We watched the horizon. The sun crested in the east, and for the first time in seven hundred years, Andre felt its rays on his skin.
He sucked in a ragged breath, and I saw a tear slip down his face. He closed his eyes as he drank the sensation in, and then he was laughing, his whole body shaking from it. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from him. I’d thought he’d been beautiful before, but under the glow of the sun, he was magnificent.
He picked me up by the waist and twirled me around him. I cupped his face, drinking him in. The sun didn’t incinerate his skin, no vines rose to claim me. Our hearts beat together.
“You did it soulmate—you saved us all,” he said. “My God, we’re finally free.”
Chapter 33
Gabrielle
Two weeks later
In the end, I had led to the extermination of vampires, just like the prophecy said I would. The curse of vampiricism now lifted, there were no more vampires. Just a bunch of scary-ass mortals.
Unlike the devil, God gave words and intentions the benefit of the doubt. My plea to save us all hadn’t even been fully written, and I hadn’t clarified who, exactly, I’d been referring to. But God had divined my intentions nonetheless and she’d expanded it to include everyone throughout the ages who’d been duped by the devil. God hadn’t just saved our souls, she’d saved our lives.
I set down the brush I’d been running through my hair and stared at my reflection in Andre’s bathroom mirror. My skin glowed softly from the song I hummed underneath my breath.
We might be mortal, but neither Andre nor I were human. I was still a siren, and I could definitely still beguile Andre with my voice—not that he fought it too much. Our bond had reestablished itself, a feature distinct to supernaturals. But most of all, we retained some of our power.
We’d kept the heightened senses that came with vampiricism—including night vision—and we still both had extraordinary strength and speed. Even more extraordinary was that both of us could still call on small amounts of magic, and I maintained the ability to sense it. It was a mere echo of what we once wielded, but it came with no strings attached.
There was no longer a name or classification for us. We now fell outside the categories given to supernaturals. It made me wonder if other beings had come into existence as solutions to past battles between good and evil. I guess I would find out once I had children of my own whether they’d inherit these same abilities.
My gaze moved to the packet of birth control pills sitting on the bathroom counter. Speaking of children, I had to have the vastly uncomfortable conversation with Andre about contraception, a conversation that he, unlike me, didn’t find awkward in the least. He did, however, enjoy watching my face flush with embarrassment.
Behind my reflection, I caught sight of a broad, muscled chest just as a hand snaked around my waist. Andre leaned in from behind me, pressing a kiss to my cheek, then nipping my ear playfully. “What has my soulmate flustered?”
I swiveled around in his arms to face him. “Sneaking up on people is not nice.”
He nuzzled my neck, breathing my scent in. “Mmmm, it’s not, and you are flustered.” The hand around my waist stroked my skin languidly. “Are you still thinking about last night, as I am?”
See? No qualms.
My face heated, and Andre flashed me a wicked smile. His eyes strayed briefly to the packet of pills, and the smile vanished.
And that was the other thing. Now that kids were back on the table for him, I was pretty sure Andre wanted them. Eep. No—please and thank you. I wouldn’t be crossing that bridge for a long time.
A long, long, long time.
“Soooooooooouuuuuulmate!” Oliver screeched from the hallway.
Andre flared his nostrils. “Why is he calling you that?”
“Because you do, and he loves nothing more than irritating the wrong people.”
We met the fairy out in the hall. On his heels was Leanne.
“Has anyone told you that your bed sucks?” he said by way of greeting. “I bet you’ve laid on stone slabs softer than that thing.”
I narrowed my eyes at Oliver. He’d unofficially taken over my dorm room, much to his former roommate’s delight and much to Leanne’s horror. Andre’d balked at the idea of me returning to the dorm rooms now that I was enrolled at Peel Academy once more. A day after Jericho delivered his message, I found my packed belongings sitting at the foot of Andre’s massive bed.
“Are we going to discuss this?” I’d asked him.
“I’ve left you with the enemy for far too long. I’m not making that mistake again.”
I’d all but rolled my eyes at that, but I didn’t fight him too doggedly on this issue. After moving heaven and hell for him, I wasn’t all that eager to leave his side.