Epilogue
Ava
Peter and I hash out the rest of my transformation details in the midst of making out. He says he loves me a billion more times. I want him to say it a billion more.
“I love you,” he says. He tries saying it with different emphasis on each word. He says it soft and slow and fast and loud until we're rolling on the bed and laughing.
“I am never going to tire of saying it.”
“Helena must have gotten to Di.”
“She must have.”
“We're going to be together,” I say, my face cracking open with a smile.
“We are.”
“Soon.”
“Very soon,” he says, his hand sliding down my arm to my hip. “I can make love to you. I can marry you. I can try to be everything you deserve.”
“You are more than I deserve.”
“Not possible.” His lips claim mine for a fiery kiss.
Peter
We stay up the rest of the night, kissing and talking.
“You should call Viktor to see if his bind is gone. I don't know how we'll tell, but we need to know if it's just you.”
“Tomorrow,” I say. I just want tonight to belong to us. Just us.
“Okay,” she says, touching my bare chest. “And tomorrow, I'll tell Dad that I'm spending my weekend with Tex. Aj will be here to take care of Dad. I'll have to call Jamie and tell him. There is no way I'm letting him find out after. I owe him, big time. And I have a few things I need to do first.” She grabs her notebook from the side of her bed and flips it open.
“Number one: I need to have one more piece of Miller's pie. Number Two: I want to take one more nap. The last sleep, if you will. Number three: I want to run until I can't breathe so I can remember the feeling —” She goes on to list four more things. All human things she wants to do before becoming immortal.
“And one more. I want you to take me flying, and I don't want there to be anything between us. I want the last thing my human skin feels to be your skin.” Her green eyes meet mine, and our desire explodes, and I capture her lips.
“Yes, my Ava. I will take you flying.” I am not afraid of hurting her anymore. I am not afraid of anything.
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“I love you,” she says.
“I. Love. You,” I say, punctuating every word with a kiss. “It’s time for our dawn, Ava-Claire.”
Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of The Noctalis Chronicles, Neverend, which will be out in 2013. Here's a little taste:
Ava
“It’s a good night to die, I guess,” I say. The moon was bright outside when we’d arrived at the little stone church Peter had taken me to before Mom died. I’d chosen it as the place for my immortal transformation.
“I wish it hadn’t come to this. I would not have chosen this for you,” Peter said, holding my face like he was holding the most precious thing in the world.
“I know. But after Mom… I just need to have something that lasts. I need to know that something can last forever. I want that to be us.”
The room was dark, due to the fact that Peter had boarded up every possible light source. During my transformation, light would be fatal to me. Go figure.
I rolled over on the mattress he’d probably stolen, but told me he’d bought.
“I want the last thing to touch me as a human to be you.”
“I know.”
“So…”
In answer he started kissing me…