Page 23 of Fighting for Her Heart
“Good luck.” Ember pushes up onto her elbows. “Be careful.”
I slide one of my legs between hers and drape my arm over her body to play with the soft skin on her belly. Her ass presses back against me in response.
“Careful?” Ryker laughs. “Me?”
“Do not be so dramatic,” Zuben says. “You know full well that you did not burn in the sunlight the first time you took her vein.”
“That was through a pane of glass,” he says. “And for a short time. Plus you said yourself, it could be different now she’s a vampire.”
I study Ryker. Is it possible he’s actually frightened about what might happen? It’s been so many years since I felt the full force of sunlight along with fresh air. I cannot wait until I get a chance to roam through these woods in the daylight.
Zuben raises his gaze and stands stiffly. “It is important to discover if you can take the sunlight and for how long. This first stage of the experiment will test how many hours of protection are provided by a single feeding.” He glances at his watch. “I have already let too much time pass since you took her vein.”
Ryker rolls his eyes, then slowly pulls back the rolled up sheet we use to block the crack under the door.
A stream of light stabs across the floorboards, and I shift in front of Ember on the bed to shield her, but the light doesn’t come as far as the mattress.
“Okay so far,” Ryker says as the light illuminates one of his feet.
“You are currently protected by your leather boots,” Zuben points out flatly.
Ryker turns back with a grin and puts his hand over his mouth. “Oh, my goodness, you’re right! How would I ever survive without you, professor?” He grins at Zuben and I’m relieved when Zuben grins back.
I’m pleased that these men are finding a way to tease each other without taking offense. Or wanting to kill each other. Harmony is key, if we are ever to form a clan.
“Here goes nothing.” Ryker holds out one hand as he opens the door further and lets the light strike him. “No burns yet. Enough experimenting for you?” He turns back and winks at Zuben.
Zuben takes a step forward. “Since this is your second time with this sunlight experience, it is imperative that you determine howlongthe effects last. Stay out until you feel burns, or until the sun sets, whichever comes first. Carefully observe any difference as compared to the first time you felt sunlight and be prepared to describe the sensations. Once you are comfortable outside, please remove some of your clothing to see ifthathas any impact.”
Drawing his boot heels together with a snap, Ryker salutes Zuben. “Aye, aye, Captain.”
Zuben shakes his head. “I did not intend for my words to come across as orders, but we must learn how this works.”
“Don’t worry, I get it.” Ryker shuts the door and then strides past us toward the armoire.
“What are you doing?” Zuben asks.
“Getting those fucking stakes.” Ryker opens the wardrobe doors slowly, making sure no light is penetrating through the back of the large piece of furniture, and then he bundles all the wooden stakes and crossbow bolts into a long garment he tears down from a hanger.
“Since I’m gonna be outside for a while—” he slings the bundle over his shoulder and the stakes rattle against each other “—I think it’s a good day for a bonfire.”
“Should we keep a few weapons?” I ask him. “What if Octavia does find the farm?”
“Way ahead of you.” Ryker taps a crossbow he left in the wardrobe, and then kicks shut the doors, dropping the wooden handle into the slot that holds the doors shut.
“Later gators,” he says as he crosses the room, his voice light. But then he stops and turns back. “Keep her safe.”
I nod, and cover Ember’s body with mine. It’s been about thirty-six hours since I drank from her, but I have a better chance of taking daylight without burns than she does. And if it came to that, I would gladly incinerate to protect her.
Ryker exits, opening and closing the door in a flash, and even though the sunlight exposure’s fast and indirect, the heat from it brushes over me in a scalding wave that makes me grateful I thought to protect Ember.
“So far so good,” Ryker calls from outside the door and Zuben quickly kicks the rolled up bedding back in place to keep out the light.
The smell of Zuben’s sizzling skin alerts me to the burns on his bare feet, and he pauses, facing the door, his breathing labored through obvious pain as his skin heals.
Before that witch locked me in the dungeon, I spent so little time as a vampire, and I lack experience dealing with that particular pain or knowing how quickly sunburns heal. It didn’t take long to avoid the rare beam of sunlight that penetrated the cave before I got used to its angles, and the water immediately soothed me as I healed.
The thought of feeling sunlight again, on my face, my chest, fills me with joy and sadness at once. The sense memory of sunlight, combined with my hope, are both reminders of all that I’ve lost and—I look down toward Ember—also all that I’ve found.
