Across the Stars and Ashes (Guardians of the Night Book 3) Read online

  Zarah didn’t want to go strutting down the hall in only the gown she was wearing, but she also didn’t want to bother with changing into a bunch of heavy clothing. Her body still ached and it hurt to move too much. Draven seemed to read into this immediately, handing her a pair of sweatpants and one of his pull-over hoodies to put on over the light garment.

  “Thank you.” She whispered before putting the clothes on. He smiled.

  Down the hall, Zarah walked into Seth’s room without bothering to knock. Draven had decided to wait outside the door until she asked him in—even though she said he could come in with her, he’d told her to go ahead—and Thomas and Alyssa would be along shortly.

  The room was mostly dark, short of a few lit candles and one distant lamp in a far corner. It was still the same small room she remembered. The same room where when she took a quick glance at the couch across from his bed, she could remember the kiss he gave her the night before she’d been taken. The taste, the smell, the feel… She didn’t have to close her eyes. She could smell him now. Looking back at his bed, she swallowed a hard lump in her throat. Seth lay there, awake at least, and sitting up. He stared at her. Draven was right. He wasn’t well.

  “Well look at you, Sunshine. I didn’t think you could get more beautiful.”

  Tears formed again instantly.

  “I’m so sorry.” She could feel herself starting to blabber. He tsk’ed and patted a space beside him on the bed before she could say anything else. She walked over, took a seat, and let him take her hand.

  “I knew you would blame yourself. But you can’t. Remember? I instigated you. I made you. It was absolutely not your fault. And if I could do it again, I would.”

  “Because you love me.” Zarah wasn’t stupid. She knew. And she remembered. She saw all of it while drinking from him. His emotions. His memories. The truth.

  “Because I love you.”

  “Seth, I can’t—”

  “I know, Sunshine. You love Vampire Boy standing out there in the hallway.” He squeezed her hand. “Or I guess I should say, my new jackass brother? Either way, he’s okay. But I’m always here, just so you know… just in case you ever change your mind.”

  She forced a smile and squeezed his hand back with a nod. When she leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on his lips, he closed his eyes and smiled.

  “Stealing kisses sometimes might work, too.” He said, keeping his eyes closed and head leaned back against the headboard.

  “I saw it all. You saving my mother and father. Thank you. You’ll have to tell me more stories sometime.”

  “I will. I promise. There’s a lot more to tell. Plenty of time now that we’re all living amongst each other.”

  “What?” She looked at him in confusion.

  “I’m assuming you haven’t been informed then?”

  She shook her head and waited for him to continue.

  “After it was all over, President Perkins went on air. He’d somehow been a witness to the whole thing. I guess we all overlooked him, or he hid in a closet with a video camera or something like that. He told the whole story. The good and the bad. Humans were arrested for hate crimes. Special divisions within the government were created. It all became a big hoopla over the past couple of days. We have a lot of restored order already.”

  “Did you just say ‘hoopla’?”

  “I’ve been hanging around your brother and Zeke too much lately.”

  She laughed.

  On a serious note, what Seth had told her made feel much better, more peaceful, in many ways.

  Draven and them would be in soon to visit with her. She wanted to get a little more time with him to herself, but she only stared in silence for the most part.

  “Will you be okay? Really?” She finally just asked. She could feel the worry creasing her brows again.

  He nodded. “I’ll be fine. I’m already doing better than I was yesterday, and I’ll do better tomorrow than today.”

  “As long as you’re not lying.”

  That got a hard laugh out of him, which caused him to wince in pain after. She widened her eyes and started to reach forward in alarm. He raised his hands in protest.

  “Really, I’m fine.” And he was smiling. She could tell he meant it. She grinned back.

  When Thomas burst into the room, she spun around almost too fast for her still-healing body thinking there was some kind of emergency. Alyssa, Draven, Cherise, Zeke, and Cam were following closely behind.

  “What? What’s going on?” She started demanding in a worried rush.

  “I was just wondering… Did someone say party?” Thomas asked, holding up bottles of booze in each hand before a wide grin began to spread slow across his cheeks.

  Chapter Twenty Three

  It wasn’t much of a party, although it was nice. Zarah’s spirits had certainly lifted seeing everyone again, and she was feeling much better herself already. But she was tired and had to excuse herself away from the crowd to start back toward the room for rest. At least now she knew she would have plenty of time for playing catch-up—and in Zeke, Ethan, Cherise and her family’s case, getting to know each other. The months ahead were looking promising.

  “Tired out, huh? Tried to warn you that your body is still healing.”

  Zarah took a side glance to Draven before rolling her eyes.

  “Yeah, yeah. You were right this time.” She teased. He laughed and walked into the room with her. She assumed he was done with the night’s events also, though why he wasn’t just going on to his own room she didn’t know.

  After another awkward silence when entering the room, her taking occasional glances at him, he finally let out a sigh.

  “I am somewhat curious… I guess… But I don’t want to press an issue either.”

  “Hmm?” She reached for a drink in her refrigerator and handed it to him.

  “Do you love Seth?”

  She nearly dropped the bottle before it reached him. Then cringed.

  “Yes. Yes, I do. Can you believe that? Someone loving two people in different ways? Not in a brotherly way. I do love him romantically. But… I don’t know, it’s hard to explain, Draven.”

  “No, I think I understand.”

  “I loved you first. I love you.”

  He smiled and reached toward her, caressing his fingers gently across her cheek before leaving a gentle kiss on the tip of her nose.

  “I was also going to ask if you want to reinstate our Bonding Pact? Only if you want though. No pressure. I know the first time wasn’t exactly either of our choice—”

  “Yes.” Zarah quickly interrupted. Maybe too quickly, but she didn’t care. It warmed her too-cold heart to hear him ask. Ever since the Pact had been lost between the both of them, it felt like she’d lost a piece of her and she’d been trying to figure out a way to best approach the subject as well.

  “I want to do it right… Please? Be my Mate for as long as you’ll have me?”

  When Draven asked again, he pulled something out of his pocket, drawing her attention to his hands. Zarah looked down and saw the opal and white gold ring in his hand. It was more than just a simple Pact question. It was more like a serious proposal question. She didn’t have to think long on it again either.

  “Of course.” She said smiling. “Why do you ask such silly questions?” He let out a loud laugh. She leaned forward and kissed him this time, a gentle peck on the lips, but enough to cause his eyes to widen in surprise.

  The world was slowly recovering. They all were. It would take some time. But they would be just fine now.

  Acknowledgements

  It’s been a bumpy road with this series. I’m relieved and sad it’s over. For it being my first, I’m glad for the experience of having my first published trilogy here. And I’m glad for having the hard work to show for—but I’m sad to say I know it’s not my best. I only hope to continue my future of writing and that I can show you all much more.

  Thank you everyone for the support and love.
These characters have been through a lot the last few years. I will miss them greatly. It’s like losing a few friends as I say my goodbyes. I appreciate the patience that you’ve all given me during some down times as well when it was necessary. I love my readers. I look forward to seeing you all again soon.