Chapter Thirty-One

NASH

It had been a hell of a night, and it was shaping up to be a hell of a morning. We’d beaten back the threat of Harlon and Angelina, but now we had Captain Edwards and Erin’s mother to deal with. Worse, I was fading fast.

“Are you all right?” Erin asked, helping me up the porch steps.

I tried answering, but all that came out was a mumble, and my vision blurred.

“Nash!” She grabbed my arm, barely keeping me from face-planting on the top step.

“ Post-eleftheros withdrawal,” Edwards grumbled, though he sounded miles away.

“Post- what? ” Erin shrieked.

I moved my lips, trying to tell her what the agency had taught me.

In the rare case of a vampire’s victim surviving the latter’s demise, the body seeks to establish a new state of homeostasis by ridding itself of lingering chemical residue.

Like withdrawal for a drug addict, in other words, but it all came out slurred.

This life-threatening condition often disrupts brain chemistry and results in death…

God, I hoped not. Not now that things were finally looking up.

Or down, I thought as I toppled onto the porch sofa.

“Nash!” Erin cried.

Edwards didn’t sound worried, though. “Just give him a couple hours. He’ll be fine.”

Erin wasn’t buying it, and neither was I. But by then, the world was fading…fading…gone.

* * *

How long I was out for, I had no clue. For a while, I was out cold. At some point, I was vaguely aware of mumbling feverishly and being heaped with blankets. Then came a nightmarish phase in which I relived my deepest, darkest memories — most of which related to Angelina. Those clung doggedly to my mind, but eventually, they faded, scrubbed away by brilliant sunshine. Only then did I doze for a while.

When I woke, the sun was high, the sky clear and bright.

I blinked. Wow. Really bright. Sunglasses bright, though the lumpy objects stacked on my chest cast a little shade. I felt around and lifted a…bunny into view.

Yes, a bunny. A fluffy pink stuffed-animal bunny.

Hopper, my dragon said dryly.

Next, I found a teddy bear — Fred, if memory served right — and a rainbow-colored unicorn whose name I couldn’t remember.

Setting them aside, I rolled and slowly sat up. My foot found a free spot, but not by much, because a whole stable of model horses were lined up there, keeping watch over me.

I looked them over, identifying a few. Seabiscuit… Man o’ War… Black Beauty…

Leaning over, I rubbed my eyes. Damn, was it bright. Not interrogation-bright, just a nice, cheery, I can see clearly now, the rain has gone kind of bright.

And, wow. My whole body felt… Well, maybe not bright , but light.

I stood, took a couple of wobbly steps away from the porch, then tipped my head back. Wow. The sky was an intense blue, the rocks redder than ever. Every breath that slipped down my throat was a crisp, clean delight. My shoulder sported a burn, and my left leg was sore, but those wounds were healing fast.

All in all, I felt good. Really good, in a way I hadn’t in a long, long time.

“Oh. You’re better,” a cheery, little-girl voice said.

I turned to find Claire with another armful of stuffed animals.

“I am. Hopper helped.” I waved a little — and oops. The bunny was still in my hand, exuding pink joy, like Claire. “So did Seabiscuit,” I added, because setting up all those horses had to have taken a lot of time. “Thank you.”

Claire’s smile brought out her dimples. Then she turned to Abby, who’d just emerged from the house. “See, Mommy? It worked.”

“It did. Thank you,” I said, bracing myself for Abby’s scowl.

She didn’t, though. She just tousled Claire’s hair, nodded, and whispered, “No. Thank you .”

She made eye contact for all of two seconds before glancing at the rise behind me. Then she whirled and disappeared back into the house, muttering something about lunch.

I turned to check the road. The SUVs were gone, but a faint trail of dust still hung in the air.

Inside the house, Abby hollered, “Hey, Erin. He’s up.”

The door banged open, and Erin flew out.

Her eyes went right to the couch, and her brow furrowed. Then she spotted me and lit up.

And I mean, lit up, with every line of worry replaced by joy and relief.

My heart doubled in size. How often was a guy treated to a look like that?

Erin leaped to the ground, skipping the stairs, and raced toward me. Then she slowed, suddenly self-conscious.

“Oh. Good to see you,” she whispered.

I laughed. “Ditto.”

“My animals healed him,” Claire reported.

I waved Hopper. “Sure did.”

Erin’s smile was a thing of beauty. Really beautiful, like the rest of her. I found myself staring, because, like the sky, the air, and the rocks, Erin was different from before. Well, the same, but more intense, somehow. More there .

That’s when it occurred to me that Erin might not have changed. Maybe it was me. More intense. More here. More alive.

Free, my dragon whispered happily. We’re finally free.

I was. The curtain Angelina had dropped over my soul was gone — and gone for good.

I turned my back to the hilltop where the vampire had met her demise. All that was behind us now. Ahead lay… What, exactly?

My heart pounded as Erin approached.

“You’re really okay?” Erin asked.

I nodded. “Just a little sore.”

Her chest rose as she looked me over, and she nodded briskly. “Good.”

“Good,” I whispered back.

For a moment, we stood perfectly still. Then something in me snapped, and I threw my arms around her.

Because, hell. We’d survived a balloon crash, a warlock, a vampire, and an aerial attack. We’d endured a lightning storm and destiny’s meddling. Why play it cool at a time like this?

Erin melted into my arms and hid her face against my shoulder. Her favorite spot, it seemed.

Mine too.

I held her tightly, with my arms overlapping and my cheek nestled by her hair. I still had Hopper in one hand, but that was okay. He fit too, though his floppy ear tickled my skin.

At some point, Erin pulled back just enough for her gaze to meet mine. Her eyes danced, and primal drums hammered in my soul.

“Uh-oh,” Claire stage-whispered to her animals. “I think they’re going to kiss.”

Erin’s cheeks bunched, and her skin went pink. “Sorry, kiddo. I just have to.”

“Like this?” Claire smooched her teddy bear loudly.

I laughed and held Erin even closer. Close enough for our toes to touch and her chest to press against mine. I closed my eyes, listening to her heartbeat.

“That’s hugging,” Claire pointed out.

Erin’s laugh made her wiggle in my arms. Bliss. Then she nosed her way along my jaw, looked into my eyes, and finally delivered that kiss.

Double bliss.

“Now, that’s a kiss,” Pippa chuckled, joining Claire on the porch.

Yes, it was. Not our first, but the first with my senses switched back on. Well, nearly all. My balance was out of whack, and I nearly keeled over. Or maybe my balance was fine, but the kiss was that good.

So good, my dragon side hummed.

Unfortunately, the motion broke our kiss. It did give me another chance to gaze into those amazing eyes of hers, though — one green, one blue.

“Is everyone all right?” I asked.

Erin nodded. “Yes, thank goodness. The horses have wandered back too. And the really good news is, my mom talked Captain Edwards into keeping his questioning brief — for today, at least. We have to meet him at the county sheriff’s office tomorrow morning at nine.”

Wow. Edwards was a stickler for protocol, and I’d never, ever known him to grant exceptions.

“Your mother is amazing.”

Erin sighed. “That’s one way to put it.”

“Are you sure she’s not a witch?”

Erin shook her head. “No magic spells, thank goodness. Just good old-fashioned feminine charm. Or dragon charm, I suppose.”

I looked around, looking for Erin’s mother.

“Grandma had to leave,” Claire said sadly. “Too bad.”

“Yeah, too bad,” Erin echoed, though it didn’t sound too sincere. Then she took my hand. “That does give us time to talk, though.”

Claire looked at us, puzzled. “What do you have to talk about?”

Erin’s eyes met mine, and she bit her lip.

Thump, thump, thump, went my heart.

“Um…about tomorrow,” Erin said when Claire fidgeted. “Do you think there will be repercussions from the agency?”

I shook my head. “If Edwards was planning to lock me up, he would have already brought me in. Waiting until tomorrow sounds more like routine questioning for his report.”

She let out a long breath. “Thank goodness.”

“Hey, Claire.” Pippa motioned toward the kitchen. “You want to help me make brownies?”

I could have kissed her — Pippa, I mean. Well, not really — but I was grateful. Claire scampered inside, leaving Erin and me alone.

I raised an eyebrow. “You don’t want to make brownies?”

Erin broke into a smile, then went all serious. “Not just now. We really need to talk.” Then she gulped. “About tomorrow, I mean.”

“Maybe about longer than tomorrow,” I ventured, squeezing her hand.

Her eyes shone and she nodded, making my heart leap. So, whew. I wasn’t the only one thinking long-term.

“That too,” Erin whispered, leading me toward her house.