Dimitri was clearly broken by Shade’s
death.
Ash had always assumed the arrogant and
perfect warrior was using his angel. Now he knew different. It was
not just obvious, but even a fool could see she meant more than
life to him. Even as a vampire, he’d broken the laws of all they
had once known for her.
Ash had not only fucked everything up, but
he’d killed the only woman he’d ever loved. Pain worse than any
he’d ever known before, encompassed and crippled him.
He felt a small weight lift from his
shoulders as he identified, and finally respected Dimitri. There
was now a certain kinship, one that was only there because they
both loved the same woman more than life.
Ash put his hands on his legs and laid his
head on his arms.
Dimitri would no doubt serve the justice
that Ash more than deserved. As Dimitri had accepted death as his
fate, so would he. Ash would not run, fight, or deny him.
As he noticed the silence in the room, he
also realized that Dimitri was no longer desperately trying to save
their angel. He’d finally given up.
He’d given in.
A moment or two passed without any sound or
movement.
When he could take it no longer, Ash looked
up and over at Dimitri, sure he would see a grieving man.
Only that was not what his eyes found.
All eyes were on Shade. No one breathed as
they waited.
Dimitri’s eyes were not glazed over in pain
and loss, but clearly curious and expectant. As if he waited for a
sign.
When she took a deep, raspy, and heart
stopping breathe Ash and Dimitri both smiled.
Their Angel was alive. She was clearly a
vampire like him now. Her fangs extended and her eyes darkened to
the black and red as they did when she fed, or was under a full
moon.
She tenderly gazed into Dimitri’s face,
completely mystified, as if she was seeing a demigod or angel
before her. Her smile broke his already lifeless heart. He knew she
would never be his.
It didn’t matter to him anymore. She was
alive, not his, but alive. He had not taken the life of his
angel.
She could now happily be with Dimitri.
Ash would face charges he was sure,
attacking a higher ranking soldier whether he was a vampire or not,
was a crime. Taking a hunter’s life for no reason, higher ranking
or not, was a crime punishable by death.
Disobeying a direct order from Commander Ian
was a crime. Ash’s chances were slim, that he’d get out of this
with his life, which was no less than he deserved.
Lane finally spoke. She moved forward to
ascertain Ian’s welfare, before she fell to her knees at Shade’s
feet.
“
Is it true that she died
protecting you Dimitri?” she asked, her voice barely
audible.
“
I tried to stake Dimitri,
Lane. Shade threw herself in front of me and took the hit meant for
him. I murdered her. She died in his arms and he brought her back
somehow…” Ash answered for Dimitri. There was no point in lying,
there had been witnesses.
“
I admit my guilt and
accept my punishment willingly,” he added.
No one moved or even seemed to care.
Everyone was stunned by the return of a hunter and the awakening of
a vamp.
Ian did not command the soldiers in the room
to restrain him or the new vampires. No one lifted a finger or
spoke a word.
Shaeden finally tore her eyes from Dimitri’s
and gave him a smile. A smile, Ash asked himself, in
confusion.
“
I forgive you
Ash.”
Her words echoed within his head, sounding
odder with each moment.
“
I’m not sure I do,”
Dimitri whispered, glaring at him, eyes like daggers.
“
He may have intended to
kill you Dimi, but he saved you. He may have killed me, but he also
gave us hope. Someday we’ll be able to save our people from the
madness that possesses vamps and other supernatural creatures. We
can awaken them as well,” Angel countered.
“
Who will sacrifice
themselves for them?” one of the guards in the back, by the door,
asked.
“
Anyone who’s willing to
die for those they love,” Angel whispered, as she looked into
Dimitri’s eyes once more, her own full of love.
They could not stay at the compound, but
they would settle nearby and protect the base just the same. Their
new changes were too much to accept, too startling and terrifying,
for them to continue on as before.
People were considering the consequences of
traveling to find loved ones and save them. To awaken those who
wandered out in the world, surviving on blood or flesh.
If one woman could sacrifice herself for
someone and bring them back from death, then others could and
would. Others would drop everything and rush out blindly to find
those they’d lost.
The world had changed. An apocalypse had
struck, mutilating the humans, changing them into something else.
People had adapted and eventually accepted that their world, as
they had known it, was over and gone. People would evolve and
overcome another age.
Another dawn would break, another newborn
would be born and scream with life, and another life would be
taken. All would change and all would continue. The circle of life
may have drastically been crippled and diseased but it would
survive, just like love would always trump everything.
The End for
now
…