“Please sit down a moment and catch your breath. You are good to no one in this state,” Nira coaxed me, her hand rubbing the back of my arm as she led me out of the crowd and to one of the white leather couches where she sat down beside me.
She took my hand in hers and squeezed it tightly. So tightly, in fact, that it bordered on uncomfortable, but I sank into the connection, gave myself over to it. Her eyes grew wide a moment before she looked down at my fingers sticking out from hers.
“Your magic is so strong,” she said to my hand and hers. “I can feel the heat of it. You poor thing. I don’t know how you are holding it together as well as you are. All you are dealing with, and this too, a magic you don’t fully understand, can’t control, which yet rages inside of you to get out. I’m sorry for it all. We really want to help. To do the best we can for you. A vampire just knows a person. It’s a gift we have, an empathic ability, if you will, that comes from being reborn. You are a good woman with a kind heart. It has been damaged so much by this world, and yet you have found a way to go on.”
I could do nothing but nod at her with my wide eyes damp with tears and mouth hanging open. I did manage to grip her hand, to wrap my fingers around hers, and give my own frail, shaky squeeze of thanks back to hers.
“This world has taken so much away from you. This I know from what I was told. You gained a wolf protector because of blood, but with the loss of both of your parents, you truly needed him. And, you are a creative soul, too, I heard. You found solace in fantasy worlds you could create. I can’t imagine what it is like to find out that those fantasies, those imaginings, were not so far off. Yet still, you have to process the differences while learning about yourself and running for your life,” Nira continued as, beyond her, I could see the other vampires move in closer.
“All of my own rambling is to say,” Nira continued, “that we understand and we don’t blame you. We want to help. We do.”
The rest of the vampires followed suit, all sitting down, either taking a spot on one of the multiple couches or chairs, or plopping onto the floor. They all had the same gracefulness as Nira. I figured it had something to do with their speed. Who could afford to be clumsy when you traveled faster than any car I’d ever been in?
Once the seats and floor spots were taken, given the size of the crowd, the remaining vampires filled in, sitting on the arms of chairs or leaning forward onto the back of couches. The coziness of the group wasn’t lost on me. I was fuzzy on their ability to glamour or not, but I felt the genuine concern in the room, and it brought me some comfort.
I sat in the silence of it all, in the comfort born of proximity and understanding, though they knew a lot more than me. I needed to make myself not only trust them, but go with what they knew was best. No matter how hard it was for me, I did need to let them all save Lex, do what was best for him, and let go of my own whims born of love and fear.
“We will help you,” Nira said, not only interrupting, but countering my self-lecturing. “We know the Royals plans, what their teams of wolves are doing, and we can get you to where they are grouping. We are in contact with them, so I will let them know how you feel, plead your case for you. I don’t know what will happen after that. I can’t make any promises. Regardless of the outcome, we will get you to the Royals after all is said and done.”
“Thank you. I don’t know what to say other than that I’m so sorry for my outburst. You must think me horrible to repay all your kindness with such a rant, even if you do understand it. It was still wrong of me. You are all so generous. I wish the world knew.”
“It’s better they don’t. Trust us. Not all react to us as you have, with acceptance. Fear is a powerful motivator, and then coupled with stubbornness and prejudice, no thanks to all of those movies, though we do enjoy them, as well, it can get messy. So, there is nothing to apologize for,” a woman in jeans and a leather jacket spoke up. “No one needs to apologize for what they do in the name of love. Your outburst, as you called it, was merely an expression of how deep and true your love is for Lex.”
“Absolutely,” a guy in khakis and a button down shirt chimed in. “Plus, Lex can feel you, so he can feel all you just expressed, and wherever he is, no matter in what state, it will go a long way to know how much you love him. Most of us can only long for a woman to love us as fiercely as you do Lex.”