Page 20 of Victory for Vampires

Unfurling my wings once more, I reach for my mates’ hands. “I know I can do this,” I start, “but hang on to me for the first little bit? I still get nervous.”

Alessandro steps onto the roof’s edge and falls off it, flaring his wings high. He drops from view as I laugh, then he reappears, beating the sky with his beautiful black shadow wings. “Come, amore,” he croons. “Jump into the sky, and I will fly below you. Pietro can fly beside you, and we will keep you safe.”

Nerves fill my chest, my heart rate spiking as I step to the edge where he floats with no problem.

Pietro wraps an arm around my waist and brings his mouth to my ear, nipping it softly. “I have the utmost faith, mate. Your wings are as beautiful as the rest of you.” He slides his hand up between my shoulder blades and then brings the other one to the base of my wings, stroking and touching the shadowy feathers.

Curling forward, I revel in the sensations his stroking elicits—heat, excitement, the need to fly with them. Spreading my smaller wings as wide as they’ll go, I step to the very edge and resist the urge to look down three stories to the ground.

Instead, I leap for Alé, beating my wings fast to carry me. I falter and drop, nearly slamming into him, but I manage to catch a current and soar upward. Pietro is a comforting presence next to me as Alé flies upside down with both hands behind his head, winking at me as I claw and grasp at the sky.

I’m like a filly standing for the first time, but when we grab a faster current together, I find my footing and soar easily with my mates.

They guide me up into the clouds, through a series of stronger and stronger currents. Eventually, we’re able to grab a current that runs along the underside of the pale green ward. We ride that all the way to the singular country road that humans can access Ever by, if called by the town’s magical artifact, a map.

We fly for an hour, until my wings begin to tire. I never fly at Hearth HQ. The last thing I need is Evenia judging my wings and finding my entire personage lacking because of them. I haven’t flown in many years.

When I start to flag, dropping out of the sky a few times, Alé comes up underneath me, pulling me to his chest. I cross my arms over his chest, putting my chin on them as I smile at him. He loops and swirls and plays as Pietro flies quietly next to us with a soft smile on his face. Dropping through the clouds, Alé alights gracefully in a field of wildflowers.

Pietro lands next to us and removes the bag from his shoulders. He withdraws a blanket and lays it out flat.

I laugh up at Alé. “You can put me down, mate.”

“Can’t do it,” he says with a chuckle. “I’m still busy feeling you up.”

I bury my head in his chest and scent him, listening for his heart and the steady thrum of blood through his veins. “I need to taste you,” I say on a sigh. “All over.”

“You have the go ahead,” Pietro jokes.

Alé drops us gently to the blanket, and Pietro joins us, pressing his big body against mine.

“I packed bruschetta, extra olives, espresso and a little bit of bread.” He reaches for the bag. “Oh, and grapes.” Grabbing one, he pops it into my mouth, growling when I nip at his fingertips.

Alé finally releases me, but I shove my way between his thighs with my back to his chest. It’s so easy with them, so natural to behave like we get to do this all the time.

“Listen,” I start, suddenly nervous to share something I’ve been thinking about for a while. “I want to talk to you both.”

Alé’s warm lips come to my neck. “Tell me it’s about how you’re desperate to bite and claim me.”

“Well,” I chuckle, “that’s part of the conversation. But, no. There’s something else.” Glancing between my handsome mates, I force a smile despite uncharacteristic nerves and focus on the steady beating of their hearts.

“I’ve got an idea for a portal station that would connect all the havens together, essentially rendering our current travel methods null.” I release my breath, looking between Pietro and Alé.

Their expressions are neutral. I recognize those looks.

Pietro’s mouth drops slightly open, crimson eyes scanning my face. “Such a thing has been suggested many times before, has it not?”

“It has,” I admit. “Evenia’s always shot the idea down because of security concerns. But I’ve got a couple of ideas bubbling about how we could get around that.” I look at Pietro, then over my shoulder to Alé. “How much of a security concern do you feel living here in Ever, versus if you were able to travel to any haven quickly?”

“Give me the option to travel,” Pietro gruffs, “to be a tourist and spend money in other havens. The way the portal system is set up now makes it a pain in the ass to visit other parts of the system. We’d see far more travel if there was something like this.”

“Agreed,” Alé murmurs. “Not to mention you could fuck me every night and go to work every morning at HQ.”

“Gods, yes,” Pietro moans, shifting onto his knees until he can touch us both. “We need that, mate. Imagine if we could be together all the time. I just, I…”

Words seem to fail him, and I understand it. Time and distance have split us apart for far too long.

“I don’t know exactly how it’ll work,” I admit. “But I am bound and determined to figure it out. The thought of leaving you both is tearing me apart already.”

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