Bitten – Episode 36

 

Chapter 36

 

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Without warning, my arm was chicken-winged, causing me to cry out in pain. Joel held me tightly, keeping it almost impossible for me to struggle without inflicting pain on myself. “Joel! What are you doing? Let me go!”

 

“No can do, Em,” he responded, shaking his blonde hair out of his face. “You’re going to make me rich.”

 

“Surprise,” Ashton said, finally stepping out from the shadows. “You wanted to know who my little secret agent was, right? I do believe Joel suggested it was one of the kitchen help to the queen and king.”

 

Joel nodded. “I did. And they believed it.”

 

My jaw dropped. “But it wasn’t… it was you all along. That’s how Ashton found out I was in the castle. That’s how he found out I was a Blue Blood. That’s how he knew I was in a relationship with Vincent!”

 

“Bingo!” Joel replied happily.

 

Betrayal coursed through my veins. “I… I thought you were my friend,” I whispered, wishing I could see his face.

 

“I can still be your friend if you forgive me for this. We’ll be seeing a lot of each other in the future, you know. Me, you, Luca, and Ashton. We’ll be four best friends!”

 

“No way!” I cried in disbelief. “You think I’ll be friends with you after this? Joel, you’re Vincent’s best friend! He trusted you!”

 

I felt Joel shrug. “You trusted me too, didn’t you?”

 

“But it’s different with your best friend!”

 

“I was never his best friend, I only played the part,” Joel snapped angrily. “Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t need such things as friends in this world.”

 

My mind was having trouble processing the situation. Joel? Joel was on Ashton’s side? Happy-go-lucky Joel? Unfortunately it all made too much sense. He was the reason Ashton knew everything about me. How could we not have known? The time at the carnival should have made it obvious! I wanted to slap myself! Joel left me alone when he knew Ashton was after me! How could no one have realized he wasn’t on our side?

 

I shook my head. “What about that night you were attacked, Joel?”

 

“Luca and I got in a fight,” he explained casually. “It got a little bit out of control. Lucky I had you to go back home to.”

 

“Speaking of Luca, where is that brat?” Ashton questioned, crossing his slender arms over his chest. “Sebastian will be here soon.”

 

My breath caught in my throat. What did Ashton want with Sebastian? Was he going to try to bargain me with Sebastian’s crown? I couldn’t believe it. We had everything all wrong. Ashton wasn’t going to go after Vincent because he was in a relationship with me. Of course not! What good would come out of that? Ashton would go after someone who cared about me and held something of interest to him!

 

“Ashton, if I go with you, can we just leave now?”

 

He shook his head. “No. You were easy to capture. I knew it’d be quite simple all along. I only said you had a chance to escape to throw you off if you decided to choose between the two of you. However, my master plan was to get everything I wanted. That’s including you and the throne. Hopefully Sebastian will give it up easily. I don’t think he wants anyone getting hurt.”

 

I swallowed. “Who’s anyone?”

 

“You, Vincent, Solomon, Luella, Fiona… Anyone, really. Whoever we can get our hands on. Elijah and Ace— you don’t know them, but they’re part of my crew— are keeping an eye on the ladies. I’m not worried about Solomon; Joel’s informed me he’s guarding the entrance in case I decide to come in that way. So when Sebastian gets here, it’ll be just you and him against Joel, Luca, and myself. I can almost guarantee things will go my way.”

 

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I kept quiet, seeing two flaws in his plan. One, he forgot to mention Vincent. Who was watching over him? Two, Sebastian could easily lie and say he’d renounce the throne and get away with it. There was no assurance that Ashton would gain the crown. Sebastian could easily tell the counsel, or whatever, that he was forced to lie.

 

A rustle of clothing announced the presence of a new vampire. Luca. He grinned evilly at me. “Well hello there, Emily.”

 

“Luca.”

 

“You don’t look pleased to see me.”

 

“There’s just something about your ugly face I can’t stand,” I shot at him.

 

He scowled. “Watch your mouth.”

 

Ashton stifled at a laugh, placing a hand over his mouth. Luca changed his glare to him. “Sorry,” he apologized, clearing his throat. “It’s just weird seeing someone say something like that to you. Usually the insulting person would be afraid of having his neck snapped.”

 

“She should be,” Luca growled.

 

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You won’t kill me. You need my blood.”

 

 

Ashton nodded. “We might as well make use of what we can, right? After that, you’re useless.”

 

“What do you mean what you can?”

 

His eyes twinkled in amusement. “Ah, could it be you don’t know?”

 

“Don’t know what?” I demanded, the tightness in my stomach returning. It was becoming hard to swallow. Was he about to mention what Sebastian was going to tell me? “Does my blood return to normal eventually or something?”

 

He nodded. “Something.”

 

I furrowed my eyebrows. “Something what?”

 

“Stop asking questions,” Luca snapped.

 

“Shut up.”

 

“You little—”

 

“Children,” Ashton interjected, throwing Luca a dirty look. “Can you please not argue?”

 

Joel chuckled, his laugh reverberating through his chest. “I like a girl who can stand up to Luca.”

 

A bit of hurt washed over me at his words. Why was he talking like I was a stranger? I was the same Emily! He was the one who was different! He was the backstabber her who’d betrayed everyone’s trust!

 

My ears perked as I faintly heard someone calling my name. Ashton smiled broadly, coming closer to me. “Ah, it seems that your knight in shining armor has arrived.”

 

“Oh no,” I breathed.

 

“Oh yes,” Joel chirped. “This is my favorite part! I love seeing people’s faces when they realize they’ve been stabbed in the back!”

 

 

I shook my head. I didn’t want to hear that coming out of Joel’s mouth. It was hard enough trying to accept the fact he’d double-cross the Rutherfords and myself.

 

“Emily!”

 

My heart skipped a beat. “Sebastian! Go away!” I shouted as loudly as I could. “Don’t come over here! Go get help!”

 

“That’s not right,” Ashton said, frowning at me. He easily cut off my shouting by cover my mouth with his hand.

 

My cries were muffled as I continued to try and warn Sebastian. It didn’t work. A few second later he appeared in front of me, his eyes wide. “Joel?”

 

“Hey,” Joel greeted him.

 

He continued to stare at him, not understanding the situation. “What are you doing with Emily?”

 

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Ashton waved his free hand, catching his eye. “I do believe he’s helping me out, Mr. Rutherford.”

 

Fury flared in Sebastian’s eyes. “Joel?” he repeated, this time in a threatening tone.

 

“Does this mean we’re not friends anymore?” Joel questioned, artificial sadness in his tone. “How upsetting.”

 

Sebastian clenched his fists. “You’re a true blackguard.”

 

Joel laughed. “Blackguard? I didn’t realize just how old you were, Sebby.”

 

“Shut up,” he snapped at him. “Let Emily go.”

 

“No can do,” Ashton answered for him, still holding his hand against my mouth. “You know what I want, Sebastian.”

 

Sebastian’s body tensed. “I won’t give you the throne.”

 

“I know you won’t,” Ashton responded calmly. After a brief second of silence, he removed his hand from my mouth and started walking toward Sebastian. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot…”

 

“Sebastian, run away,” I ordered, struggling to liberate myself from Joel. “Get Vincent or someone!”

 

“No, Emily, I won’t leave you alone,” Sebastian told me, glancing around him. His eyes landed on Luca and he frowned deeper, apparently realizing it would be two on one if anything happened.

 

Ashton sighed deeply. “How romantic. You know, if it wasn’t for Joel, I would’ve assumed it was you two in love, not Emily and Vincent.”

 

I glowered at him. “Shut up, Ashton.”

 

“Let Emily go,” Sebastian demanded coldly. “I won’t do any negotiating if you have her like that.”

 

“I’m not here to negotiate,” Ashton said, glancing at me. “But I guess it wouldn’t matter if we let her go. Just don’t try to run, Em. We don’t want you accidentally breaking a leg…”

 

Joel released me at once and I jolted away from him, turning to give him the best glare I could. He grinned at me. “That’s the kind of expression I like most.”

 

“You’re unbelievable.”

 

“I know.”

 

Ashton clapped his hands, gaining my attention. “Okay, so let’s talk. I’ve been thinking about ways to get you to give me the throne. Every way I thought of had some kind of flaw to it, unfortunately. For example, you could just lie to me, or trick me. That wouldn’t work out in my favor.”

 

 

Sebastian stayed silent. I did too, holding my breath tightly. If he’d realized that, why was he still calling Sebastian out here?

 

“That’s when I realized what I had to do,” he continued somberly, a grave expression taking over his face.

 

The bad feeling in my gut returned. It was hard to breathe again. The tension in the air felt so thick you could almost cut it. My heart was hammering in my ears as I waited for Ashton to continue. Somewhere inside me I knew what conclusion he was about to come down.

 

“What’s the best of way of assuring the throne goes to me?” he questioned out loud, tapping his chin. “Oh, that’s right.” He grinned maliciously. “Killing the only person in my way. Luca, now.”

 

“Sebastian!” I screamed as Luca lunged at him.

 

He managed to avoid Luca, twisting around at the last possible second. Luca attacked again, this time using a fist. Once again he managed to avoid the assault, using his fists as defense. It never occurred to me Sebastian would know how to physically fight. However, it was clear who had the upper advantage. While Sebastian seemed stronger, Luca obviously knew how to fight better. The advantage of being a rogue vampire, I assumed.

 

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“Make it quick, Luca. We must leave before anyone else notices,” Ashton called, stepping back to enjoy the fight. “I’m rooting for you!”

 

Unable to just stand watch them brawl, I moved forward, uncapping the holy water. Ashton glanced at me curiously, but made no move to stop my actions. With a shaky hand, I aimed for Luca, ready to douse him with the liquid. It was hard though. He and Sebastian moved so fast they were almost like a blur in my eyes. If I missed, I’d get Sebastian, and put him at an even bigger disadvantage.

 

 

In the blink of an eye Sebastian was on the ground, Luca’s hand around his throat. I took this as my chance. Lashing my hand out, I whipped the holy water at Luca’s back. He howled in pain as the water hit its target. In a flash he was off of Sebastian, holding me by my neck instead. Surprised, I gasped, feeling my airway being cut off.

 

“Bitch,” he spat at me. “Who taught you about the holy water?”

 

“That would be Vivi, kind of,” Joel responded helpfully.

 

Luca tightened his grasp on my throat. “Oh really?”

 

I grappled at his hand, attempting to pry it off me. If he kept it up, my windpipe would be crushed.

 

“Luca, don’t kill her,” Ashton finally spoke up, appearing at my side and removing Luca’s hand. “We need her alive.”

 

“Why does it matter if we kill her now?” he growled. “It wouldn’t make too much of a difference if she’s going to die one day anyway.”

 

“The difference is the time and the blood we can get,” Ashton responded calmly. “Don’t act so rashly.”

 

Sebastian was back on his feet again, staggering slightly. Confused, my eyes raked over his body. Why was he so shaky? From what I could see, he had no injuries anywhere… The struggle between Luca and him had only lasted less than a minute. There was no time for him to gain wounds!

 

“You look confused,” Ashton commented.

 

I turned to him, ready to nod, but found he was watching Sebastian. Furrowing my eyebrows, I turned back to Sebastian too. Surprisingly, he looked baffled as well. He slowly raised a hand to his chest, staring down at it. “What did you do?” he asked, his voice sounding weak.

 

“It’s a little useful thing I like to call poison. Just to slow you down. I don’t have enough time to fight you, or just let the poison kill you off.”

 

“Poison?” I repeated in horror. There were poisons for vampires?

 

As if reading my mind, Ashton nodded at me. “Yes, there are poisons for vampires. They’re a bit more difficult to find than human poisons, but they’re there nonetheless. This one particularly was a hassle to find. Luca did a good job though. Applied it nicely as well.”

 

“Looks like it doesn’t work on human’s though. It should have entered her bloodstream already and she seems stable,” Luca grunted, scrutinizing my face. “That’s too bad.”

 

My hand shot up to the back of my neck, where I was surprised to find a small gash. It was sticky, so I assumed that it’d drawn blood. How could I not have felt it? I should’ve felt something like that!

 

“Joel, grab Emily again,” Ashton ordered.

 

“Yes sir!” he responded, easily bringing me under his control again.

 

“No, let her go,” Sebastian commanded, taking a few unsteady steps toward me. He groaned, squeezing his tux just above where his heart was.

 

I stared at him, completely terrified of the situation. How could he fight back when he was like that? Why hadn’t he run when I’d told him to?

 

Ashton moved in front of me, frowning a tiny bit. His eyes raked over my body. I jumped when I suddenly felt his hands on my sides. He ran them up my body slowly, as if he was searching for something.

 

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“Make it quick, Luca. We must leave before anyone else notices,” Ashton called, stepping back to enjoy the fight. “I’m rooting for you!”

 

Unable to just stand watch them brawl, I moved forward, uncapping the holy water. Ashton glanced at me curiously, but made no move to stop my actions. With a shaky hand, I aimed for Luca, ready to douse him with the

 

 

liquid. It was hard though. He and Sebastian moved so fast they were almost like a blur in my eyes. If I missed, I’d get Sebastian, and put him at an even bigger disadvantage.

 

In the blink of an eye Sebastian was on the ground, Luca’s hand around his throat. I took this as my chance. Lashing my hand out, I whipped the holy water at Luca’s back. He howled in pain as the water hit its target. In a flash he was off of Sebastian, holding me by my neck instead. Surprised, I gasped, feeling my airway being cut off.

 

“Bitch,” he spat at me. “Who taught you about the holy water?”

 

“That would be Vivi, kind of,” Joel responded helpfully.

 

Luca tightened his grasp on my throat. “Oh really?”

 

I grappled at his hand, attempting to pry it off me. If he kept it up, my windpipe would be crushed.

 

“Luca, don’t kill her,” Ashton finally spoke up, appearing at my side and removing Luca’s hand. “We need her alive.”

 

“Why does it matter if we kill her now?” he growled. “It wouldn’t make too much of a difference if she’s going to die one day anyway.”

 

“The difference is the time and the blood we can get,” Ashton responded calmly. “Don’t act so rashly.”

 

Sebastian was back on his feet again, staggering slightly. Confused, my eyes raked over his body. Why was he so shaky? From what I could see, he had no injuries anywhere… The struggle between Luca and him had only lasted less than a minute. There was no time for him to gain wounds!

 

“You look confused,” Ashton commented.

 

I turned to him, ready to nod, but found he was watching Sebastian. Furrowing my eyebrows, I turned back to Sebastian too. Surprisingly, he

 

 

looked baffled as well. He slowly raised a hand to his chest, staring down at it. “What did you do?” he asked, his voice sounding weak.

 

“It’s a little useful thing I like to call poison. Just to slow you down. I don’t have enough time to fight you, or just let the poison kill you off.”

 

“Poison?” I repeated in horror. There were poisons for vampires?

 

As if reading my mind, Ashton nodded at me. “Yes, there are poisons for vampires. They’re a bit more difficult to find than human poisons, but they’re there nonetheless. This one particularly was a hassle to find. Luca did a good job though. Applied it nicely as well.”

 

“Looks like it doesn’t work on human’s though. It should have entered her bloodstream already and she seems stable,” Luca grunted, scrutinizing my face. “That’s too bad.”

 

My hand shot up to the back of my neck, where I was surprised to find a small gash. It was sticky, so I assumed that it’d drawn blood. How could I not have felt it? I should’ve felt something like that!

 

“Joel, grab Emily again,” Ashton ordered.

 

“Yes sir!” he responded, easily bringing me under his control again.

 

“No, let her go,” Sebastian commanded, taking a few unsteady steps toward me. He groaned, squeezing his tux just above where his heart was.

 

I stared at him, completely terrified of the situation. How could he fight back when he was like that? Why hadn’t he run when I’d told him to?

 

Ashton moved in front of me, frowning a tiny bit. His eyes raked over my body. I jumped when I suddenly felt his hands on my sides. He ran them up my body slowly, as if he was searching for something.

 

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“Oh?” he said after a moment, coming to a halt just above where my ribs started. “You’re right Joel.”

 

“Told you.”

 

Without warning, he ripped open the part of my dress that covered the midsection. I gasped, feeling the cold air nip at my newly exposed skin. “What are you doing?” I cried, feeling his cold hands touch my skin.

 

“What do you think?”

 

“Let go of me!”

 

With a lightning realization, I realized what he was looking for at the exact moment he grabbed it.

 

The stake.

 

“Look what I have here, Sebastian,” Ashton started in a jeering manner, holding the stake out in front of him. “Our little Emily brought the perfect weapon.”

 

Horror washed over me. What had I done? Brought the weapon that was going to be used to kill Sebastian? I couldn’t let that happen! “Ashton, stop! Leave him alone!”

 

“Shut up, Emily.”

 

“No! Leave him alone!”

 

“Emily,” Sebastian said in a warning tone. “Be quiet.”

 

I gaped at him. How could he be so collected in a situation like this? Didn’t he know what was going to happen?

 

“Do you have any last words?” Ashton inquired.

 

Sebastian held himself steady, proudly straightening his back. Anyone watching him could tell how much effort it took for him to do that. “Even if

 

 

you kill me, you won’t become king. No one would follow a despicable person like you.”

 

“We’ll see about that,” Ashton responded dryly. “The sad thing about this situation is I can’t be the one to kill you. I can’t sully my royal hands, you know?” he joked.

 

“Who is then?”

 

Ashton turned his head, looking directly at me. “She is.”

 

“I am not,” I responded at once. “No! Sebastian isn’t dying! Solomon or Vincent will arrive any second and stop you—”

 

“It’s either you kill him, or Luca and Joel will go kill all your little human friends.”

 

Caught off guard, I didn’t respond immediately. How dirty could he get? “I won’t kill Sebastian,” I stated firmly.

 

“Emily.”

 

“No Sebastian! You finally managed to say what you wanted about everything! You’re not wasting it!”

 

Luca scuffed his foot on the ground. “We’re running out of time. As soon as all the guests are gone Solomon will come looking.”

 

Ashton held out the stake to me. “Go ahead, Emily.”

 

Joel let me go. I hesitated, staring at the sharp, wooden weapon. Thinking fast, I gripped the holy water in my hand. There was still a little bit left… I reached my hand out like I was going to reach the stake, doing my best to stay expressionless. Ashton moved closer so I could grab it more easily.

 

Closing my eyes, I whipped the rest of the holy water at him. He shouted in pain, informing me my target was made. Clenching the stake in my hand, I shot toward Sebastian, ready to grab him and run.

 

 

“Sebastian!” I cried, gesturing with my free hand to turn around and start moving. We were only feet apart now. If I stretched out my hand, I’d be able to grab him and help him.

 

His eyes widened. “Emily—”

 

Before I knew what was happening, my hand was thrust forcefully out toward him. Dumbfounded, I could only watch as my hand was forced to his chest, the wood piercing through his skin with an amazing force. Time froze at that moment. Like a movie in slow motion, our gazes met, both wide and surprised. Then they dropped down to his chest, where the stake was now pushed all the way in. After that they shot to over my shoulder, where Luca was standing, holding my wrist in place so I couldn’t pull the stake away.

 

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Then time sped up again.

 

Sebastian staggered forward, falling on me. Unable to hold him up, I fell to the ground, letting my hand drop from the stake as Luca let go of my wrist. “Sebastian!” I screamed, my hands going to the stake in his chest.

 

“Emily…”

 

“Sebastian, hold on,” I said, yanking at the stake. It took a few tries but I finally managed to pull it out of his body. Blood poured from the wound, causing me to gag. Did vampires have the same amount of blood as humans did?

 

“And you said you wouldn’t kill him,” Ashton said tauntingly.

 

I ignored him, cupping my hands to Sebastian’s face. “Hold on, Sebastian. Hold on.”

 

 

“We’ll give you two a moment alone,” Ashton said, patting my head as he walked by me. “I have to check on Elijah anyway. Luca, Joel, stay close just in case.”

 

“Right,” they replied together.

 

Then there was silence.

 

Except the sounds of Sebastian’s and my heavy breathing.

 

“Sebastian,” I started, ripping a piece his expensive tux off, rolling it into a wad, and placing it over his wound. “Hold on. How do I fix this? How do I fix this, Sebastian? ”

 

He shook his head. “Can’t,” he muttered, sounding like he was in extreme agony. “Once the stake… goes through the heart…”

 

“No! I don’t believe that!” I responded in a panicked tone. It couldn’t true. It was my hand that sent the stake through his heart! There was no way he could die now! Not by my hands! Not when I was trying to keep him alive! “What if you drank my blood, it’d heal you, right?”

 

Once again he shook his head. “It’s too late,” he whispered.

 

“No,” I said stubbornly, my throat constricting. “Sebastian, no. Don’t say that… Not when everything finally fell into place for you…”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

I grabbed his hand with mine. “You’re the next king, Sebastian! Stop acting so weak!”

 

He did his best to grin, but it barely came out. His face was paler than I’d ever seen it. His eyes were half-closed and he was breathing heavily. “Don’t let Ashton become King…”

 

“Drink my blood,” I cried, my eyes scanning the ground frantically for something sharp. “I’ll cut myself and make it easier!”

 

He stared at me sternly. “Emily.”

 

I froze, surprised by the strength in his voice. “W-what?”

 

“It’s fine. Not everyone gets to die happy. These past months have been wonderful…” He paused, taking a deep, studying breath. “Thanks to you I was able to tell Fiona how I felt.”

 

“You need to live for her,” I urged.

 

He laughed weakly. “She doesn’t need me.”

 

“Sebastian! Please!”

 

“I’m welcoming death with open arms,” he told me, closing his eyes. “I never thought I’d be able to say that.”

 

Tears started to burn at my eyes now. This couldn’t be happening. Not Sebastian. Not now. How could he be dying? Two minutes had barely passed! It was impossible! How could time move so fast? Were all deaths like this? It couldn’t be true!

 

“Sebastian, please, please,” I whispered, clenching my hand around the bloody wad against his chests. “Open your eyes.”

 

He did as I requested, his emerald orbs piercing into mine. “Keep that necklace, Emily.”

 

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“You want it back,” I argued. “I’ll give it back.”

 

“Emily. Stop.”

 

“Sebastian—”

 

“I can’t— ugh,” he groaned, arching his back. “The paralysis is starting to take affect… It won’t be long now…”

 

My eyes widened. “No, Sebastian, no! No!”

 

 

He scrunched up his face in sheer agony. “Emily, I have one thing left to tell you,” he breathed, his voice barely a whisper.

 

“What?”

 

“Blue Bloods have a shorter life expectancy than normal humans,” he told me, his eyes smoldering into mine. “You’ll die on your eighteenth birthday.”

 

Once again the whole world froze. My mind couldn’t wrap around his words. What was he talking about? I would die when I turned eighteen? But that was only six months away!

 

“I’m sorry for keeping it a secret,” he apologized feebly. “I’m sorry…”

 

“Don’t talk,” I ordered, pushing my thoughts to the side. I could dwell on that later. Right now I had to stay strong and brave. “I’m going to go get help—”

 

“No,” he said, reaching his hand out and touching my arm gently. “I told you, it’s too late.”

 

I shook my head. “Stop saying that!”

 

“I can’t move my legs,” he confessed, closing his eyes again. “I know it seems kind of lame, but can you tell my family I love them? Especially Vincent. He never seems to believe me.”

 

“Tell them yourself.”

 

He slowly shook his head. “I can’t… I’m sorry.”

 

“No!” I cried, gripping his hand tightly with my free one. “Sebastian! Stay awake!” When he didn’t respond, I started panicking. “No!” I shrieked in absolute terror. ” No! Sebastian! Vincent! Vincent!

 

Help us! ”

 

For once life seemed to be doing things in my favor. Not even five seconds later there was a gentle gust of wind against my face and Vincent appeared

 

 

in front of me, on his knees. “What happened?” he demanded, looking down at Sebastian.

 

Sebastian opened his eyes the tiniest bit. “Vince…?”

 

“He was staked,” I blurted, my hand shaking. “What can we do to save him?”

 

Vincent stayed silent for a few moments, his hands clenching into fists. “There’s nothing we can do.”

 

“Vince, you know what you have to do,” Sebastian started.

 

“I know.”

 

“Protect her. Protect the throne.”

 

Vincent nodded. “I know.”

 

“What do you mean nothing?” I repeated, finally gaining my voice, my heart pounding so hard and fast I thought it was going to explode. “Vincent! There has to be something we can do! Don’t let him die! Please!”

 

“Shut up,” he snapped at me.

 

I stared back at him in surprise. “Vincent…”

 

“Tell Fiona gently,” Sebastian begged, his gaze going to the night sky. Thousands of stars twinkled overhead. I wondered if he thought it looked beautiful. A beautiful night to die. “Tell her I love her.”

 

Vincent nodded. “I will.”

 

“I love you too, Vince.”

 

“I love you too, Sebastian,” Vincent responded, his words sounding more sincere than ever before.

 

Sebastian smiled gently. “I’ve always wanted to hear that from you.”

 

Vincent clenched his fists. “I know.”

 

 

“I…” Sebastian’s hand suddenly went stiff in mine. He glanced at me, his emerald orbs apologetic. “Emily, please dismiss my earlier pleas. Do what you want, not what I want you to. I’m sorry to try and press my ideas on you.”

 

Unable to speak, I nodded, barely being able to make out his face through my tears. It had finally sunk in. Sebastian was going to die. And I was the one who caused it. “I’m sorry!” I blubbered, kneeling over to hug his rigid body. “I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s okay. I don’t blame you at all,” he whispered. “Stay strong, Emily.”

 

“I love you, Sebastian,” I sniffled, squeezing him tightly.

 

“I love you too.”

 

“Hey,” Vincent interjected, trying to sound teasing. “When you can, give us a sign to let us know you made it to the after life okay.”

 

Sebastian let out a weak, breathy chuckle. “Sounds good…”

 

“Goodbye, Sebastian.”

 

“See you guys later.”

 

Vincent snapped his head away from his brother while I froze, becoming fully aware of the lack of motion from the body under me. I couldn’t pull myself away. Instead, I clung to his now lifeless body, doing my best to stifle the sobs that rose up in my throat. Who knew I could become so attached to someone in such a short amount of time? Especially when that someone was a vampire? And yet, I felt closer to Sebastian than I did with any of my best friends. He was my best friend. My brother and best friend. And now he was gone.

 

“Emily,” Vincent started softly, putting a hand on my shoulder. “We have to get inside.”

 

I shook my head. “No.”

 

“Emily.”

 

“No! I won’t leave him!”

 

“Emily, please.”

 

The sound of his voice took me by surprise. Somehow I managed to pull myself away from Sebastian enough to glance at his face. My voice got caught in my throat when I noticed his expression. It was the most vulnerable I’d ever seen him. His eyes were shining and his lips were trembling, pressed together tightly. The sight brought new tears to my eyes. “Vincent…”

 

“We have to go,” he repeated, his hand clenching mine tightly. “We have to…” His voice cracked and he paused, letting out a shaky breath.

 

I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Vincent! Not Sebastian! Why him?”

 

“Not now,” Vincent said, easily lifting me up to my arms. They tightened around me. “We have to wait to grieve. For now, we must gain revenge against those bastards. I will slaughter them.”

 

“Revenge…” The word tasted weird in my mouth. But at the moment, I loved it. From that moment on, my goal became to kill Ashton. Even if it made me killer… It was worth it for Sebastian.

 

___________________________________________

 

It killed me to kill Sebastian. I really did love him ): From here on out it’ll get better though.. kind of!