted on either side of Gemma’s hips, but if she minds, she doesn’t say anything.
“What’s our professor’s name again?” she asks, leaning back to flick her gaze at Thorn. “You didn’t seem happy when you saw him assigned to our class.”
Thorn’s jaw clenches as he spots a hickey on Gemma’s throat, front and center where everyone will know what she got up to last night. “Aesir,” he replies slowly, forcing the words past his lips. “He’s well-regarded in the vampire community on account of his accolades from The Great War, but he’s a dick. Don’t piss him off.”
“He’s that old?” I ask, watching the door for Aesir to arrive. “I thought The Great War happened hundreds of years ago.”
“Nearly a millennium, yeah.” Gemma nods. “Our ancestors who fought in the war have long since passed.”
“Human lives are fickle,” Thorn murmurs, “but vampires are eternal.”
As if on cue, Callum slides in beside me like he’s been waiting for the right moment to appear. The boy sitting on his other side flees, giving Callum enough room to stretch. He chooses to wrap his arm around my shoulder instead of inching toward freedom.
“Missed you last night,” he murmurs, his scent enveloping me like a caress.
One day spent sleeping in a vampire’s arms has ruined me. It was the best damn sleep I’ve had in months. My night alone afterwards was a huge disappointment. I don’t want to flatter him too much, but fuck, was it good for me, too. I clear my throat and quickly mutter, “missed you too.”
Then my face burns with the heat of a thousand scorching suns.
Callum’s smile is as mischievous as it is gorgeous. “I’m available anytime you’re looking for company.”
He fuckingwinks.
My goddamn panties melt, and I’m on the verge of combusting. Burning everyone alive, however, isnoton the docket for today. Thankfully, Callum drops his arm from my shoulder and relaxes, looking more carefree than I’ve ever seen him.
Fuck, he looks good.
Gemma notices and raises an eyebrow, indiscreetly nudging me with her knee. I shake my head and mouthlater, knowing that I’ll have to fess up to my crimes eventually, but so will she. That hickey on her neck is making a certain vampire brother glare daggers at every man who dares check Gemma out.
