Page 97 of Vampire's Hearth

Cormac held a blanket in his arms, the same one he had brought when we made love. He avoided my eyes as he laid it next to the water and adjusted the map to be right beside to it.

He walked over to me and took my hands, holding them near his chest. Despite the chill between us, his hands were warm. I shivered as I grasped them, almost refusing to let go. I looked into his eyes, studying their color so as to never forget.

Cormac dipped his chin, his eyes never leaving mine, and whispered, “I hope you know I’m doing this for you, for us, because this is what we promised—to find the Cure together.”

My breath caught as I swallowed the sob that threatened to break free, fighting back tears. My throat strained to form words. “But we won’t be together. We’ll never be together again.”

Cormac made a move to bend farther toward my lips but stopped himself. He squeezed my hands one final time before dropping them. He turned to Conall. “Take care of her and make sure you finish what we’ve started.”

Conall nodded and grasped his brother in his arms. I could see the tears shimmering in his eyes, his lips smashed together. They held each other for what seemed to be an eternity. I could only imagine the unspoken words flowing through the embrace.

Finally, Cormac pulled back. His voice faltered as he spoke. “And please, when you find Mother, let her know how much I love her and Father.”

Conall shook his head, biting his lip. “I don’t even know where to look.”

Cormac glanced at me with a small smile. “Rory can tell you. When this is all over, find the rest of them. She knows where they are.”

It took me a moment before I realized what he meant. During Aunt Amara’s spell, I had seen where the blood traveled, so Iknew where to find his family. My voice shook although I had tried to force it to stay even. “Certainly, Cormac, I’ll make sure I help him.” I sniffled, fighting back a sob.

His gaze caught mine. I could see again the gleam of tears. He took a step closer to me and cupped my cheek in his hand. I closed my eyes and leaned into it, the finality of the moment striking me, causing the ground to shift beneath me. How could the goddess hate us so much?

“I don’t want to do this,” I whispered, my eyes stinging and blurred, putting my hand over his.

His gaze softened, searching my soul, and he tightened his grip on my cheek. “You have to, Aurora. You are the High Priestess, the only one who can.”

He bent toward me, his lips consuming mine. My heart skipped a beat. Feeling him here was so right, but did I even know him? My arms rose without me thinking about it, wrapping around him as I returned his kiss. Our bodies pressed together. His hand slid back from my cheek, holding my head. When we finally parted, he held me in his embrace and kissed the top of my head. He backed away and, without a word, lay down on the blanket.

The air grew cold around me as I stood frozen, watching his resolute movements. “Please, no.” My voice cracked as I took a step toward him, my hand reaching out. Cormac didn’t look at me. He watched the water as he trailed his fingers over the surface.

Jade took my hand, her grip firm yet gentle. “It’s the only way.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. It felt like a knife burning, cutting me from the inside. I grasped the pendant that I hated so desperately at this moment, the one that placed this hell on my shoulders alone. How could I do this? How could I take the life of the man I loved? Why wouldn’t Conall lie down instead? Whywouldn’t Cormac let him? My eyes flicked over to Conall as I felt my blood boil. Why did Cormac insist on making this sacrifice?

Conall handed me the stake and moved to his brother’s feet. He kneeled down, holding his brother’s free hand.

All the love I had felt for Cormac tried to creep out of the hole I had shoved it into and reached my extremities, causing my fingers to twitch around the pendant. I gritted my teeth and ran my thumb over the sharp, cool wood. It weighed down my hand as though it were lead. I looked at the map lying next to Cormac’s shoulder and took another breath. His fingers still trailed in the water, but he stared at the ceiling like a doomed man, avoiding the gaze of his brother or me.

“Cormac, are you sure?” I whispered, my voice breaking, my lips barely forming the words.

He nodded, his gaze fixed on the ceiling, refusing to meet my eyes. “I’m ready.”

I moved to his side, kneeling beside Conall. Jade stood behind me, her hand resting on my shoulder. I raised the stake high, muttering the words in Gaelic that would lead us to the Cure—allow us to find him. My voice wavered, and every part of my heart screamed for me to stop, but I forced myself to go on, ignoring the pain shooting through my chest and down my arm. I glanced at Cormac’s hand in Conall’s and saw it tighten, Cormac’s knuckles turning white. The power swirling around us rose to a fever pitch. With a swift movement, I plunged the stake into my lover’s heart.

He gasped for breath, his back arching off the blanket, the stake buried in his chest. His black shirt shimmered in the moonlight as blood rose through the wound. I gasped and fell back on Jade, every muscle tensing, my hand flying to my mouth. Her hands pushed me back toward Cormac, reminding me I had to continue. I fought back the tears as my position as High Priestess required, my lips quivering as I clenched my jaw.If I stopped now, his death would be in vain. Pulling the stake from him, a sheen of maroon reflected the flickering candlelight. The blood slid to the point, forming a drop that threatened to fall. As Cormac’s body relaxed, his head fell to the side. Conall reached up and closed his brother’s eyes for the last time, and my breath caught in my throat. But I couldn’t pay attention, couldn’t feel the death of my love.

I turned to the map, continuing to utter the words I had memorized, barely able to squeeze them out through my tightening throat. My hands shook as I ignored the pain in my heart. I was no better than any of them, taking a life when it was required. The blood dripped from the stake onto the O’Cillian crest, once... twice... The sound drew me in as I watched it pool, glistening in the candlelight, the most gorgeous shade of red. In my mind, I saw his wrist being held over the same map, the same beautiful blood pouring from his arm. But this time it was his heart’s blood—the blood of the man I had just murdered, the man I had loved, each drop reminding me I would never be with him again.

With a life of its own, a rivulet of blood stretched out toward Scotland, finally coming to rest. I turned to Conall.

“This is where he is. This is where we find the Cure.” My voice sounded distant to my own ears, detached like I was in a far-off place.

Conall glanced at his brother before looking back at the map, his face an even paler shade of white than usual. He clenched his jaw before speaking. “I know that place. We’ll find him.”

I collapsed to the side, falling off my heels onto my ass, my entire body shaking. My chest was cold and hollow, devoid of any emotion. I looked at the stake in my hand, still coated in blood. I moved on autopilot, my voice robotic. “Do we have a vial?”

Jade looked around at what we had brought with us. “Uh, yeah, there’s one over here,” she said, her voice wavering. Her hands shook as she opened the bag, trying to locate the object of my request. “Why?”

The wood pressed into my palm as my grip tightened on the stake, lifting it a little higher, the blood still a fine red sheen over the wood. “Because I’m not doing this again,” I said, my voice strained.

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