Dragos looked so relieved, and at that moment, I knew why. It wasn't just because I had forgiven him, it was because I'd said the words he'd been waiting to hear for so long.
I had said I loved him for the first time, instead of just showing it through my actions.
"Yes," I said softly, placing my hand on his arm. "I won't take your ability to sire away, Dragos, because your gift is rare. Your ability to create day walkers like you is something we shouldn't take for granted. We'll need it in the future."
He nodded slowly, and I touched his cheek affectionately.
"Fate brought us together for a reason. I, the Divine Purge, and you..." I grimaced. "The vampire prince of darkness. We're meant to change this world, Dragos. Together."
Dragos looked at me for a long moment, his hands gently cupping my face, eyes filled with so much love and tenderness.
"Oh, my little inferno," he whispered, his voice soft. "What did I do to deserve you?"
My eyes welled up with tears, but I smiled through them. "I should be asking you that. You're too much for me."
Dragos looked sad. "I won't make the mistake of losing you again," he swore. "I'm sorry you had to suffer because of my actions. If I hadn't killed Flavius, none of this would've happened. You wouldn't have..." His voice trailed off, his head dipping, "died."
I placed a hand on his cheek, lifting his face gently so our eyes could meet once again. "I know it sounds crazy, but Dragos, I had to die," I said softly. "I had to die to be like this. Reborn with new knowledge... new power... a new person entirely."
He stared at me, and I continued. "I'm just like a Phoenix, Dragos... rising from the ashes of my past... who I once was. Stronger. Wiser. More beautiful, and determined to face what's next."
Dragos kissed my palm, his eyes never leaving mine. "I know I keep saying this, but my heart, my soul, and every part of me is yours, Dawn Carter. From now to eternity, I'll stand by you, fight for you... spill blood for you, and protect you till I draw my very last breath. I am yours."
"And I am yours," I replied in a whisper, standing on my toes to kiss him.
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Dragos' car pulled up just past midnight. He'd gone to respond to the invitation from the Darkblood vampire clan, and now he was back.
I waited for him downstairs, still in my evening gown, but I'd taken my hair down, my feet bare as I stretched out on the sofa. When he entered the house, I set my wine glass aside and stood to greet him, wrapping him in a hug.
"Hey. How'd the meeting go?"
"It was alright," he said, staring down at me. "Rael Darkblood reeks of narcissism and greed. He made sure to parade his authority like it was supposed to impress or matter to me. The others watched like bloody hawks, eager for whatever they thought would happen next."
I raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Did you give them what they wanted? A show?"
Dragos shook his head, chuckling. "No, darling, I kept things civil, just like you wanted."
I sighed in relief.
"Viktor, the guy I let escape, was there too, glaring at me the whole time. You should've seen his face."
He smirked. "He wants revenge for what happened with his friends. But Rael kept him in check."
Dragos' face grew serious. "He's lucky he did. I would've blown his head off right there in front of everyone."
"I'm glad you didn't," I said cheerily, rubbing his arm gently. "So, what did Rael want?"
"His money," Dragos replied. "From what I could make out, he's a greedy fool. As long as I return his money, we're good. That's why he called. It was to negotiate."
"And did you eventually give it back to him?"
"I did. Though I didn't want to, especially after the stupid stunt his men pulled."
I nodded in understanding, my fingers brushing his arm. "You did the right thing. We can't afford a war with them right now."
"I know," he muttered.
"That won't happen. Let's go to bed."
Twenty minutes later, we were tucked in, sleeping soundly. I believed we'd finally found some peace as we drifted off for what felt like an hour or two, until I felt a sudden movement in the bed.
Groggy, I jerked awake, wondering what was wrong.
I reached over and switched on the bedside lamp. When I saw him more clearly, my heart skipped a beat.
"Oh my god, Dragos!"
He didn't even hear my cry of panic.
I scrambled out of bed, flicked on the main light, and rushed back to him. Dropping to my knees, I looked down at his pained expression.
Dragos was shivering under the sheets, his eyes shut tightly as though in pain. He was drenched in sweat, and his side of the bed was soaked. The veins all over his body stood out prominently as if some kind of transfusion was taking place. The sight terrified me, but before I could say anything, I heard a crash downstairs.
Dragos didn't move, he was still shivering, caught in his own dream or whatever was happening. The fact that he hadn't reacted to the noise made it clear that something serious was going on. The symptoms screamed of the curse at work.
Then, I heard another crash. Pressing a quick kiss to his forehead, I rose and quietly made my way downstairs to investigate. As I descended, I saw the bodies of some staff members lying across the floor, their skin pale and drained of blood. Distant sounds suggested others were still being fed on, and low laughter from unfamiliar voices echoed through the house.
I burned with anger. Literally. I could feel the heat rising from within me. These were my people, the ones I was meant to protect, and now they lay dead at my feet.
"Find him and bring him to me. He's mine," a voice commanded. I presumed it was their leader.
Stepping into view, I counted five vampires scattered throughout the room. One dropped Ross's body, wiping blood from his mouth with a contented sigh. Another fed on Lani, her anemic complexion making it clear she was already dead. He let her body fall to the floor.
They all turned to face me.
"Who's this beauty?" one of them drawled, his bloodlust-red eyes roaming over me.
"Probably his girlfriend," another sneered.
"How dare you break into my home and hurt my people?" I demanded angrily.
One of them whistled while the others cackled.
"A woman with spirit!" the leader said, stepping forward with a smirk. "Hello there. I'm Viktor."
"I don't give a damn who you are," I snapped, disgusted.
The others reacted with snickers and mocking "oohs."
My skin crawled with irritation just looking at him. This was the Viktor Dragos had mentioned—the one who tried to double-cross him by killing Niko, but Dragos had ended up killing his men instead.
He had come back for revenge.
Speaking of Niko, he'd left the night before on a personal errand.
"I take it the one I'm looking for is your boyfriend," Viktor said. "Well, you see, he killed my men and humiliated me. So I've come to kill him too." He stared past me. "I guess he's upstairs?"
I didn't reply, but my face must have given me away because he smiled.
"Boys," he said without breaking eye contact, "Go get him."
Two of them smirked as they walked past me, making cocky comments and whistling like drunken fools.
I let them walk a short distance before spinning sharply, stretching both hands toward them. Bursts of flames shot out from my palms, pouring out with violent force like water blasting from a firefighter's hose.
The fire caught them at their backs, and they screamed, running wildly as they tried to extinguish the flames. But it was futile.
These weren't ordinary flames, they were magical and deadly, made to harm only bloodsuckers and spare everything else. The fire didn't scar the floor or attach to anything it wasn't meant to. It clung to the vampires, drowning them entirely until their bodies burned to ash and fell to the ground.
"What the f..." one of the remaining vampires whispered, stunned into silence. "What are you?"
The others, including Viktor, remained frozen before turning to face me.
He hissed in anger, lunging toward me, but I raised a hand and violently flung him across the room with telekinesis. He crashed through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, landing in the pool with a loud splash.
I turned to the remaining two vampires, daring them to come for me. They hesitated at first but then moved with vampiric speed.
My senses were more heightened since my rebirth. It tracked their movements without effort. To me, they weren't moving fast at all, it was like watching them in slow motion.
These bloodsuckers had come to kill my boyfriend, and they would die for it.