30. Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty

It was as if a switch had flipped. One moment, Eden was lost, dissolving into nothingness. The next, she was completely awake, surrounded by the lush warmth of down comforters and the fragrance of sea salt, and more aware than she'd ever been before.

There was no trace of light coming through the windows. A deep, midnight blue faded across the seascape.

Eden lay perfectly still as she took stock of her body. There was no pain. The dull headache she'd been fighting for months had disappeared, leaving her clear-minded for the first time in what felt like ages.

The mating bond to Nero, unequivocal and bright, remained at the root of her being, becoming a deeper connection.

Deep in her psyche, she could feel the adamantine connection that linked her to another presence: Nina. It was a warm, reassuring aura that Eden immediately took comfort in.

Her sire.

Sitting bolt upright in bed with the memory, Eden cataloged every detail of the room with her new vampiric eyes. Three beating hearts sounded in her sensitized hearing, and the smell of blood lingered, almost cloying, in the air.

Sucking in a breath to locate the sweet fragrance, Eden's eyes became riveted to a glass across the room, stained with dried flecks. Distantly, the sound of a pencil dropping and a notebook being shut snapped her out of her morbid fixation.

"Eden?"

Nero's voice made her whimper with relief. As she spoke, his name was a plea on her lips, " Nero ."

He appeared by her side, gently enfolding her in his arms as if to verify she was flesh and blood. "I'm here."

Nothing had prepared her for the relief she felt at his proximity. He was solid next to her, like a rock when she'd been thrown into treacherous waters. Curling into his warmth, Eden gripped at the white dress shirt he wore.

For a moment, that was all she could do. Though it hadn't been traumatic, she simultaneously felt as though she'd just run a marathon and could lift a bus without breaking a sweat. Multiple conflicting emotions popped into her brain, only to be soothed by the man at her side.

"Did it work?"

"Yes, it worked." Nina's calm voice came from where she was confidently striding toward the bed. "You're a vampire now, Eden."

Relief made her collapse against Nero before she scented the blood running through his veins. She stilled, inhaling deeply as she struggled against the urge to sample it.

"You smell delicious," she murmured.

"You need to drink, Eden," Nina stated. "I can help with that."

Perching on the end of the bed now, Eden's sire extended her hand. She didn't need to offer twice.

In half a second, she'd leapt toward the older vampire who welcomed her with open arms and an upturned wrist. Eden's heart thrummed belligerently as the predator within her pricked its ears and her senses sharpened.

Before Eden could strike, Nina gave her a knowing look. "Do you feel the tingle of your canines? The urge to extend them?"

Eden nodded but frowned at the concept. "How do I make teeth extend? Sorry, I've just never had to think much about them as a human."

"Mind over matter. They are simply an extension of yourself. Think of it as if you were flexing and opening your hands. They will respond to your command." A gentle smile. "Try."

Focusing hard on her task, she ran her tongue over the tips of her canines, willing them to extend. The result was instantaneous, the sharp teeth lengthening in her mouth.

"Good. That's good," Nina said. "Here, take what I freely offer."

Without a trace of elegance, Eden's fangs sunk into her sire's flesh. She coveted the nourishment below the surface so much it hurt. Hot, rich, and salty, it satisfied the burning need for sustenance in her gut.

In the past four months, she'd subsisted on pill after pill, and an exhausting supplement regimen. Every morning, her first thought had been to locate the twelve tablets that fended off the worst of her illness. Waking up to the taste of Nina's blood instead of the bitter aftertaste of cancer drugs was bliss.

After what seemed like hours, Nina's gentle hand settled on her shoulder. "Enough for now, Eden."

Though her gluttony would've seen her snarl and bite deeper, her higher reasoning won out. She retracted her fangs from Nina's wrist. Then, hesitantly, the world's newest vampire brushed her tongue over the beading puncture wounds. They disappeared as though they were never there. Magic .

"How are you feeling?"

"Amazing. Healthy. I—it's hard to describe. When I first woke up, it felt as though I could've lifted a bus and had just been run over by one. Absolutely wild."

"I know the feeling. You were hungry when you first woke; now, you're not."

Nina offered her a quick hug and then looked to the man hovering behind her with expectation in her gaze. "Shall we take a walk, Nero?"

Eden beamed. "Can we? Please?"

"I am neither your keeper, nor your warden." Mock admonishment narrowed his eyes. "You lead the charge here, professor."

Bounding out of bed, Eden was surprised to find her legs steady and her balance absolutely spot on. She blinked stupidly at her own feet for half a moment before pivoting her head to stare at her sire.

"You'll find many things an improvement, Eden."

"Except your diet," Aidan said, leaning against the far wall. "No chocolate, I'm afraid."

Scrunching up her nose and sticking out her tongue in childish disgust, Eden answered playfully, "Chocolate sounds gross. Come to think of it, even my grandpa's grilled cheese sounds distasteful. "

"That's a tragedy." Nero made a sound of mourning before looping an arm around her waist and pressing a kiss to her cheek. "I'm going to miss those."

"I can still cook, I think." Eden turned to Nina. "Can't I?"

"Of course," A curt nod. "But you'll have no desire to lick the bowl, I'm afraid."

Nero winked. "Come on, let's go meet your adoring fans."

"Fans?"

As soon as they made it to the bottom of the stairs, Eden realized what he meant. Multiple pairs of eyes rose to hers as she followed Nero, clinging to his hand like a lifeline.

Zia, Jeremiah, Luna, and Key were all gathered in Nero's living room, along with several others she'd only met in passing. All of them beamed at her, as though her arrival had made everything right in the world.

To her utmost surprise, Marianne was sitting in Zia's lap. The cat was purring loudly and didn't even glance up at Eden's arrival. It was comforting to have some things remain the same after all the changes. One could always count on cats.

She couldn't contain her curiosity much longer. "Why are you all here? Not that you're not welcome, of course."

"They're here for you," came Nero's happy comment. "They wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Much as our sovereign has been waiting for you, so have we." Luna smiled, the act full of welcome. "You belong to the clan now, and we'll happily claim you as one of ours."

"And we take care of our own," Key said. "Get used to it, baby vampire."

Jeremiah's smirk heralded his teasing mood. "I have a feeling a certain vampire is going to take a keen interest in gnawing on our veins."

"You'd probably taste like cotton candy." Eden shook her head. "No thanks."

"Hey, I take offense to that! I'm basically the crème br?lée of Elementals: sweet and powerful."

"Crème br?lée was never my favorite even when I was human," Eden retorted, oblivious to Nero's chuckling beside her. "Definitely not as sweet as you think, and certainly not hard to crack."

Flustered, Jeremiah rolled his eyes but looked to his mate who'd pressed her lips together in an attempt not to laugh. "Z, you've gotta talk some sense into this woman."

"Are you aiming to have her fangs in your neck, Jeremiah?" Zia's eyebrows rose, daring him to speak. "Because that isn't gonna end well for anybody."

"The only one who gets fangs in their neck is Nero."

Key's idle comment had everyone turning snide grins to their sovereign, and Eden blushed furiously. Zia stood and gave her Marianne. She was rewarded with another throaty set of purrs, and Eden squeezed her—lightly—before the cat scrambled to be set down once more.

"Thank you all so much for being here," Eden said. "I know I was asleep most of the time, but thank you for supporting Nero and I."

Turning her attention toward the darkness outside of the sliding glass doors, she filled her lungs with courage and turned to Nero. He was already two steps ahead of her.

"Shall we, Eden? Nina?"