Discern (54 page)

We parted ways at the door, and I watched my father leave. Andrew insisted I put my sweater on as he took my hand and guided me down the eerily quiet downtown streets of
Boulder
. We strolled along as I looked inside the large windows of all the quaint little shops that had closed early for Halloween.

The lamps dimly lit the brick sidewalks that lined the streets. There were no children out and about. Downtown was rarely the place for the holiday festivities; those were left for the suburban areas.

The college students, however, had made downtown a spot for a particular naked Halloween run, but that was usually in the wee hours of the morning. Andrew held my hand as we continued to saunter down the brick sidewalk. The sweater was really unnecessary. His body heat was enough to keep me warm through a snowstorm.

“Immortality scares you?” he asked softly.

I took a seat on a black iron bench that sat between the shops and the street. I closed my eyes for a second to gather my thoughts.

“It isn’t immortality that scares me.”

“Then what is it?”

“Your kind seems to struggle with happiness and feelings—survives off human souls.”

“Your immortality would differ from ours.”

“How so?”

“You’ve been human before—you wouldn’t lose your ability to feel or love,” he smiled gently.

“But I’d need souls to survive, right?”

“Unfortunately, yes, that’s how you’d maintain your strength,” he sighed. “But you wouldn’t necessarily have to kill anyone.”

“How’s that?” I asked curiously.

“I could consume for the both of us and give you the energy from them. You wouldn’t be as strong, as my system would only give a part of it, but you would never know the difference,” he explained.

“But I would still stay alive?”

“Yes. You’d still be stronger than you are as a human, but just not as strong as the rest of us.” He gently stroked my hand.

“Is it painful?”

“Which part?”

“Becoming immortal.”

“It’s a complicated process, but wouldn’t be painful for you.” His eyes searched mine.

“You said that the created immortals died, how does that work?”

“It’d never happen to you,” he said sternly.

“But it’s possible?”

“There are two ways of turning a human in to an immortal—and we only created immortals one way—the other was supposed to be reserved for when we found a mate.”

“Is that what you planned for
Alexandria
?”

“Yes, at that time I’d been granted the ability to turn her,” he said, staring off into the distance.

“What’s the difference between the two ways?”

“One way is superficial and fairly easy, which is how we created a few of the immortals. But the other is complicated and irreversible.”

“Which one do you desire for me?”

“The irreversible one.”

“I see.” My voice trailed off.

“Haley, I realize you can’t wrap your mind around the concept, but just know I’d never want something for you that wouldn’t benefit our lives. I don’t want to lose you again, and you can’t empathize with my pain—it is truly an excruciating one that I never wish to experience again,” he sighed heavily with an anguished look.

“What about a god?” I asked.

“What about a god?” His brow lifted.

“Wouldn’t he or she banish me to hell for my choice?”

“So you believe in a god now?” he asked, slightly taken aback.

“I would like to,” I admitted.

“Is this because of Alec?”

“No, it has nothing to do with what he said. It has more to do with my mother. I only disbelieved because I was confused as to why she would’ve been taken so soon, but now I know that her death was caused by pure evil and had nothing to do with a god,” I explained.

“I see,” he frowned. “But if there were a god, why did he not protect her? Or why does he allow horrible things to happen to your kind?”

“That I don’t have an answer to, but I’d like to believe that there is something even more powerful than your kind watching over us, maybe protecting us in a way—a home for our souls to go when we die,” I sighed.

“Well, if there is one, then he or she shall know that love was the basis for your decision. No, a god would ever damn such a reason,” he said softly.

“Is there a rush on this decision?” I asked.

“Absolutely not, we still have many mountains to climb before you must decide.”

“How many?”

He pulled my body in closer to his as he gently kissed the top of my head. “Several,” he said, shifting his body back and forth. I felt his hand moving in his pocket.

“Should I move?”

“No, sorry I was trying to be a little more smooth about this, but I failed,” he chuckled lightly.

In his hand was a black, square velvet box. With one flick of his thumb the box opened to reveal a diamond heart-shaped ring. There were hundreds of tiny sparkling diamonds surrounding the heart. I had never seen a ring so beautiful before. The diamonds sparkled so brightly, even in the dim lighting above the bench.

“Wow!” I gasped.

“Is it to your liking?”

“It’s very beautiful.” I marveled.

“I had it made just for you.”

“Oh my,” I murmured, unable to stop admiring its beauty.

Removing the ring from the box, he admitted nervously. “I don’t know how to do this.”

“Do what?”

“I think I’m supposed to ask your father first, but I’m pretty sure he approved of our relationship, and I didn’t want to scare him,” he rambled slightly. “I just wanted you to know that forever is what I want and if this ring makes you understand my feelings, then I’d buy a million of them to ensure you understood.”

“I don’t need that to know you love me. I just need you,” I confessed.

He pulled my back to his chest and rested his cheek to the top of my head. “And you shall have me for forever. And I want everyone else to know that you’re mine.” His lips softly brushed my ear, sending chills down my spine.

“Will you marry me?” he asked softly.

“Of course,” I breathed.

He slid the ring down my finger and gently pressed his lips against my hand. The sparks were different now, more intense as everything we had been through had brought us closer. And for the first time in my life, I finally felt secure in his guarantee to love me forever—not because of the ring, but I just knew we were bonded forever. My life had a purpose, and my soul had a mate.

“I love you more than everything,” he whispered.

“And I love you.”

Forever was beginning to sound like a reality. I had always imagined myself as one of those girls in the fiction novels where they meet a sensual, beautiful man that seems to be different from the others. They eventually find out they are not human, but some immortal creature, whether it be a vampire, werewolf or warlock. They revolve their entire world around these creatures and yearn to become like them—but imagining it is different than experiencing it.

Not that anyone really expects to experience it—at least I never did. But here I was, resting my head against the body of a sensual, beautiful immortal creature where my world had been wrapped in to his. However, I did not yearn for immortality. They may say his pain cursed my soul, but the real curse would be eternal life.

I couldn’t imagine loving anyone other than Andrew, but I was truly frightened by his world—at least by what I had seen so far. Even with the reassurance that I would never have to take a human life, it was far too intimidating for me.

I sighed heavily as I lay my head against his chest, wondering what tomorrow or the next day would bring. It was nice and safe inside his arms, but I realized that Abrielle and his other siblings were still out there. Sooner or later his parents would discover his defect from the plan, sending more tragedy our way. Hopefully by then, his siblings would unite in order to stop the plan from happening. My mother’s true death could not be forgotten, but risking my life to free her soul would have to wait.

Several questions remained, but there were two at the forefront of my thoughts now as I gazed down at the exquisite ring that sat upon my finger. I wondered if we would ever really have the chance to marry, and if we did, would I be human or immortal…

About the Author

Samantha Shakespeare has always had an interest in history and decided to continue her education. She graduated college in 2008 and began working on Discern in 2009. She was born in
Tennessee
and spent the first nineteen years of her life there before relocating to
Missouri
, where she lives with her husband and young son.