Chapter 17 Vivian

M y eyes fly open, and I gasp for air.

Where's Greyson?

"Woah, take a breath." Ava's sweet voice calms me as her hands pin me to the bed. "You're okay."

Sitting up, I clear my throat. "Where's Greyson?"

"He's in the other room. He hasn't woken up yet, but he's doing just fine. Autumn gave him a mild sedative to keep him calm and a few healing potions to help. He's a bit dinged up from fighting with Victor. But he'll wake up soon. For now, you need to rest."

My chest heaves as I suck in lungfuls of air, my heart thumping in my ears. Why is everything so loud right now?

Her shoe drags across the floor, and I can hear a tiny pebble stuck beneath her shoe, sounding like nails on a chalkboard.

"Take a deep breath," Ava instructs me, and I listen.

Flattening my palms on my thighs, I close my eyes and take a slow and steady breath, holding it for a few seconds before gradually exhaling.

Images of what happened flash in my mind. Victor biting Greyson. Me breaking Victor's jaw. Ugh, the gory image churns my stomach. But I would do it again, hell I just might when I see him.

I can't believe all of that happened. I don't know what came over me; I just know I wanted to inflict the most pain on him.

"There you go," Ava says softly as the memory of everything floods my brain.

And then, an image that stalls my heartbeat flashes. The red energy wave pulsing off me. What the hell was that?

I have too many questions. But first, I need to see Greyson. Blinking away the fog, I look around the room and quickly recognize it. It's my bedroom. But it feels a hell of a lot emptier without Greyson.

"Your eyes changed," Ava murmurs, drawing my attention back to her.

"W-What do you mean?" I ask. "They're not hazel anymore?"

She chuckles. "Your human eyes are still hazel, yes. And your vampire ones are still red, but…hold on. I'll just let you see for yourself." She walks into my en suite and returns a moment later with a mirror, handing it to me when she sits back down in the chair beside my bed.

Holding it up, I stare at my reflection, my human appearance showing in full. My black hair is a curly mess that desperately needs to be brushed, and my sun-kissed skin could use a little lotion. But I look relatively normal.

Ava studies me intently as I glance at her and back at the mirror, taking a shaky breath and releasing my fangs and feeling the power spread throughout my body. Opening my eyes, I suck in a sharp breath.

Woah. That is new.

My hazel eyes transform into the same dark shade of red they usually do, but trickling outward beneath my eyes are translucent red spider veins.

"When were you going to tell me that you and Greyson were lamia et fatis sanguis ? Hmm ? Did you just feel like keeping that mind-blowing secret to yourself?" she asks, pursing her lips together.

Dropping the mirror to the bed, I press my tongue into my cheek. "Look, there was no time between us even discovering it ourselves and this chaotic shitstorm that happened. I planned on telling all of you once I could actually process it myself. Understand it. It still feels like a dream. There's still so much we don't know."

"Do you know how incredible it is? We believed it to be a myth, a story that we read about growing up. Even humans love the story of the fated vampire and bloodling. And here you are, the legend personified. It's incredible, Vivian." She exhales, her eyes wide with wonder and amazement.

"Well, try to keep it under wraps for now. We don't need anyone targeting us while we heal." I grin.

"Does it feel different? Do you feel tied to him in some way? What's it like?" She fires questions at me before sealing her lips shut, zipping them with her thumb and forefinger and tossing the key away. "Sorry, I know you just woke up," she apologizes, holding her hands up, and I laugh.

"It's okay, really. It's a nice distraction while I wait for Greyson to wake."

Her gaze flicks away from mine before returning, and I swear I can see a question on the tip of her tongue. "Have you thought about completing the Ceremony of Vita et Mors with him?"

Secretly every single day since we've met.

"Yes. Countless times," I admit, my heart feeling like it's close to exploding from how hard it's pounding in my chest.

She beams as the words race past her lips. "I think you should. It's obvious you're meant for each other. And it would just keep him safer in the long run."

"Yeah…" I trail off.

I know she's right. I want to bond with him more than anything. But it's the biggest commitment a human can possibly make.Human marriage is nothing in comparison to this bond.

The Ceremony of Vita et Mors, or the Ceremony of Life and Death, is performed by a powerful witch. It's the act of a vampire and a human merging their souls into one. It grants the human immortality, tying their life to their vampire. But if one of them dies, so does the other. The ceremony ties them together in both life and death. There's no going back once it's done. If the ceremony is performed, it's permanent.

I want that, I know I do. I want Greyson today, tomorrow, forever. If it would be possible, I would go back in time and find him sooner so I could have him as part of my past too.

I know Greyson has feelings for me, but that kind of commitment is not one to take lightly. I've been around a lot longer than he has. How can I ask him to make that kind of decision? What if he wakes up and regrets it in ten years?

"Vivian?" Greyson's raspy voice sounds in the hallway, pulling me from my thoughts.

Ripping the covers off me, I throw myself off of the bed. My feet pound on the heated hardwood floor, carrying me toward him as he steps into the room, my eyes welling up at the sight of him.

"Oh, thank god ," he cries out, closing the distance between us and pulling me into his embrace, instantly picking me up and securing me around his bare waist.

Overwhelming emotion bubbles out of me, and I uncontrollably heave and sob as he caresses my head, holding me tightly against his chest.

His fear emanates off him, but not the kind of fear you have when you're scared for your life but when you're scared for someone else's.

Tears stream down my face as I pull back and slide my hands along his jaw. "I'm so glad you're okay. I don't know what I would have done if…"

"Shhh. It's okay, baby. I'm right here," he murmurs, his eyes red and wet with emotion. "I'm right here. And I'm not going anywhere."

Greyson carries us further into our room, turning around and sitting on the bed with me still wrapped around him. It is only in his arms that I am able to be weak, to be vulnerable and raw. Is that what love is? Finding strength in the embrace of another?

"I'll give you guys some privacy," Ava whispers before dismissing herself from the room, shutting the door behind her.

Our breathing syncs up, slowly calming down while we hold each other, just listening to the thump of our hearts.

"I was so scared…when I felt that poke in my neck as he bit you…I lost it." I hold his stare through his glasses, the blues of his eyes brighter than ever. "I'm so sorry I wasn't able to protect you."

My gaze staggers to his chest, but he lifts it back up, wrapping his hand around the back of my head, threading his fingers into my messy hair. "Are you kidding me?"

"W-What?" I stutter.

"Vivian, you saved my life. You did protect me. You got him off of me. You sucked the venom from my throat, even when it was killing you. You are the only reason I'm breathing right now." His words are heated, burning with passion. " Fuck , Vivian. You are the reason I breathe, the reason I exist." He sucks in a breath, his chest rising and falling rapidly, his eyes softening with every word. "Vivian, I love you."

My heart stops in my chest. "You do?" I whisper, my voice barely audible.

He leans forward, his lips mere inches from mine. "You have no idea how much I love you. There isn't a single thing in this world that I wouldn't do for you. You became my life the moment you walked into it."

All the air leaves my lungs, every beat of my heart pounding in my ears. Nothing

I lash out, grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him forward, claiming his lips and kissing him deeply, sweeping my tongue into his mouth as I rock against him. Rolling my forehead against his, I murmur into his parted, panting lips, "I love you too."

He grins from ear to ear as he pulls away, his cheeks turning a deep red. "Good. Because you're stuck with me."

"Forever?" I purse my lips, eyeing him playfully.

He leans forward and presses a gentle kiss against my forehead. "Forever."

The thump of his heartbeat and the flow of blood racing through his veins fill my ears, sounds I never knew I could love so much.

His brows furrow as he asks, "About that…how does that work since, you know, I'm not a vampire?"

The fact that he wants to be with me for life means the world to me. "There is no pressure to give me forever. If you want to stay mortal and live your human life, I will happily take every year you have."

His hands fall to my waist, his thumbs brushing back and forth. "And if I want to have forever with you?"

Sliding off his lap, I hold his stare. "Then there's a way to do it."

"Are you going to make me earn every word, or will you just tell me?" he asks, his gaze darkening as it drops to the opening of my pajama top.

"I mean, I like the idea of you earning the answer," I chuckle. "I don't want to freak you out."

His head tips back as he cackles. "You know that sounds crazy, right? I unknowingly participated in an auction where vampires bid on me. I moved in with one and let her feed on me whenever she desired. I was attacked by a vampire, and one of my friends was nearly killed. I promise you, nothing could freak me out, Vivian."

Swallowing hard, tears pool in my eyes at his words. "If you say so," I tease, my nerves eating me alive. "It's a ceremony called Vita et Mors . It would bind your soul to mine and link us eternally. Hypothetically, when we would merge our souls…you would become immortal." I hesitate, worried that I'm going to scare him away. But he hasn't run yet, and as I sense his feelings, all I find is…love and admiration with a hint of intrigue. "But there's no going back once the ceremony is completed. No magical undo button. We would be tied to one another for eternity. Destined to live and die together."

"How do we do it?" he asks casually, as if he is asking how to order takeout.

Resting my hands on his chest between us, I smile. "There's no rush. We can do it anytime or never. The choice is completely up to you."

He huffs, a cocky smirk lifting his lips.

"What?" I ask, my heart sinking.

His blue eyes burn into mine so intensely that I'm afraid I might burst into flames. "Viv, there is no doubt in my mind that I want to spend it with you. Forever and a fucking day. I'm yours, always."

He hands me his heart in his hands and seals his promise with a kiss.

KNOCK KNOCK.

Sensing who it is, I feel Autumn's essence, and she's lucky I like her, or I would have put my fist through her chest. "Come in."

I move to sit beside Greyson, and he slides his hand in mine as Autumn walks in, the biggest smile on her face.

"I'm so happy to see you both are awake and well." Autumn's voice is smooth and calm as she takes a seat in the lounge chair across from us. "We should probably talk," she says, and panic sinks into my chest.

"About what?" I ask, my stomach twisting with concern.

"I need to tell you the truth about lamia et fatis sanguis . The story you and the rest of the world know is only half of the truth."

My stomach falls to the floor, waiting for the shoe to drop.

"W-What do you mean?" My voice is a ghost on my lips.

The first line she mutters blows my mind. " The Book of Destiny wasn't written by a vampire. The story was created to inspire love and fate. But it was written by the most powerful witch, the first witch, actually. Cordelia Hutchins." She smiles mischievously. "It's not only vampires that have their secrets."

"Wait, what ?" I ask, confused more than anything. "Why would we have a different version of the story?"

"Your version is the one that everyone knows. The one created as a fable, a story to entertain the reader. To give them hope of finding true love and power." She takes a breath before continuing. "Cordelia was the most powerful witch of all time, gifted with the ability to see the past and the future. The story as you know it was created with bits and pieces of the truth, but her real and honest written word was hidden and protected by generations of witches, never to be revealed until the story came to life."

"And it finally did," I murmur, finishing her train of thought.

"Exactly. I certainly never expected it to happen to a friend of mine, if it even happened in my lifetime at all. You see, this spell was cast centuries ago."

"A spell?" I interrupt. "I thought it was a prediction?"

She glares at me for interrupting, and I seal my lips shut, letting her finish. "She cast a spell that floated through time and space, capable of latching on to two people at any given moment."

Glancing at Greyson, I find him listening intently, his eyes full of wonder.

Autumn continues. "But these two souls, a human and a vampire, would only be gifted power by the spell if they were truly meant to be together. Not because some witch said so, but because this fated couple endured endless pain, suffering, and heartbreak that would challenge the good in their hearts…"

Greyson has experienced lifetimes of tribulations during his short time on Earth, yet he's one of the most genuine people I've ever met. He chooses to see the good when the world is constantly trying to show him the bad.

"But despite all of that agony, they still found one another anyway. Fate is fickle. You two may be soulmates. But it's not black-and-white." I hang on to everything she says. "If either of you would have made a different step at any point in your lives and never met in that bar, the spell would have continued to search for a home for eternity."

Chills erupt down my arms at her words. The mere chances of this happening at this point in time with me and Greyson is so unimaginable I almost can't fathom it.

"If your choices took you down different paths, you still may have found love. You could have been happy with someone else, but a part of your heart would have never stopped searching for one another, yearning for more. You can ignore fate, but sometimes fate doesn't ignore you. When you touched that night you met, your souls became intertwined, and the spell has been activating inside of both of you since then."

"In both of us?" Greyson asks, sitting up taller.

Autumn nods. "Yes, if the spell hasn't manifested yet, you wouldn't have noticed. But you'll get stronger and faster, your strength rivaling that of vampires."

"Woah." Greyson exhales. "That'll be… interesting ."

My heart skips a beat at the thought of him gaining those abilities.

The question flows from my lips without thought. "If we complete the Ceremony of Vita et Mors , will that enhance even more?"

Her eyes light up, and I swear I hear a tiny squeal slip past her lips. "First off, yes , I would be honored to perform the ceremony for you two. And secondly, the Ceremony of Life and Death will grant him immortality that the spell will not. It may enhance his strength even more, but to be honest, I'm not sure either way. There's no book for this."

My cheeks burn at her enthusiasm for the ceremony, and I chuckle nervously. "We haven't said for sure if we're doing the ceremony or no?—"

Greyson cuts me off, his warm tone sending enticing shivers up my back as his intense stares locks on mine. "Did I not make myself clear enough earlier? I want to do it."

My heart skips a beat. "Are you sure?" Greyson, this is a huge decision."

"Are you not?" he challenges me, a playful gleam in his gaze.

Grinning, I answer honestly, "I'm very sure. I just don't want you to feel pressured into it."

He grabs my hand, taking it in his. "I love you, Vivian. I meant it the first time I said it, and I mean it now. I've never told anyone that—I don't take it lightly. I want to do it. I want forever with you."

"Then it's settled," I murmur, my heart feeling like it's going to burst in my chest, Greyson's love warming my entire body.

Beaming from ear to ear, he turns to Autumn. "What do you need?"

Giddiness and glee take over her emotions. "You two.A full moon. And a dagger."