Part 6 (2/2)

She held her breath while waiting to see if he would believe her, this time. After remaining frozen for a little while, he returned to the bed and knelt next to her on the mattress, his hands closed in tight fists on his thighs.

”She ... she really talked to you?”

He sounded agitated, but now that she could see his face again, now that she could read his eyes, Mierna could recognize the hunger she had first witnessed almost a year earlier, when she had first offered him her blood. She had thought, then, and every time after that, that it was hunger for blood that consumed him. Now, however, she wondered if instead he wasn't yearning for contact and companions.h.i.+p. For someone to share blood with, yes, but also to teach, to hold, to care for. Someone to love without fearing death.

”She did,” she replied very gently. She let go of the blanket she was holding to her chest and rested her right hand on top of one of Elden's fists. It uncurled slowly, and pulled at the cover even as Elden lay down next to her again.

”The time of the Pacts is over,” he said, his voice shaking. Had they been fighting with swords, it would have been the last desperate attack of a fighter who knew he had lost.

”I know that. I'm not speaking for Riverside, only for myself. I want to fight. And I want to be with you.

And there's nothing you can say that will make me change my mind.”

”Nothing I can say, maybe, but others might help you see things differently. I give you one year.”

Her eyes widened. Did he mean- ”In one year,” he continued, his tone more a.s.sured now, ”if you ask me again, I will turn you.”

Mierna slid closer to him until their bodies were pressed together. ”I won't change my mind, do it now.”

The barest hint of a smile tugged at his lips. ”No. One year.”

She closed the distance between their lips for a quick, chaste kiss. When she pulled back, he tried to follow her for more. She grinned.

”You won't wait that long,” she said, sure of herself.

”I've waited two hundred years,” he pointed out as he slowly ran a hand over the side of her body. ”One more is nothing.”

Mierna s.h.i.+vered at his touch but fought herself to answer him. ”And every day, I'll ask you to reconsider.”

His smile was now frank and wide. ”I'm sure you will,”

”I'll use all of my arguments to change your mind.”

She punctuated her near promise with a light touch of a finger against his hardening c.o.c.k. Elden drew in a deep breath before leaning in closer to press a kiss her shoulder.

”I'm sure you will do that too. But if it comes to that, you'll learn that Childer follow where their Sire leads, not the other way around.”

”Maybe. But it doesn't apply until you actually sire me.”

He paused against her, pulled back, and she could see he looked dumbstruck. She laughed, then kissed him again. She was ready to bet that by the time the snows had come and gone, she would have changed his mind. Wrapping her arms around him, she pulled him tight against her and hid her smile against his neck.

The End About the Author:

Kallysten is a French citizen whose most exciting accomplishment to date was to cross a few thousand miles and an ocean to pursue (and catch!) the love of her life. She has been writing for almost fifteen years, and always enjoyed sharing her stories and listening to the readers' reactions. After playing with science fiction, short stories, poetry and fanfiction, she is now trying her hand, heart and words at paranormal romance novels.

To see her other novels, visit: original.kallysten.net Other stories in The Pacts series available at Alinar Publis.h.i.+ng: All Things Except Blood Vampire Eyrin lives in a world in which her kind seals pacts with humans and protects them from fearsome demons in exchange for blood. She is one of her clan's strongest fighters, until the night when she is gravely wounded, in both her flesh and spirit. Disfigured, she hides from all and refuses to feed.

Returning to the lair, her human lover Ian is shocked to discover her condition but resolute to show her she is still as beautiful in his eyes. He offers her blood and comfort, causing Eyrin to do the one thing forbidden to Childer-take his life.

When Ian awakens a vampire, sired not by her but by the clan's Master instead, Eyrin reluctantly takes on the task of teaching him about his new existence. But her guilt over killing him makes this responsibility a heavy burden for Eyrin, and the new relations.h.i.+p they forge is a far cry from the one they used to share.

Will Ian be able to reach out for her again, or will she keep her door and heart locked to him?

Her Last Words (November '07) Two centuries have pa.s.sed since the Master Vampire Gabrielle made the biggest mistake of her life. Two centuries since her plan backfired, resulting not in the destruction of demons as she had hoped, but instead in the slaughtering of countless humans and vampires that had been fighting against them. Two centuries also, since she pushed away her favorite Childe, without ever telling him why. Two centuries of fighting alone to protect the humans she has sworn to defend from demons. Two centuries of missing Erik.

When he finally reappears in her life, she thinks she has been offered a second chance. But she soon realizes that she will need to face her mistakes to reach him, and understand that silence can be more painful than words.

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