He stared down at them for the longest time, his body trembling.
“Look at me,” she said firmly, though she wasn’t sure who she was talking to, Khari or Oliver.
For the past two days, ever since her father waylaid her with the news, she’d been thinking about her interactions with Oliver. No matter which way she sliced it, she found it hard to believe that Khari wasn’t the one she’d been talking to all this time, the one making the decisions. She recalled taking his vein, remembered thinking he tasted familiar. Not human but vampire. Of course, she’d never tasted human blood, so there was every chance humans simply tasted like vampires, though she doubted it.
Then she’d thought about the darkness, that shadow she could sense deep within him. Because there were two souls in there, she figured that was the soul of whichever was being repressed. How that was even possible, she didn’t know. But at that point, she’d given up on attempting to make sense of it. It didn’t. That was all there was to it.
But now, here, as she stood before this male, it was the male she’d been interacting with that she wanted to connect with. Oliver, Khari, it didn’t much matter to her. That was the one she’d gotten close to, the one she’d alienated, made up with. Whoever it was, she wanted him to remain intact. One way or the other. Ultimately, Khari was the one who had to let Oliver go. He had to emerge and leave the human intact, even if they didn’t know what shape Oliver would be in when it was all over. It wasn’t ideal by any means, but the human deserved this.
When Oliver’s golden-brown eyes lifted to her face, she stared deeply into them. “I know you’re scared.”
“Terrified,” he whispered.
“But we will get through this.”
“We?”
“Yes. We. You and me. We’re friends, right?”
“We were.” Oliver swallowed hard. “At one time.”
“Weare,” Bijou corrected. “Yes, things got complicated, but we were finding our way back, right?”
He didn’t respond, but she realized he was calming down, as though her presence was what he’d needed.
“And we’re going to keep right on doing that,” she told him. “Once we’re through this, you and I will pick up right where we left off.”
His eyes flashed, as though there was a hint of a light within them.
“I’m not going to leave your side. I promise you that. No matter what, I’ll be here through it all. And when it’s all said and done, you’re going to look into my eyes and know that I’m going to help you through this.”
Oliver nodded.
“Trust me,” she said softly.
Some of the tension drained from his fingers, but he kept his hands in hers as they remained there, face-to-face. Bijou didn’t know what would happen when it was all said and done, but whoever looked at her after, whoever sought her gaze when they awoke, she would know who she’d fallen in love with. Human or vampire, it didn’t matter. Her heart cared naught.
“Are you ready?”
He shook his head but forced a smile. “You’ll stay with me.”
“I’ll hold your hand the entire time.”
Again, something lit from behind those eyes and she wondered who it was.
Clasping her fingers with his, Bijou turned toward the door, but Oliver pulled her back. When she pivoted, she was almost nose to nose with him.
He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers in a sweet, reverent kiss.
“Just in case.”
Bijou smiled. “It’s not necessary. It’ll be fine. I can feel it.”
Granted, that wasn’t the truth, but she didn’t know what else to say. Truth was, she could feel nothing. She was pretty much numb, overwhelmed by what was happening here. She ached for Oliver and Khari because the future was unknown for both of them.
“Are you ready?” She forced a smile. “They’re waiting for us.”
Oliver hopped to his feet, then allowed Bijou to lead him out of the room.
