A Dawn of Strength (A Shade of Vampire #14)(19)

“As far away from the shore as possible,” I murmured.

I focused all my energy on my speed and didn’t talk to my wife again until we’d arrived outside the entrance to the Black Heights. Clutching the handle, I attempted to pull it open. It was locked. Putting Vivienne down on the ground, I pounded against the wood.

Five minutes later, the bolt was drawn, and I was met with a familiar face. Kyle.

“Xavier? What are you doing—”

“No time to explain now, Kyle.” Picking up Vivienne again, I hurried with him along the lantern-lit tunnels. I began to lose count of how many locked doors Kyle had to open as we moved deeper and deeper into the bowels of the mountain. Each barrier had been charmed by our witches for extra protection in case of an emergency like this, and if I remembered correctly, there were only three sets of keys that could open them.

Eventually, I began to hear sounds of humanity. I pushed open an old oak door to find us in one of the communal chambers. Previously a dungeon, it had been converted into a living area. I spotted Anna sitting on a couch with her baby. I was relieved to see her—I couldn’t have thought of a person I’d rather leave Vivienne with than her.

Her face lit up as we approached. I set Vivienne down on the couch next to her.

“Vivienne’s pregnant,” I said immediately.

“Oh, congratulations!”

“She needs to stay here with you. Will you fix her up with a room?”

“Of course,” Anna said. “I—”

“Xavier.” Vivienne frowned at me. “What do you mean, fix me up a room? You’re human, too.”

I shook my head. “Not for long.” I took a step away from her.

“Xavier, no. Wait—”

“You’ll be safest here, darling.”

She leapt up from the seat and threw herself into my arms. I felt her tears against my skin as she buried her face in my neck. Gripping her face, I kissed her passionately.

“Please don’t leave me,” she gasped, clasping the collar of my shirt.

“I’m not leaving you, Viv,” I said, my eyes boring into hers. “We’re just going to be apart for a short while.”

She closed her eyes tight as she clung to me.

“Baby,” I whispered into her ear, closing my hands gently around her fingers. “Please let me go. I can’t protect you or our child while I’m a human. And your brother needs all the help he can get.”

Breathing out sharply, she ran her fingers through my hair and pulled me down for another long, hungry kiss.

“Okay,” she said finally. “Just, please… be careful.”

I pressed my lips against her forehead, then, lowering myself to my knees, I kissed her stomach through her dress. I stood up again, looking into her eyes one last time before backing away and hurrying out of the chamber.

It was with a heavy heart that I exited the Black Heights, escorted by Kyle, and began to consider whom to approach to turn me back into a vampire.

For now, our honeymoon was over.

Chapter 14: Rose

After we’d locked up the humans securely in the Black Heights, it was time for Caleb and me to deal with those who’d opted to turn into vampires. I hadn’t been able to count how many had chosen this route as they were leaving the clearing, but when we arrived in the town square, I was surprised by the number. There were just over a dozen in total. I’d have thought more would take this opportunity to turn.

Still, this was a lot of new vampires to handle. Although they were often harmless for the first few hours as the transformation took hold, and normally just needed to be locked up in a room with a bed until their fangs started to poke through, Caleb and I would need help in carrying all these people somewhere safe, and then at least three vampires ought to stay with them to make sure their turning went smoothly.

I stayed with the humans while Caleb ran back into the woods in search of help. He returned a few minutes later with five vampire guards and, to my surprise, Griffin. They approached me and looked over the humans.

“We need to find the best place to do this,” I murmured. “It has to be somewhere they won’t get in the way, but they also need to be safe.”

“We could just do it in one of the penthouses,” Griffin said. “Mine, even. My parents are in the council meeting, but I’m sure they won’t mind.”

“Okay,” I said, glancing at Caleb. “Let’s do this.”

We hurried to Griffin’s treehouse with the humans. As we walked through the front door, the humans stood huddled nervously in the center of the living room.

“Let’s hurry,” I said. I looked at the humans. “You all know how this works by now, right?”

They nodded, although they didn’t look any less anxious.

“So, who wants to go first? Seven of you, please step forward.”

“Wait, Rose,” Griffin said. “I can help look after them, but I’d rather not turn anyone. I’m still a young vampire myself.”

“Okay,” I said impatiently. “Six of you.”

Six humans shuffled forward after a moment’s pause.

“You can just lie down on the floor,” Griffin said. “We have a bunch of spare bedrooms, though not enough to hold all of you. Some will have to share.”