Blood Promise

But I hadn’t been able to forget Dimitri, or accept that he was essentially dead. He was the man I loved, the man with whom I’d been so perfectly in sync that it was hard to know where I ended and he began. My heart refused to let him go even if he was technically a monster, he was still out there somewhere. I also hadn’t forgotten a conversation he and I had once had. We’d both agreed that we’d rather be dead-truly dead-than walk the world as Strigoi.

That’s what I was supposed to say…” he gasped out.

“We need to be together.”

“Why?” I asked softly. The word was carried away on the wind, but he heard.

“Because I want you.”

I gave him a sad smile, wondering if we’d meet again in the land of the dead. “Wrong answer,” I told him.

Unbelievable. He truly had survived those odds. I’d said it before and meant it: Alive or undead, the love of my life was a badass

I would never forget Dimitri, not for the rest of my life. And this time, I wouldn’t forget his lessons.

With a speed he wasn’t ready for, I struck out and plunged the stake through his chest. My strength was there–sliding the stake past the ribs and straight into his heart.

And as I did it, it was like piercing my own heart at the same time.

My breathing was growing rapid, and I prayed he’d think it was because of my fear of being turned. “Tell me again. One more time. Why do you want to awaken me so badly?”

A slightly weary look crossed his face. “Because I want you. I’ve always wanted you.”

And that’s when I knew. I finally realized the problem. He’d given that same answer over and over, and each time, something about it had bothered me. I’d never been able to pinpoint it, though. Now I could. He wanted me. Wanted me in the way people wanted possessions or collectibles. The Dimitri I’d known… the one I’d fallen for and slept with… that Dimitri would have said he wanted us to be together because he loved me. There was no love here.

Dimitri took a step forward. “Get out of here. If you lay a hand on her, I will destroy you. I will rip your head off with my bare hands and watch it burn in the sun.”

“When I heard it was you… hmm.” He turned thoughtful, eyes narrowing. “No. I was curious. Wary. If anyone could have killed me, it would have been you. But like I said, you hesitated. It was your ultimate test of my lessons, and you failed.”

“In Siberia? I came to find you.”

“I came here to get away from you.”

“Stop fighting me.” His breath was warm against my neck, his body right up against mine. I knew his mouth was only a couple inches away. “I’m not going to hurt you.”