Page 109 of Nearly Dead

I reach the battle site in minutes, landing on the roof with barely a sound despite my size.The scene is quieter now.Most of the wounded have been taken away.Only a few figures remain, cleaning up evidence of the supernatural conflict before dawn brings human eyes.

I see him immediately, a solitary figure at the roof’s edge, his back to me as he stares out over the city to where Elizabeth’s ashes scattered on the wind.His hands are threaded behind his back.

The change comes upon me without conscious effort.My bones shift and reform, fur receding into skin, muzzle shortening into human features.The process is fluid now, almost painless compared to the first transformation.Within moments, I stand on two legs again, naked and vulnerable in the night air.

“Classy, Tam,” Anthony drawls.He tosses a jacket in my direction.I hear it and catch it with one hand without turning to look.I put it on, grateful for the small dignity, and slowly approach Costin.

He knows I’m here.I can feel his awareness through our bond, a somber acknowledgment of my presence.But he doesn’t turn, doesn’t speak.

“Costin,” I say softly, stopping a few feet behind him.

His shoulders are rigid, his posture unnaturally still even for a vampire.When he finally speaks, his voice is raw.

“Five hundred years,” he says, flexing the hand that killed his sister as he brings it forward.“She was all I had for over five hundred years.”

I move closer, the roof cold beneath my bare feet.“I’m sorry I left you.I shouldn’t have?—”

“No,” he interrupts, finally turning to face me.His eyes are rimmed with red.Bloody tracks stain his cheeks.“You needed to run.The moon’s energy needed to be released.It’s why all wolves have the compulsion to run on the full moon.”

The sight of his grief hits me harder than I expect it to.This is Costin.The immortal master vampire has seen civilizations rise and fall.To see him vulnerable breaks something open inside me.

His gaze returns to the horizon.“I had to do it.”

“You killed her for me.”It’s not a question.

“For both of us.”He drops his hand to his side, centuries of weariness in the movement.“As long as she lived, neither of us would ever truly be free.”

I close the distance between us, letting the ends of the jacket slip open as I reach for his hand.Our fingers intertwine, cool skin against warm.The bond between us pulses, stronger than ever.The city lights cast his face in sharp relief, highlighting the ageless beauty and the very human pain etched there.I’ve never seen him like this, stripped of his careful control, his walls completely down.

“I never thought I could do it,” he admits.“For centuries, I told myself it was the sire bond that prevented me from ending her reign of terror.But it was my own guilt.My own failure to protect her when we were human.”

I squeeze his hand.“You didn’t fail her, Costin.”

“I arranged her marriage to Marcus.”His voice is hollow.“I sold my sister to a monster because I was eager to advance our family’s position.”

His self-loathing cuts deeper than any blade.I can feel it resonating through our bond.

“You didn’t know what Marcus was.How could you have?Most humans don’t believe in our kind,” I say softly.“And she turned you as revenge.”

“As punishment.As a twisted form of keeping her family with her forever.”He looks down at our joined hands.“I deserved it.”

“No,” I say firmly.“No one deserves what she did to you.What she tried to do to me.What she tried to do to all supernaturals when she tried to rebalance all the magic in the world.Elizabeth broke a long time ago.Some things you can’t fix no matter how much you want to.”

He stares into my eyes.“I feel empty.I expected to feel free.”

“She’s gone.Grief comes, even for the ones who hurt us.Give yourself time.We have plenty of it,” I whisper.“She can’t hurt anyone anymore.”

He smiles sadly.“When did you become so wise?”

“I’ve had a good teacher.”I step closer, letting the jacket fall down my shoulders.His eyes widen slightly, but he doesn’t move as I place my hands on his chest.“You taught me that we’re more than our natures, Costin.That we can choose who we become.”

His hands frame my face.“And who have you chosen to become, Tamara Devine?”

“Someone who doesn’t run away,” I say, holding his gaze.“Someone who stays.”

The bond between us vibrates with emotion, need and grief and hope all tangled together.I rise on my toes, pressing my lips to his in a kiss that’s gentle at first, then deepens as he responds.His arms wrap around me, pulling me against him with a desperation that matches my own.

There’s no violence in this embrace, no struggle for dominance or control.Just two beings finding solace in each other after the storm.

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