Evermore, an Arotas Novella (The Arotas Series) (6 page)

He
turns and walks toward the door. His wings slowly fold back toward
his body. He topples metal chairs and shifts tables as he passes. At
the door, he turns back and the look in his eye makes Roseline
shiver. “This war is coming to your doorstep whether you like
it or not. Sooner or later, you will no longer be given a choice.”

Roseline
blinks against the tears that freeze as they roll down her cheeks,
crystallizing along her lower lashes. Her nose feels raw and her
throat tight as her fingers dig into the ice. It cracks around where
she plunges them deep, but she doesn’t feel the cold. She only
feels emptiness.

This
is where I lost him
,
she thinks as a sob rises in her throat.

The
scent of Fane’s blood is still strong in this spot, though his
body was removed and has since been buried on castle grounds. The
pain burrowing into her chest amplifies as she breathes in deep. She
can still smell his fear tainting his blood that lingers, encased
within the layers of ice that will never grow warm enough to truly
thaw. An eternal tomb.

“I’m
so sorry,” she whispers, wrenching her hands free of the ice.
Her legs begin to quake as she leans forward on her knees and press
her lips to the cold ice. Tears fall unheeded, freezing on impact
with the ground. She sinks back onto her haunches and wipes at her
cheeks. Her fingers are red, her nail beds seeping blood from where
she broke the ice, but she takes no notice. Her hands tremble as she
clutches her thighs.

“You
always were better than me. More noble. More loyal. More loving.”
Her voice cracks on the final word. Fane’s undying love for her
had lasted through the years, never wavering in its devotion. Not
even when she discovered her bond with Gabriel.

She
knew how much it hurt him yet was helpless to stop it, even if she
had wanted to. Fane was her past, Gabriel her future, but that
doesn’t erase the years of love she and Fane once shared.

Roseline
blows out a breath and a bitter laugh bubbles from her lips. “Do
you remember when we first met? You had on that ridiculous mask at
the masquerade that Vladimir threw not far from Brasov. I didn’t
know it was you until you found me later, stark naked and dangling
from one of Lucien’s infernal contraptions in the dungeon
beneath the castle.” Her laughter fades off as she wraps her
arms around her. “You saved me that day. Not just by helping me
to escape, but by showing me there was still a reason to live. You
taught me that love is not something taken, but given, in a thousand
tiny ways. You taught me to be strong, to protect myself.”

A
multitude of memories flutter before her eyes. A look. A touch. A
whisper shared in the dark. Roseline closes her eyes, clutching her
chest as if she has been mortally wounded. Fane did more than save
her the day he discovered her in Lucien’s torture chamber. He
gave her a reason to live, to fight back. Without him, her misery
would have been endless.

Countless
times she tried to take her own life, only to awaken to a beating
just as painful and brutal as her suicide attempt. Vladimir was
cruel. Lucien was cunning, his thrill for pain eternal.

She
had no friends, no allies. The only people who surrounded her in her
first weeks of becoming an immortal either wanted to slit her throat
for capturing Vladimir’s attention or wanted to snatch her away
and do beastly things to her in the dark.

Some
tried. They would have succeeded too, if not for Fane.

He
is the one who put a sword in her hand, taught her how to hunt and
how to hide from an enemy. He is the one who sacrificed his own
wellbeing countless times so that she might live.

Now
he is gone, another sacrifice with a price too high to pay, yet he
did so willingly. All for the sake of a love that she could no longer
accept nor return.

Tears
well in her eyes as she begins to quake. He deserved better than her.
Someone who could truly love him as he deserved.

“I’m
so sorry,” she whispers into the wind.

She
lifts her gaze to the fading light on the horizon. Pale blues and
purples splash across the sky, lighting the wispy clouds above. Night
will fall soon and Gabriel will begin to worry. She has lingered too
long.

“I
owe my life to you, Fane,” she whispers, pressing her hand to
her lips and then placing it atop the ground. “You will never
be forgotten. I will see to that.”

The
sound of a boot punching through ice behind her makes Roseline
stiffen. She retracts her hand as if the ice has stung her. Gabriel
sinks down beside her, his eyes gentle and uncondemning.

“It’s
okay, you know?”

“What
is?”

Gabriel
looks down at the patch of frozen ground before her. It is still
possible to just make out the streaks of blood that have frozen
within the ice layers. “It’s okay to love him,” he
whispers.

She
reaches out to take his hand, clasping it tightly in her own as she
struggles to breathe. He places a hand around her waist and draws her
into his embrace. Leaning her head against his shoulder, she closes
her eyes to the sunset. “He was my past.”

“No.”
He pulls back just enough to be able to look down at her. “He
is a part of you. Your past, present, and future. Just because you
are with me now doesn’t mean he is any less a part of who you
are. Fane was a good, honorable man. I am grateful he was in your
life.”

She
holds her breath, her lips trembling too hard to be able to form a
coherent word.
What
sort of strength must it take for a man to not only acknowledge her
love for another, but to go a step further and embrace it with an
open heart?
she
muses as she clings to him.

“Thank
you,” she finally manages to whisper.

His
grip on her tightens as he presses his lips to her forehead. She can
feel the warmth of his lips and his heart in that kiss.

“Do
you think he would approve? Of us, I mean?” she whispers as the
colors overhead sink into the depths of night.

“Yes.”

“How
do you know?” she asks, barely over a whisper. This is a
conversation she never wanted to have with him, but now that he is
here, she can’t imagine why she waited so long.

He
rests his head atop hers, shielding her from the winds that whip
across the frozen tundra. In the distance, they can hear wolves
beginning to emerge from their dens. “Because he loved you
enough to put your happiness first. Why do you think he sacrificed
himself for you?”

Roseline
pauses, chewing on her lower lip. Her hair flutters in the breeze,
tangling in her eyelashes, but she doesn’t push it aside. A
part of her feels comfort in being able to hide, even if only
momentarily.

She
has never been very good at expressing herself. Emotion makes her
weak, vulnerable to attack. She learned long ago to shove her
feelings down as deep as she could so no one could ever wound her as
much as Vladimir did. Some scars will never heal.

“I
don’t know. I guess I tried not to think about it after he…”
She trails off as her voice begins to quake.

Gabriel
shifts so he is able to look directly at her. She darts a glance
toward him, with every intention of shying away, but finds herself
captivated by the glow in his eyes. Not the faint blue glow that used
to emanate from within when his cross tattoos would flame to life,
but something different altogether.

“He
died so you could live. Not just to breathe and walk through the
motions each day, but to embrace life and all that it had to offer
you. What I had to offer you.” He falls silent for a moment and
then smiles. “Fane never told you that we talked, did he?”

“What?”
She rears back. “No. He never said anything.”

“I
thought as much.” He nods, his head tilting to the side as if
trying to decide how to word his next statement. “Fane knew
before going into battle that he would protect you.”

Gabriel
turns to look at her, his gaze softened by gratitude. “He
promised me you would make it, no matter the cost.”

Roseline
sucks in a breath, wincing as the frigid air burns her lungs, but she
doesn’t let it go. Instead, she thrives off the pain, feeling
like it is only a small portion of the agony she deserves.

Looking
at his hands, Gabriel opens them, palms facing toward the sky, as if
offering supplication. “I knew what he meant when he said those
words. I should have told you, warned you of his intent, but I
didn’t.” His voice cracks as he clenches his fists tight
enough to drain the color from his fingers. “I was selfish. I
knew the risks of losing you and I couldn’t bear to warn you
because I knew you would risk your own life to protect him.”

Tears
spill from his cheeks as he looks up to meet her gaze. “It is
my fault that he died, not yours.”

“No.”
She scoots closer, grasping his hands. She shakes her head adamantly.
“If there is one thing I knew best about Fane, it’s that
he made his own choices. This is what he wanted. To have denied him
that, no matter the cost, would have been to dishonor him.”

Even
as she speaks the words, she feels the tension in her chest begin to
ease. She blinks rapidly, processing the truth of her statement.
Slowly, a tender smile tugs at her lips and she looks back down at
the ice. “This is what he wanted,” she whispers.

Gabriel
squeezes her hand and then releases it. He rises to his feet,
hesitating a moment. “I’ll leave you to say good-bye.”

Roseline
places her palm against the ice one final time. This time tears of
gratitude, instead of sorrow, slip from her eyes. She smiles and
pushes up to her feet. Holding out her hand, she steps to Gabriel’s
side.

His
gaze flits over her wind-burned cheeks, wide with surprise. “Are
you okay?”

“Yes.”
She smiles, knowing she really is. “I’m ready to go
home.”

The
scent of home has never smelled fresher to Roseline as Gabriel opens
her car door and eases her down from the black Range Rover. Mud
splatters the sides of the vehicle, evidence of Gabriel’s
impatience as they turned off the main roads of Brasov and raced
toward Bran Castle.

Home.
This
word used to feel wrong when it was paired with these cold, dank
halls, but now everything has changed. Returning from their trip to
Canada, Roseline can feel a sense of a heavy weight having been
lifted from her shoulders.

Fane
is gone. There is nothing she can do to change that, but knowing that
he would not want her to pine for him makes moving on a tiny bit
easier.

She
glances toward the hills, knowing the mausoleum is there. Gabriel
clenches her hand. “He will always be there,” he whispers
as he places a warm kiss against her forehead.

She
nods, leaning into his embrace. She is weary from travel yet
energized from the journey they took together.

Now
she can look to the future.

“It’s
about time you two got home,” a voice calls from behind them.
Gabriel grins against her forehead before he eases her back.

“Well,
aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.” He chuckles as William
emerges from the castle. He has grown a bit since he left. His hair
is longer and brushed across his forehead in a rather lazy manner.
His clothes fit snugly against the breadth of his chest. Roseline
grins behind her hand.

“What’s
so funny?” William asks, noting the hint of a blush rising
along her cheeks.

“Nothing.
It’s just that…” She hesitates and casts a glance
toward Gabriel. He smirks and nods, slipping his arm confidently
around her waist. “You’re hot, Will.”

“Will?”
His brow rises with surprise. “You’ve always called me
William. What changed?”

Roseline
smiles as she moves out of Gabriel’s grasp and throws her arms
around her friend. He stiffens, surprised, but quickly settles into
the hug. He drops his head onto her shoulder and lifts her off the
ground. “You did,” she whispers in his ear.

When
she steps back, she can see a blush darkening the tops of his ears.
“I bet Claudia approves,” Gabriel surmises.

William’s
flush deepens as he unconsciously looks toward the castle, as if she
might appear at any moment. “It was for her. I thought it might
help… ya know, with keeping up with all of you.”

Gabriel
steps forward and clasps hands with his friend. They weren’t
always friends. In fact, in the beginning, Roseline would have said
there was a definite tone of discord between them, which has
thankfully run its course. She has Claudia to thank for that. “I
don’t blame you. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself
either if I had a sister that could kick my butt.”

“I
heard that!” Sadie emerges with Nicolae in tow. Her hair is no
longer red. Instead, she has settled into a shade that remarkably
matches the brilliant green of Nicolae’s eyes.

“Wow.”
Roseline chuckles, taking her all in. Her hair stands out starkly
against the black uniform and boots she no doubt donned the instant
she got done groping Nicolae in some back room after she arrived.
“Remind me not to hunt with you at night.”

“Ha-ha.”
Sadie rolls her eyes. “It’s not glow in the dark. I’ve
already checked.”

Roseline
starts to probe a bit further into the drastic change, but she
notices a tension in Nicolae’s shoulders. His smile doesn’t
quite reach his eyes, even though she can see the effort he is
putting in for their benefit.

“Excuse
me a moment,” she says and jerks her head to the side. Nicolae
instantly follows, leaving their friends behind to enjoy their
reunion. She can still hear their lively banter as she moves toward
the center of the courtyard, turning to lean back against the
fountain that provided her an escape route not so many months ago.

It’s
amazing how things come full circle
,
she muses as Nicolae stops before her. A couple of months ago, she
was his enemy. Now she considers him to be a close friend. Hunter and
hunted bonded together for the greater good.