Arielle Immortal Resolve (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 8) (41 page)

Annabel’s laughter was profound and croaky but far away for Arielle’s dying conscious. Anguish rippled through her and darkness was enveloping her. She could feel her heartbeat slowing and cold encasing her body. “Sebastian!” she muttered, “help me.” She was dying, bleeding profusely, and she was alone. She was so very cold…

***

Sebastian’s jaw clenched. A familiar scream tore right through him and drilled to the core of his soul. Terror surged and his lungs locked. “Arielle,” he muttered. He dropped the phone and darted out the door, shouting Arielle’s name. Moving in supersonic speed, he flew over the wooden steps, down through the path dense with growth that lead to the beach cove. As he came around the corner he collided with a hard body, stumbled back, but managed to keep his balance. Startled, he turned and came fact-to-face with Annabel.

He paled at the sight of her and a strange sensation crashed through him. His arms moved like whirlwind and grabbed her. Annabel looked stunned. She blinked at him in shock, but recovered quickly. She threw her head back and let an eerie sound escape her lips. A slow triumphant smile started to appear, but it was wiped off quickly by the rage burning in Sebastian’s eyes.

He gave her a menacing look. “What have you done?” he hissed, shaking her violently. He froze at Annabel’s next words.

 “She’s dead Sebastian, she’s gone. Your beautiful human is gone,” she spat venomously.

Fury poured through every pore of his body. “No!” he cried out, anger emanating from his eyes. He succumbed to seething rage. Annabel lunged at him. The fight erupted into a raw struggle of aggression. He caught Annabel with a hard blow on her side and she bowled over. Stunned, she struggled to rise, and leaped, lunging once again at Sebastian. She looked like a possessed demon, hair weaving in her face like a cyclone. She whirled and faced Sebastian, slashing a bloody knife through the air. Sebastian sucked in a breath and pulled back out of range of the blade. He raised a leg and slammed his foot in Annabel’s midriff, sending her stomach colliding against her spine. She went airborne before crashing to the ground with a loud
thump
. She lost her grip on the knife and it disappeared somewhere in the distance. Annabel couldn’t breathe. Before she had a chance to recover, Sebastian bent down, wrapped his hands around her neck and squeezed with every immortal ounce of strength, and fiber in his body. “I loathe you!” he screamed. His voice was a lash of madness.

Annabel recoiled and watched him through terrified eyes. She screamed as she squirmed, overcome by terror, and clawed against his chest. Her body thrashed on the ground as she tried to free herself from the deadly grip, but Sebastian wouldn’t budge. It wasn't long before Annabel’s eyes rolled back and the thrashing ceased as the last breath left her horrid body.

Sebastian spat on her in disgust, and separated her head from her body, making sure she was never coming back. He kicked her remains away, and shut his eyes tightly, hoping he was going to wake up and find that this was just some gruesome nightmare.

Complete silence fell around him. He had a hard time gathering his scattered thoughts. The uncertainty of what he was going to find at the beach weighed upon him as darkness shrouded his mind. He listened using his immortal ability and caught a soft gurgling sound that raised the hair on the back of his neck. He quickly located Arielle.

His eyes scanned her pale face and gave her body a quick inspection. Her clothes were soaked in blood and the ground around her was stained. Anguish surged through him like a tornado, ripping through his flesh, burning every muscle in his body. He swallowed, fighting the nausea gripping him. He dropped to his knees beside her and cradled her bloody body. She was dead weight. He took a deep shuddery breath, looked up to the sky and murmured a prayer. He remained unmoving, holding her against his chest, watching for any sign that she still lived. As if answer to his prayer a light movement of her lips left Sebastian breathless. He gasped, realizing that he'd reached her in time.

Moving in an immortal speed he scaled the wooden steps, burst through the door and laid her in the middle of the bed. His mind was filled with uncertainty. She'd accepted Eva and Ian’s immortality, but how would she accept her own?

He swallowed hard at the thought, but he had no other solutions. She was dying and he wasn't going to go through eternity without her by his side. It was a promise he’d made to Arielle and he was going to keep it.

“Arielle…Arielle…I’m here, baby!” he murmured, his voice breaking. He touched his fingers to her throat. Her pulse was thready. He focused his thoughts on Arielle and felt the strength pulsing again in his veins. He rushed into the next room and came back with the Salve. He wasn't going to let her die...he wasn't going to let her die…She was the love of his life.

Lifting her head he tipped it back and quickly brought the edge of the bottle to her lips. “Drink, baby,” he murmured even though he knew she couldn't hear him. He dripped a good amount of the immortal liquid into her mouth. He then laid her head back on the pillow, and standing, pinched the bridge of his nose, a sign of extreme stress for an immortal.

The day had seemed an eternity, and now he'd have to sit and wait for the next three days through Arielle’s transformation, while drowning in mixed emotions. He visualized the terror she must’ve experienced at Annabel’s hands, and it tore him apart. He hardly noticed the passage of time, lost in his thoughts.

He decided to use that time to get rid of Annabel’s remains, clean up the stains from the bed sheets and change Arielle’s bloody bathing suit.

He then called Troy and his shock was obvious.

“What in the world happened?” Troy asked.

“Annabel followed us and waited for the right moment to try and take Arielle’s life. I was on the phone with Nathan and Arielle was waiting for me on the beach. I never thought this would happen, but it did. I got to her just in time and now she's going through the transformation.”

“Good God…” Troy muttered.

“I know she’s not ready to accept this change so I’m not sure what to do.”

“Sebastian, Arielle was wonderful in supporting Eva and Ian through their transformations. I think she'll do fine.”

“The issue I have is that Arielle is strong for others but never when it comes to her own self. I don’t mind telling you that I’m terrified to tell her the truth. But, Troy, I couldn’t let her die.” His voice broke.

“Sebastian, it’ll be okay. Trust me. Arielle is an amazing woman. She’ll do fine.”

“Thank, Troy. Please tell our friends. I want to avoid unexpected questions when we return home.”

“What did you do with Annabel?”

“Nobody will ever find that despicable woman. The guys will be happy to know that they don't have to chase her around the world any longer.”

When he hung up he felt much better. He was happy with his decision to keep the only woman he loved with him for eternity.

Her body rejuvenated and Arielle woke with a start. She opened her eyes slowly, lifted her hands and rubbed her temples. Her eyes darted around as if she was looking for someone or something and stopped when she met Sebastian’s deep green gaze. She blinked rapidly and took deep breaths.

“Sebastian!” she said softly.

“Yes, baby.”

“I had a horrible nightmare.”

“Did you now?” he asked calmly.

Suddenly strange turmoil invaded her mind. Terror and panic crashed into her thoughts and her heartbeat elevated. She swallowed hard and let the silence envelope her for a moment.

Sebastian was watching her intently. Suddenly she moved swiftly to sit up, but his hands pressed softly against her chest keeping her still. She looked up to meet his gaze, her eyes glassy with horror, as if something ungodly lingered in her thoughts. But soon her mind stirred alert.

“Oh Sebastian, Annabel…” her shaken voice trailed. Her hands moved fast and grabbed her chest. Heart racing, eyes wide, she looked down and her mouth fell open. “I would swear it was real,” she mumbled, perplexed. “She used a knife and dragged the blade upward,” she breathed, making an upward motion with her hand. “I remember bleeding profusely and I couldn’t call for help.” Her hands moved feverishly now over her body. What she thought as a dream was so vivid. She stopped to recollect her thoughts and remembered putting on her bathing suit and walking to the beach.
Was it all a horrible nightmare?
She looked around again, her eyes darting from one piece of furniture to the other and stopped when she glanced at the nightstand.

“What are you looking for, my love?” he asked.

“Sebastian, where's my book?”

“What book, love?”

“The book that was right here,” she said, and hit her fist on the small nightstand a couple of times.

“I’m not sure, baby, I haven’t seen it.”

“Sebastian, it was here this morning. And… I remember putting it in my beach bag, I remember reading on the beach…” Her gaze flickered to a chair across the room and her body tensed. “Where’s my beach bag? It was on that chair,” she said, pointing across the room. Abruptly she went still as a statue. Anxiety hovered in the air between them. Her hands moved quickly and touched her hair. It was in complete disarray. She always combed her hair before bed. Horror ripped through her body and the familiar nausea rose.

Sebastian tried to probe her mind but soon realized he couldn’t do that any longer. She was now an immortal. Her body had rejuvenated to its perfect condition.

“How long have I been lying here?”

“Awhile.”

“Awhile? How long is awhile?”

“Awhile,” he repeated forcing himself to stay calm.

Her breathing elevated and she didn’t look at him. “How did my hair get like this?”

There was a long silence. She finally lifted her head and stared at him intently and he had to say something.

“Arielle…”

“How?” she was now screaming hysterically.

“Arielle, baby, calm down please,” he pleaded. “Do all these questions really matter? You’re here now, and you’re all right,” he said, his voice breaking.

Instantaneous shock melted away her hysterics. Her fingers twined and her lips moved in a griping sound. “What in bloody hell do you mean I’m ‘all right now’?”

“Arielle, we need to talk.” The way he looked into her eyes spoke volumes, his warm loving eyes boring right into hers. He was sure reality hadn’t caught up to her yet. She had no idea that she'd transcended from the human world.

But it didn’t take long. Her lips started to tremble. She shut her eyes and pressed her hands against her temples one more time, and her expression dissolved into a frown. “It wasn't a dream, was it?” she asked without looking up.

He moved to sit on the bed and took her hands into his. “Look at me, baby,” he demanded.

Arielle looked up and their gazes locked. “It wasn't a dream,” he whispered. She remained utterly unmoved and he saw how deeply his words had sunk into her mind.

She shut her eyes tightly and took a few deep breaths. She then let a narrow strip of light slip through her eyelids and stared up at him through horror-stricken eyes. Her lips were still trembling, and her body shaking. She swatted his arm away and clamped her hand over her mouth. She was panic-stricken and he couldn't read her thoughts.

“But…” she mumbled. “If this wasn’t a dream, then I should be dead.”

“You're very much alive!” Sebastian said.

“Where's Annabel?”

“Annabel is dead.”

Arielle jumped out of bed ready to run, but to where? She wasn’t sure. Suddenly her legs buckled and she started to fall. Sebastian’s arms moved like whirlwind and kept her upright.

She leaned against his muscled chest for a moment gathering her strength. She wasn't sure what to do next and she didn’t know what questions to ask. She pulled away making her way to the balcony. Sebastian followed. Stepping outside chills prickled down her spine. She turned to face him. “Sebastian, I want to cry but I don’t seem to be able to.”

He nodded without saying a word.

“I’m not…” her voice trailed off. “Am I…”

He hung his head low, unable to look into her eyes. Silence enveloped them like a blanket. He finally looked up and reaching out pulled her back into his warm embrace.

Her eyes widened in disbelief. “What happened?” she asked.

“Oh God, Arielle, I thought I was going to lose my mind. I was sure that I’d finally created a safe haven far too steely for anyone to penetrate and hurt you. I failed you again. I can’t remember any woman being such a huge part of my life until you. I was looking for you and one day I just turned around and there you were. I couldn’t possibly let you go now.”

He pulled back, took her face in his hands and brushed her cheeks softly with his thumbs. He then snaked his hands around her back and held her tight against him. “You scared the hell out of me. I thought I wouldn't get to you in time. I love you so much. I can’t live without you, you’re my whole world, the center of my universe.”

She took in the seriousness of his voice, but couldn’t reason with what Sebastian was trying to say. The anxiety was building up inside her and she felt she was suffocating. She couldn’t breathe, still trying to process what was happening inside her body.

He watched her intently. “Please...” he started to say but she cut him off before he could finish his statement. She wanted badly to cry but how strange, no tears would form in her eyes. Her heart leaped into her throat, and she couldn't form a sound thought.
I can
’
t cry.
The thought made her shiver.

“I’m not ready for this… I’m just not ready for this…” she muttered. She stepped back and scanned his face. “Sebastian, I’m scared,” she murmured.

“Don’t be scared, baby. Nothing can hurt you anymore.”

“Oh God! I wish I could cry. I think I would feel better,” she whimpered. “What am I to do now?”

“Arielle, please, love!” he begged. “You've been strong for everyone else, why can’t you do that for you?”

“But I’m not ready,” she stated inflexibly.

“It was either this or let you die. I thought you wanted to be with me forever. Have you changed your mind?”