Page 82 of Toward Immortal Ruin

“Amazing. Healthy. I—it’s hard to describe. When I first woke up, it felt as though I could’ve lifted a bus and had just been run over by one. Absolutely wild.”

“I know the feeling. You were hungry when you first woke; now, you’re not.”

Nina offered her a quick hug and then looked to the man hovering behind her with expectation in her gaze. “Shall we take a walk, Nero?”

Eden beamed. “Can we? Please?”

“I am neither your keeper, nor your warden.” Mock admonishment narrowed his eyes. “You lead the charge here, professor.”

Bounding out of bed, Eden was surprised to find her legs steady and her balance absolutely spot on. She blinked stupidly at her own feet for half a moment before pivoting her head to stare at her sire.

“You’ll find many things an improvement, Eden.”

“Except your diet,” Aidan said, leaning against the far wall. “No chocolate, I’m afraid.”

Scrunching up her nose and sticking out her tongue in childish disgust, Eden answered playfully, “Chocolate sounds gross. Come to think of it, even my grandpa’s grilled cheese sounds distasteful. “

“That’s a tragedy.” Nero made a sound of mourning before looping an arm around her waist and pressing a kiss to her cheek. “I’m going to miss those.”

“I can still cook, I think.” Eden turned to Nina. “Can’t I?”

“Of course,” A curt nod. “But you’ll have no desire to lick the bowl, I’m afraid.”

Nero winked. “Come on, let’s go meet your adoring fans.”

“Fans?”

As soon as they made it to the bottom of the stairs, Eden realized what he meant. Multiple pairs of eyes rose to hers as she followed Nero, clinging to his hand like a lifeline.

Zia, Jeremiah, Luna, and Key were all gathered in Nero’s living room, along with several others she’d only met in passing. All of them beamed at her, as though her arrival had made everything right in the world.

To her utmost surprise, Marianne was sitting in Zia’s lap. The cat was purring loudly and didn’t even glance up at Eden’s arrival. It was comforting to have some things remain the same after all the changes. One could always count on cats.

She couldn’t contain her curiosity much longer. “Why are you all here? Not that you’re not welcome, of course.”

“They’re here for you,” came Nero’s happy comment. “They wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Much as our sovereign has been waiting for you, so have we.” Luna smiled, the act full of welcome. “You belong to the clan now, and we’ll happily claim you as one of ours.”

“And we take care of our own,” Key said. “Get used to it, baby vampire.”

Jeremiah’s smirk heralded his teasing mood. “I have a feeling a certain vampire is going to take a keen interest in gnawing on our veins.”

“You’d probably taste like cotton candy.” Eden shook her head. “No thanks.”

“Hey, I take offense to that! I’m basically the crème brûlée of Elementals: sweet and powerful.”

“Crème brûlée was never my favorite even when I was human,” Eden retorted, oblivious to Nero’s chuckling beside her. “Definitely not as sweet as you think, and certainly not hard to crack.”

Flustered, Jeremiah rolled his eyes but looked to his mate who’d pressed her lips together in an attempt not to laugh. “Z, you’ve gotta talk some sense into this woman.”

“Are you aiming to have her fangs in your neck, Jeremiah?” Zia’s eyebrows rose, daring him to speak. “Because that isn’t gonna end well for anybody.”

“The only one who gets fangs in their neck is Nero.”

Key’s idle comment had everyone turning snide grins to their sovereign, and Eden blushed furiously. Zia stood and gave her Marianne. She was rewarded with another throaty set of purrs, and Eden squeezed her—lightly—before the cat scrambled to be set down once more.

“Thank you all so much for being here,” Eden said. “I know I was asleep most of the time, but thank you for supporting Nero and I.”

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