“Thank you Claire. Get some rest.” His hand reaches for mine. Reassurance.
“I will.” Her eyes are still pretty wide and she kind of floats down the hall. I'm going to have to check on her.
“Well?” I say as soon as she's out of earshot.
“I had to come back.”
I put my arms around him and place my head on his chest where his heart would be. I sigh and breathe him in, trying to erase the memories of agony. “So you didn't get anything? Why didn't you just bring him back with you?”
“I did not make it there.” His fingers wind in my hair.
“How far did you get?”
“Georgia.”
“You couldn't send him a message or make Viktor go see him or something?” I'm starting to think we are wasting our time with this.
“There is an easy solution to all this.” I'd been considering it since I knew I loved him, but had never said it out loud.
“What is that?” I can tell he's smelling my hair.
“Make me a noctalis.”
Peter
I ask her to repeat the words, even though I knew I heard her right. My hearing is perfect. I just needed to hear the words from her again. Then I have one thing to say to her.
“No.”
“It's not your choice to make.” I let go of her, stepping back to see her face. “It was just an idea.”
“I will not. Ever.”
Her chin rises. “You Claimed me.”
“That was different.” So, so, so different. With the Claiming, I took her blood. If I made her a noctalis, I would take her soul. Humans can make more blood. She could not make another soul.
“I don't see how. I just went through hell when you left me. I never want to go through that again. The only way to break the Claiming is for you to kill me, or make me a noctalis. If it comes to that, I'll take the second.”
“I will not.” She storms upstairs. I follow her. She lets me into her room, and slams the door behind me. She puts her forehead against the wood and then turns on me.
“My mother is going to die. Maybe not today, but very soon. And then I'll have my dad. I have Tex and Jamie, and my Aunt Jenny but that's it. I have a very small group of people I can count on. Who love me. I know you can't love me now. But you could. You could love me and we could be together. Forever. I'm not saying that you should do it right now, but someday. You won't even consider someday?”
“You would be losing your soul.”
Her hands twist the cord that holds the key to my trunk. “You'll take good care of it for me.”
“I will not take it. Your soul belongs here,” I point to her chest. “And wherever it will go after this body is done doing its purpose. You would never see your mother again.”
“I can't base my decisions on things that may or may not happen. I don't know how I feel about heaven and all that, but I know how I feel about you and I know that I want to do this for you. You don't have to make the binding promise to me. You can make any promise. Just a little one. Like always turning the light off when you leave a room. Something stupid. Just something to undo the other one. See? It could work.” She tries to take my hands.
“You do not know if it would work.”
“You didn't know the Claiming would work. Big rewards require big risks.” Her hands ball into fists. I can hear the desperation both in her voice and in her thoughts. She wants this very much. She shoots it at me, trying to make me give in. But I will not. Tears spill over her cheeks.
I back away from her. “There has to be another way. We will find another way.”
“Why do we need another way when we have this one?”
“There is a better way.”
“Is there? Do you know that for absolutely sure?”
“I do not.” I will not lie to her.
“Then will you at least promise to take me with you next time? I will not go through what I did today. It's not happening. I don't care if you have to fly me at night. I'm not leaving you.” She strides toward me and grabs the shirt I am wearing. Her shirt.
“I won't leave you.” Her words are full of tears.
“I won't leave you, either.” I can't help myself. I pull her face upward and lick her tears away.
“What are you doing?”
“Taking your tears.”
“Oh.” She looks at me puzzled, but lets me. Then she starts to giggle. It's a bubbly light sound that makes me feel much better. As if the past hours had never happened.
Chapter Ten
Ava
He was being completely unreasonable. I mean, all I'm asking him to do is make me immortal and make me a promise. Piece of cake.
“I need to go down and check on Mom. ” I mean, I'd just gotten him back, and I didn't want to take the chance that he'd go even a few feet away. I wasn't needy enough to ask him to come with me. “Just stay here.” I put my hands up like he's a dog I'm asking to stay.
“I will wait.” He's always saying that. I always believe it.
I dash down the stairs. The freaking door is still open. I go and shut it. Good thing he hadn't broken it. It would have been fun to try and explain that to Dad.
I can hear the radio on in her room. She doesn't have a television in there. We might have to get her one, though, when she gets sicker. One thing at a time.
“Mom?”
“Hey, baby.” She's lying on her side, staring out the window. The curtains are open and the woods is beyond. There's a birdfeeder just outside with two goldfinches perched on it.
“Look. You almost never see two at once.” We watch the birds for a moment. Well, she watches the birds and I watch her. She looks more relaxed.
“How are you doing?” It's a different question than how are you feeling.
“I'm okay, I guess. It was just a lot. Visually.” She makes a gesture with her hands that I think is meant to indicate Peter's wings.
“Yeah, I know. The first time he didn't warn me either. He just busted them out.” That's not exactly the truth, but I want to make her feel better.
“It was quite breathtaking. He looked like an angel.” My vampire angel.
“Yes, he does.” I blush. Except for the black feathers. They make him look like a fallen angel.
She finally turns toward me. “What are you going to do now?”
“It's kind of complicated. We're just going to bask in the non-painfulness for a little while.” Forever.
“Why did he go?”
“He was meeting with someone.” I still need the details for myself.