Page 154 of Slaying the Vampire Conqueror

Strange, how being so exposed can make a soul feel so very safe.

We had challenges ahead of us, I knew. A kingdom that would not want to accept us. A human populace struggling with poverty and drug addiction and decades worth of oppression. A Bloodborn populace still struggling with an ancient curse, even if Atrius’s had been lifted. A vampire society that might one day decide to interfere with ours. Gods who may grow displeased at a kingdom led by a vampire and a human.

I was more vulnerable than I had ever been.

But for the first time in my life, I was not afraid. I was at peace with the past, thepresent, and the future.

“I think,” Atrius murmured, as if he was having the same thoughts I did, “the future will be good.”

He said this thoughtfully, slowly, like it was a conclusion he had arrived at logically.

“You’re lucky I believe you,” I murmured.

“I don’t lie.”

I smiled, recognizing the echo of our past. “Everyone lies.”

He stroked my hair. “Not me.”

And Weaver help me, I believed him.

THE END