Page 79 of The Vampire's Lament
Seeing flesh had the opposite effect. My cock softened, and I found myself sitting down beside him.
“It hit me again,” he said. “Sometimes it comes out of the blue, attacking like a mugger jumping out of the dark. Strips everything away, leaving me a fucking mess. Seeing Jon on the ground triggered it, I guess. I don’t know.”
“Jon?”
“The merman.” He pointed at the corpse. “Grief’s a strange beast, huh?” He sighed. “I don’t need to tell you that.”
I rested the back of my head against the wall, looking up at the ceiling and thinking of my nameless sister, of my losses. The sting of grief came to me in scattered waves at various points of the day and the night. A permanent stalker with a wicked blade at the ready.
I wanted to know more about his pain.
“Tell me about her,” I spoke gently.
He sniffled. “It’s okay. I’ll be fine in a minute. You’ve got your own issues.”
“I understand loss,” I replied. “Not how you experience it, of course. All heartbreak is different. But I want to know, Paris. If you’ll let me.”
I watched his profile, saw his brows pinch together. “I can’t do this. You’ve just killed an executioner, I’ve had a bit of a meltdown, and now we’re having a moment.” He shook his head as he sighed. “What are we doing here?”
The voices of the trapped ones, along with their footsteps, sounded around us. We sat together for at least five silent minutes until he took a breath as if to steady himself, the kind you make before giving a speech.
“I’m a twin,” he announced. “My sister and I were born in Elmwhisper Woods in eastern Elf Domain and given over to the Executioner Program as babies. I’ve never met my parents. I couldn’t even tell you their names.”
I kept silent, letting him speak.
I needed to know this. I needed to know everything about my spark in the dark.
“Man, this is so weird with a dead body nearby. Why am I even talking to you?”
After another minute, he continued speaking.
“My sister was murdered by a vampire. I found her body one morning after she…” The words crystalized in his throat.
I put my hand on his thigh.
He didn’t shake it off.
“It’s alright,” I said. “You don’t have to tell me.”
But please do.
He let out a long breath. “No, I want to. I should talk about her more. I always keep her inside here.” He touched his heart. “To protect her, to keep her close. And she’s so much more than a victim. She was funny, strong, my rock, my everything. I want to celebrate her, I really do. She deserves it more than anyone. A true hero with solid convictions. Not like me, sitting here with the vampire king and, well, you know the rest.” He smacked his delectably glossy lips. “No offense.”
“None taken.”
His eyelashes cast lovely shadows on his cheeks.
“I’m sorry about your sister.” I brushed my shoulder against his.
“Thanks. I’m sorry about your losses and the broken memories.” He closed his eyes again. “I’m so tired.”
“Me too.”
“But I can’t sleep in this palace. I can’t be here, listening to them die. I know letting them go would be failing your people, but can I try singing at them? See if I can at least clear their minds of Aidan’s rot? If I can, then maybe…” He didn’t finish.
He gave me something to consider, despite its bitter aftershocks.
“I should’ve started singing the minute I clapped eyes on Jon,” he said.
