41. Callie

Istared up at the dock as Julius slipped behind the wheel and the boat’s engine flared with energy. He staggered a little before finding his balance again and I frowned at him in concern.

“It’s fine,” he said dismissively as he noticed my attention on him. “Besides, neither of you can drive, can you?”

I glanced up at Magnar but he didn’t seem too worried about Julius’s condition, so I left it at that and turned my eyes back to the shore.

Magnar’s arm was tight around my shoulders and he held me close as the boat pulled away from the wall, leaving the land behind and my sister in the care of a Belvedere. The next time I saw her, she’d be a vampire.

My chest was heavy with doubts. Would she thank me for this choice or hate me for it?

I had thought that I’d rather die than become one of those creatures but now I’d let that very fate befall the person I loved most in this broken world.

I hoped that her guesses might have been right. That she’d been destined to take on this horrifying transformation and it might help us to solve the prophecy and end the curse. But I couldn’t claim that for my reason.

In the end, the idea of never seeing her again, never hearing her laugh or holding her when she cried was too much. I couldn’t bear to say goodbye. And my selfishness had allowed her to be cursed. I’d given her fate over to our enemy.

I felt like I’d left my heart behind on the land and the further we travelled, the deeper the pain burrowed. Our destinies had always been in line with one another. I’d never counted on any kind of existence without her by my side. But now she was gone. Dead. Any creature who would rise in her place might not be her at all.

Who would she be when her deepest desire was the call of blood? How could she love me when her nature would demand she kill me? And my vow would demand the same of me.

But I’d never bow to that pressure. I knew beyond all doubt that no vow, deity or any force on this Earth would ever make me raise my blade against her. I had to hold faith in the knowledge that the Monty I knew would still feel the same about me.

Julius turned the boat sharply and I lost sight of the coast. I leaned into Magnar, burying my face against his chest as he wrapped his arms around me.

Whether I’d made the right choice or not, it was done now.

I was a slayer and she was a vampire. Each destined to destroy the other. I just had to hope that our love would be stronger than the pull of the paths we’d taken.

Everything had changed, but the world was still the same. The sun would set and the moon would rise. Over and over again. You never found one without the other close by. The two of them ruling the sky in perfect harmony despite their many differences.

And perhaps that would be our fate too. Endlessly different but eternally bound. The sun would set. And the moon would rise. The point at which the day met the night was always the most beautiful. So perhaps there was a chance for us yet.

----------------------

Dying to talk about Wrathful Mortals? Then join the discussion group here.

Desperate for the next book?

Grab Forsaken Relic, Age of Vampires #5 here.