Forsaken (19 page)

“So?” Nora wasn’t about to be pushed away now. “You’re an outcast anyway! If you do it, we can get away.”

“I can’t do that to you.” Hunter walked up to her.

“Why not?” she demanded harshly. The stubborn man wouldn’t listen!

“It’s a life of suffering, of immortality. You watch loved ones age and wither away. There is no peace.”

Nora closed her eyes. The words that escaped her mouth were barely a whisper. “There is peace, with you.”

She opened her eyes and, for a long moment, regarded Hunter in silence.

His gaze locked onto hers, held it in an iron grip. Then, in a voice just as quiet as hers had been, Hunter spoke. “Are you certain?”

Conviction flared up within her. She took his hands in hers. “Yes.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

~Forever~

Hunter stood before her. He traced the curve of her neck with the back of his hand.

“Lift your chin,” he said softly.

Nora swallowed. Her whole body was trembling, and not only from Hunter’s proximity. “Will it hurt?”

Hunter’s thumb dipped into the hollow of Nora’s neck. His eyes focused on her lips. “Yes.”

“Is it…dangerous?”

“Yes.”

“Will I die?”

He chuckled. “No.”

“You…you won’t lose control, will you? You can stop yourself, right?” Nora knew she was blabbering, but her nerves were frayed.

“With you, I can.” He looked up and met Nora’s eyes. His next words came as a whisper. “It’s not too late to change your mind.”

Nora put her hand over Hunter’s. His skin was cold and smooth. Like ice. “No,” she told him.

“Then show me your neck.”

Nora took a deep breath. She exhaled and lifted her chin high.

She waited for a long, anxious second. Then two. Then three.

Nothing happened.

“What are you waiting for?” she whispered.

“You’re so beautiful,” Hunter answered. His voice was hushed. “So innocent. So pure. And you’re asking me to turn you into…” he hesitated, “…a monster.”

“Hunter.” Nora brought her head back down and met his eyes. She spoke with a conviction she did not feel. “I want you to convert me.”

“You realize that once I do,” he said, “there is no going back. You can’t change your mind. You can never see your family again. You throw your old life away.”

She picked up his hands. “That’s what I’ll do,” she told him gently, “if it means a new life with you.”

A fire erupted in Hunter’s eyes. His hesitation was gone. He nodded. “Okay.”

He brought his head down so their foreheads touched. Nora shivered as his cheek brushed against hers. He brought his lips to her ear. “Close your eyes,” he said.

Nora did. She could feel Hunter’s hard body pressing against hers. She could hear his ragged breathing and could almost make out the feel of his pounding heartbeat.

He nuzzled his nose into the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply. Another cold wave of shivers ran down Nora’s spine. The anticipation, the wait, the worry…it was killing her.

And yet, it would be worth it, because she could imagine herself next to Hunter.
Forever.

Hunter cupped her face. He lifted it gently and brushed her hair away. Nora’s breathing hitched as she felt Hunter’s cold lips trail down her neck. Butterflies exploded in her stomach.

Two fangs sunk into her neck.

Her eye burst open. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. The venom mixed with her blood. Her chest constricted. She couldn’t breathe.

The pain was overwhelming. Every nerve in her body screamed in agony. The poison started to spread through her body. She could feel it working its way down the inside of her neck. Her muscles constricted in protest. Her vision went white as shockwaves rocked her.

A frigid iciness slid down her back and paralyzed her. She felt herself being consumed by the poison. It was eating her away from the inside like an infectious disease. She was weakening, and she could do nothing to stop it.

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head. She knew pain and agony. Heat and ice. Molten lava washed over her, followed by rolling chills of deep winter. Her skin was red hot, and suddenly too tight. Her heartbeat doubled, pounding against her chest like a caged bird desperately trying to break free.

The only grip she had on reality was the feel of Hunter’s fangs in her neck. Every vein in her body contracted in protest against the poison. She could feel it taking over, feel its murky blackness seep into her muscles beneath her skin. The venom coursed through her, taking over her body, until Nora was no longer sure she could retain her grip on sanity.

And then Hunter stepped back, and it was over.

Nora stood for a moment, dazed and unable to think.

An explosion of senses she never experienced before crashed into her.

She could see.
Really
see. She could see the minute details of the rocky walls. She could see the tiny cracks splintering along the ground. She could see every individual strand of Hunter’s thick, dark hair.

She could
feel
. The hairs on her arms stood up as they swayed in the tiniest of breezes. The fabric of her dress, which seemed so smooth before, was now rough as sandpaper.

She could
hear
. She could hear the steady
drip, drip, drip
of water somewhere far away. She could hear the sound of a gale blowing above ground. She could hear Hunter’s rhythmic pulse.

She could also hear the Vassiz horde running after them.

“Shit!” she exclaimed, jumping up. “Hunter, they’re coming!”

“I know. But they are still far,” Hunter answered. His voice was hoarse. “How do you feel?”

“I feel…different.
New
. And…” Nora paused, noticing the growing pit in her stomach for the first time, “…hungry.”

Hunter smirked. “We’ll deal with that later.” He looked around the room. “For now, we have to figure out how to get out.”

Nora strained her ears. “Hunter, they
stopped
,” she said in fascination.

“Yes. They cannot sense you anymore. We still don’t have much time.”

“What do we do?”

“Retrace our steps,” Hunter said. “You can outrun them as a new convert. So can I.”

“But we don’t know where to go! Rafael said we can get stuck for ages down here.” She looked around the cavern, hoping her new vision might help her find something unnoticed before.

The rock slab behind Hunter caught Nora’s eye.

“This,” she said, running toward it. “This
has
to be something.” She knelt down by its sides and traced her fingers over the symbols. She looked up at the moon through the hole cut in the rock above her. It seemed so far out of reach.

Hunter was beside her in an instant. “You might be right,” he said. “No other space we passed had anything like this.”

“If only we could
read
these!” Nora exclaimed, motioning at the symbols. “Maybe they’d give us a hint.”

Hunter dropped to all fours and looked at the slab from the bottom. His fingers touched the edges. He inhaled sharply.

“Not up,” he muttered to himself, “but
down
.” He stood in a flash. “Nora, quick, help!”

Nora ran to his side. “What?”

“I think there is a passage beneath this slab.” He put his shoulder against it and tried to push. “But it’s jammed. Dammit!”

Nora strained her ears. She could hear the other Vassiz off in the distance. They weren’t running, but they were still moving, probably confused.

She and Hunter were running out of time.

“Maybe we can lift it,” she said.

Hunter grunted. “Go to the other side.”

Nora ran across. She put her fingers under the edge. “Ready?”

“Yes. On three. Three, two…”

Nora bit down on her jaw and started to heave up. Hunter did the same on the other side. The slab groaned but didn’t move.

“More,” Hunter grunted. “Nora, you’ve got to give me more!”

Nora bent down, got a better grip, and pulled up with all she had.

The stone slab groaned, and moved a fraction of an inch.

“Yes!” Hunter said. “Yes, just like that! Keep going, keep going!”

Nora gritted her teeth and heaved. The slab grated against the floor…and lifted free.

Elation bloomed in her chest as she saw the stairs leading down underneath.

“Quickly,” Hunter said, motioning her over. “Quickly, Nora, come on!” He held out his hand.

Nora ran to him. He grabbed her hand. Together, they descended into the darkness.

—

The stairs curled round and round, tunneling deeper into the ground.

At the bottom, Nora and Hunter came upon a narrow path. They started walking forward. The path gradually sloped up. There were no twists or forks in this tunnel.

When Nora sensed the first scent of clean air an hour or so later, her heart leapt with joy.

“Hunter, we made it!” she exclaimed.

He looked at her and smiled. It was a genuine, full-on smile.

“Yes,” he told her. He gripped her hand tight. “Yes, Nora, we did. Only because of you. Only because of the courage you showed when you asked me to convert you.”

Nora’s heart filled with unexpected warmth from his words. She knew, right there in that moment, that he was happy to welcome her into his life.

Forever
.

The End, Book One.

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