Forstaken (8 page)

Nadia’s chest
rose and fell in a steady rhythm as the heat rose inside her to a fever pitch.

“What you
don’t know is that I never liked my sister. She was always so spoiled, your
mother. Born into royalty. Married into royalty. She always thought she was so
much better than her little brother.”

It was Nadia’s
turn to smile.

“Because she
was better than you, you imbecile. She knew this was coming long before you
did. She told me this day would come.”

For the first
time tonight, he actually looked a little worried. It gave her the final boost
of confidence she needed.

“I’ll kill you, you bitch spawn, and then I’ll rule the demon world
as the only living vampire. ‘Cause I’m immune to your curse.” He lunged toward
her, and she ran toward the side of the clearing, flipping easily into a front
handspring and landing just short of where Shadee lay unconscious.

Her cheerleader moves were coming in handy during the most important
game of her life. She squatted down next to Shadee just as Dagger appeared
before her.
 
His eyes beamed insanity as
he came face-to-face with her.

He reached out and grabbed the nape of her neck in his hand, his
thumb pressed against the pulse on her throat.

“I’ll squeeze the life out of you, and there’s no one left to save
you.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,
Uncle
Asshole
.” She thrust the wooden stake straight through his heart. “
I’m
here to save me.”

His eyes filled with blood, and he fell back, gasping for air. Then
he turned on his side and melted into a sticky puddle.

She reached over and shook Shadee. He opened one eye and smiled.

“I knew you had it in you. I could smell kick-ass vixen all over you
earlier today.”

Nadia stood over him, hands on hips.

“Get out of here. I don’t want to ever see you again.”

Shadee stood up and looked like he wanted to make another comment
but thought better of it. He replaced his tarnished hat and tipped the rim of it
at her just like a real cowboy might do.

Then she walked to the edge of the cliff and jumped.

****

When Byron reached the top of the cliff it was deserted. He sat on
the edge of the clearing and put his head in his hands.

He was too late. He wasn’t sure what happened, but he assumed the
scattering of broken weaponry and the puddle of blood were from a battle to the
end. Dagger had killed Nadia and thereby destroyed Shadee in the process.

He reached for the jagged edged sword that Shadee had broken and fingered
the edge. He had nothing left to live for. Perhaps he should shove it into his
own heart and end his own life. But his mother needed him. He had nothing else
to live for but that.

“What are you doing here boy-o?”

Byron looked up, startled to see Shadee standing on the far side of
the cliffs.

“What are you doing? What happened?”

“Your girl saved the world. Well, my world anyway. And then she
jumped into the water. I think she was coming after you.”

“I need to get down there. Will you help me?”

Shadee shook his head. “The water is not exactly my thing. Besides,
she told me to get lost, and that’s what I intend to do. I ain’t in no mind to
piss her off. This is on you.”

With that, he disappeared over the edge of the cliff onto the
downward path.

 
Byron thought about following
him down, but if she’d jumped in the water, maybe she was still swimming around
looking for him. If anyone could find her in water, it was he.

He looked up at the sky and saw the sun on the horizon.
 
It was now or never.

Chapter Eleven

Tired and weary, she swam to shore and lay in the sand. Spent,
exhausted, heartbroken. She didn’t know what to do. If Byron was human, surely
he was dead by now. She hadn’t been able to take the water for long. The
undertow was fierce, and she was no match for the incoming tide.

If he wasn’t human, if he was really the son of a sea goddess, then
maybe he’d been saved by his people, or he’d returned home. She couldn’t blame
him. Who would want to be with some vampire descendant freakish love child?

The only human girl in the world whose real parents were royal
vampires and who would most likely now and forevermore be hunted down by every
demon in the world. Once the word got out she’d killed Dagger, no one would
feel safe. Non-vampires would hunt her in order to destroy the vampire lines. And
vampires would hunt her in order to meet her and keep their eye on the key to
their continued existence. But maybe word wouldn’t get out. Maybe she could go
back to her normal, boring life. But what would life be without Byron?

She closed her eyes, arm over her forehead. The sound of the waves
crashing against the shore nearby lulled her into a deep sleep.

****

Byron tracked her scent out of the water and found her sleeping on
the beach. She looked tiny and cold. He lay beside her on the sand and curled
his still partially scaled legs around her in their familiar nightly spooning
position. He’d had to transition partly in order to search the water for her. He
wasn’t entirely sure if he’d be able to fully change back into human form now,
but he didn’t care. He would lie here and hold her until it was time for him to
return to sea.

The sun had partially risen, and he only had a few moments as they
lay in the shadows of the cliffs. Him, part man, part sea god. Her, all woman
and all-powerful in the supernatural world, if only by her mere existence.

Never was there such an unlikely pair.

He smiled at the thought. He would give anything to stay with her
here. To help her cope with the truth of her identity. But he’d lived his thousand
days on land, and now he was down to his final minutes. Should he wake her,
tell her he loved her…tell her…what? That he had to leave her? That he’d failed
to make her life into the fairytale she so richly deserved?

He watched her slow, steady breathing and then kissed the top of
each closed eyelid. He stood and walked back to the shoreline, his last walk on
legs he’d never see again. It was time to go.

****

The wind was high, and the surf was rough around his feet. The sun
was over the horizon, and the call of the ocean was speaking his name. It had
been so long since he’d been home. A small part of him missed it, missed his
mother and his sister, but somehow returning home felt like a prison sentence
nonetheless.

Byron waded out knee deep and closed his eyes. He inhaled the warm,
moist air. The morning was quiet here.

“Take me with you!”

Nadia’s voice sounded small and distant, but it was there, carried
to Byron’s ears on a gust of wind. He turned around, suddenly a little unsteady
on rapidly fluxing legs. His lower fin had started extending under the water.

Nadia was running down the beach. “Please, please. Don’t leave me. I
don’t care what you are. I love you. I love you. Take me with you.”

Her voice jarred with each frantic step, and soon she was mere feet
away from Byron.

Byron’s mind raced.
What would
life be like with Nadia under the sea? Could it work?

He wanted to cry tears of joy, to laugh, to rejoice at the mere
suggestion, but he knew it would never work.

She’d reached him now, reaching out to touch him.

He shook his head. “I could take you with me, but then you could
never come back.”

Her lower lip quivered. Nadia’s face was hopeful, making Byron’s
heart sink deeper in his chest.
 

“I’ll do it. Whatever it takes.”

Byron shook his head again and pushed away from his lover. Taking a
few backward steps deeper into the surf.

“You don’t want this life. You’re beautiful. You belong in the sun. Running
and living on land. I’m sorry I can’t stay and protect you. I’m sorry to leave
you. I never wanted to leave you.” His voice broke, and he fought the urge to
morph fully into his fin and swim away like a coward.

“Don’t leave me,” Nadia begged, her voice a higher pitch.

“I have to go now.” He looked up at the sun. It was time to go. He
turned. He started to push through the water in long strides, his legs heavier
with each step, the weight of the sun’s heat on his shoulders.

“I want to go. You’re all I have. Please take me with you.”

Byron paused, turned to look at Nadia and swam back to her. He
pulled her deep into his arms, and his cock sprang to life. Her drenched, denim
shorts were the only barrier between them. He unbuttoned them and ripped them
from her body in record time. Her breasts heaved over the full cups of her
bikini top. She cried out, and he claimed her mouth with his own as their
tongues danced their final dance.

He reached down and pressed the tip of his cock between her legs. She
wrapped her legs around him in response. He entered her with a forceful thrust,
and she rode him. Moaning and crying, she fucked him with all the energy she
could muster.

His legs had already completed their transformation, and he began to
tread water as she continued to envelop his cock inside her warm, fully human
body. He watched her face in the daylight. Tears streamed down them. Her fears
were keeping her from reaching her final release.

 
“Don’t cry. Just keep your
eyes closed. I’ll stay with you. I’ll be with you forever.” He whispered to her,
and his words seemed to relax her just a notch. Enough for her to give in to
her building climax and scream with pleasure.

He studied Nadia’s face. He memorized every inch of it. The
perfectly sculpted cheekbones, the thick, dark lashes, the full red lips
currently formed into the perfect o-shape as she enjoyed an earth-shattering
orgasm.

Nadia meant it. He knew she’d give up everything for a life with
him.

“I love you more than anything,” Byron whispered.

Nadia’s tears became only droplets in the vast ocean water below.

“I love you, too. How do I do it? How do I go with you?”

“Just keep your eyes closed. Just breathe.”

****

Byron swam away into the night water, his heart breaking with every
stroke. His transformation was complete moments after releasing his hold on
Nadia and leaving the warmth from inside her.

He dove deeper into the surf and away from the only happiness he’d
ever known.

He’d left her there. Alone. Eyes closed and waiting.

But there had simply been no other way. He could never take her away
from her land life. She simply loved real life too much. He had to give her a
chance to have a normal one.

The pain clawed at his chest as he reached the mirrored passageway
to the kingdom below. He paused at the gate and looked down at his shiny fins. This
would be his form forevermore. He’d never walk on land again, but his time with
Nadia had been worth it. The memory of her would remain in his heart for all
eternity.

As he pushed through the gate, he was greeted by Tephis, his
mother’s favorite guard.

“Ah, yes, your Majesty. Your mother awaits.”