Page 6 of Vampire's Breath

I threw my arms around her. “How can you keep talking about some silly party with this?” I hugged her close, her joy filling me with warmth. Yet as I pulled away, an ache settled in—a reminder of the gaps in my life, the things I yearned for but wouldn’t admit.

“Because this is just going to be a dress rehearsal for when I have my wedding here.” Her voice rose at the end as though her statement were a question.

“Here?” I asked, my hands sliding down into hers.

She nodded. “Yes. Can’t you see it? Chairs on either side of the firepit for all the guests, and the ceremony right where we’re standing.”

I laughed. “You’ve got the whole thing planned out.”

“Of course. And tables for the reception on the pathways by the shaded plants under the canopies. You know, just in case it rains.”

A tingle went down my spine as I saw Amy’s vision unfold. “Absolutely. As long as it is what Hugh wants too, you can have your wedding here.”

Amy squealed and wrapped her arms around me. “Thank you!”

As happy as I was for her, the realization Mum wouldn’t be here to see it slammed into me, and I had to turn away to hide my grief. This was her moment, and I couldn’t spoil it.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, circling in front of me.

Of course she wouldn’t let it go. “I always envisioned that my mum would be here. For your wedding… and mine.”

Amy held me tight, one hand soothingly running up and down my back as I fought back tears. Her voice was soft. “I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine what it must be like.”

A tear escaped. “I just…” I pulled back and wiped my cheek. “What am I supposed to do every damn day without her?”

“Is that why you’re still searching in that journal?” Amy gestured toward the door.

I turned and looked over my shoulder at the leather-bound tome on my desk. I nodded. It was more than words on a page; it was my last tie to my mother—my promise I had yet to complete. It was the piece of her I could still carry forward.

Amy took my hand. “I know how much it means to you, how much you want to finish her work. But make sure that you’re not putting yourself second. You need to continue to live, to be you.”

“I need to do this for her. It is the only way I’ll ever be able to move on.”

“Did she leave you any notes at all?”

I nodded. “She left me a bunch. They’re all about her theory that the woman was a minor noble and where she’d alreadysearched. How does someone in that position end up murdering someone and being transported? I’ve gone over everything Mum did, and I can’t find anything new.”

Amy bit her lip. “Tomorrow, when Fires in Bloom is over, we’ll focus on the search. But…” She tilted her head and stared into my eyes.

“But what?”

“But from here on out, you’re going to spend at least some time going out with Hugh and me, trying to get into some semblance of living again.”

I squeezed her hand. “Agreed. Living again starts tonight.”

Lorcan

Iwatched the retreating figure of the mail carrier, the satisfaction of her blood fading. This was what my parents had cursed me to, but it was a life I’d live on my own terms. I didn’t need them, or my brothers, or anyone else for that matter. All I needed was a source of blood to keep me alive.

And I needed to get some old man saltbush. But right then, I was confined to my house with my sclera glowing a bright red and my pupils the color of ash from feeding. The last thing I needed was questions, so I turned to my phone, relieved when my search found a holistic garden shop in town. Hopefully, if I went just before it closed, I could minimize any interactions. I ran a hand over my face. The thought of mingling and exchanging pleasantries with strangers was enough to makeme reconsider the errand. Maybe I should just phone? No. It wouldn’t kill me to get out of the house for once.

When evening fell, I set off on foot to the center. My mind wandered, reflecting on a mystery I rarely thought about anymore. There was a peculiarity the men in my family shared—the ability to walk in sunlight unharmed. Sharing our blood with another vampire also allowed them to walk in the sun for a time. We attributed it to our creator, Runa LaRoux, better known around Waterford as the Dearg Dur.

Her story was as old as time. She had fallen in love with a farmer in her village, but her father betrothed her to a chieftain’s son. Her husband, a miserable wretch, beat and abused her for his pleasure. At first, she convinced herself that her true love would save her, but he never came. She starved herself to death to escape her hopeless life. She was hastily buried, and the villagers forgot to put rocks on her grave to keep her from rising for revenge. Or maybe they did it on purpose. Who knows? Whatever the case, that night, Runa rose from the dead as vengeance incarnate, her fury reshaping her into a creature craving blood in the darkness. She set her sights on her father and husband, the two she blamed most for her torment.

Growing up, we feared her, although we learned early that the O’Cillian name would never be in the mortal history books because of a truce between her and my parents. It did nothing to stop the hushed whispers and reverence of our bloodline among the immortal. My brothers and I often speculated on what Runa got from the bargain, but never learned. Over time, we only feared her for what she could take away: our anonymity as vampires. We’d been safe, untouched by the chaos our kind thrived on—until Aiden decided he wanted something more.

Of all my brothers, I missed my youngest brother, Conall, the most. I tried to quiet my mind—forget about the past—but the last conversation I had with him invaded.

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