Page 142 of The Vampire's Lament
My plants were dying, Oliver the orchid already long gone, stinking up the place. His decay infected me, making me sick, hurting every inch of my body and soul.
“Oh, fuck…” I wheezed, unable to move.
I didn’t know when we got here; I woke up like this from the screaming darkness.
A curse. True love.
What the hell? That couldn’t be right. This had to be Aidan screwing with me, even if my instincts told me otherwise.
Why would someone do this? To end vampires? And how would they know about the true love stuff? Through some sort of foresight or spell?
Bollocks. This sucked.
I’d been begging Caer to talk to me, singing repeatedly, but she stayed silent. So much for helping me save the world. Somuch for being the precious one. What was the fucking point of her being inside me if she was so damn weak?
“Caer! Help me, please. I’m begging you.”
“Oh, stop complaining,” Aidan cut in, striding into view. He ran his finger over the mantelpiece, sighing at the dust he collected. “Terrible.”
I retched from the decay, but managed to respond with, “Like I’ve had time to dust.”
He looked at me, wrinkling his nose. “Grubby little shit.”
“Dickhead.”
He wiped his finger on the wall.
I struggled weakly against the chains. If you wanted to disempower an elf, dump them in the presence of dying plants.
Regardless, I’d still try my best to kick his arse. “Let me out of these. Come on, let’s throw down without the bells and whistles.”
“I don’t think so,” he answered, projecting indifference.
A good old fight would help to work out the knots within me. Make me forget some of the bullshit for a bit, and give me a target to pour my anguish into.
True love…
The vampire is my true love…
Violence as a release was just as good as a fuck.
“Come on. Let’s go. No magic, just fists. Let me show you a real fight.”
He laughed. “What’s brought this on?”
“The constant plague of seeing your fucking face. Now free me. If you win, you can do what you want. If I win, you go back to rotting in your tower. Deal?”
He laughed, shaking his head. “What a ridiculous thing to say when you’re so diminished by these flowers. Anyway, I have a better idea.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “We’re going to find the source of this curse together and break it. I get the sense you’re not ready to admit your feelings, and I’m not willingto wait until you do. We’ll find another way to kill you instead.” He wobbled, leaning on the wall for support.
It was then I noticed the beads of sweat on his brow, and the pale sheen to his complexion.
Doing too much, was he? Powerful, but not that strong?
Hell yeah. I could work with that shit.
“What are you smirking about?” he demanded, pushing himself off the wall.
“Picturing you smashing your head against the window. Just to give myself something to smile about.”
