Эллен Шрайбер - Royal Blood

"Why do you have to move back now?" I asked, staring up into his soft brown eyes. "After all we've been through? When we have finally gotten the Maxwells off yours, mine, and Dullsville's back? This is the thanks you get?"

"That's exactly why it's time for me to return home- according to my parents. By reuniting Valentine with his brother Jagger , I ended our family feud. Now my parents want me to return toRomania so we can be a family again."

"Your life is here now!"

"I know. I've tried to explain. And just as bad, they see no reason to keep the Mansion. So now I really have nowhere to go!"

"You'll stay here and live with me. My parents won't mind."

"I can't do that-then they'll know…"

Alexander had a point. If Alexander slept under the same roof as my parents, there would be no way to hide that he'd be sleeping during the day in a coffin.

"What are we going to do? You can't leave, Alexander. Let me talk to them. Once they see my side-" "I'm not sure they can be convinced. I've tried everything. Yelling, sulking. I am their son. They want me with them. I can respect that. But they are ruining my life."

"And mine! They can't do this, Alexander! I love you!"

I held on to Alexander hard and sobbed uncontrollably. "I understand why they miss you-they love you as much as I do. But why can't they just live here?"

"Because their business is inEurope .And they want us to be around our kind. The reason they sent me here was because it was isolated, and it's now the reason they want me home."

"You aren't isolated anymore. You've gone to dances and dinners and dates. Can't they see how much you've thrived in such a short time?"

"I've tried to explain it to them. I'm not sure they see it, though. They're old school."

"I never realized that my biggest conflict in our relationship wouldn't be me being a mortal and you a vampire, or revenge from some bloodsucking white-haired immortal, but your sweet parents."

Alexander wassilent .

"It's me- "I collapsed in front of a tombstone. "If I were like Luna, from a vampire family, then they'd approve of me."

"They adore you."

"But I'm not a vampire.Romania is half a world away. I can't live a second without you-much less an eternity!"

"Iknow, me neither."

"Then tell them you won't go!" ' "I have."

"And what did they say?"

"That my home is inRomania ."

"I'm going to talk to them," I said vehemently, rising from the ground. "Let's go now. When they see how much my life will be destroyed without you, they might change their mind."

But Alexander didn't move. Instead he pulled me to him and held me close as I continued to sob.

"I didn't see this coming," Alexander confessed. "I knew when they were arriving here that they'd cramp our style, but never to this degree."

Then my despair turned to anger. "Why didn't you trust me with this news? I don't understand why you didn't tell me right away, I had to read about it in the paper."

"I didn't want you to hear about it at all."

And then I faced him head-on, exposing the saddest part of my soul to him. "You want to leave, don't you?"

Alexander grasped my shoulders. "Don't ever say that-not for a minute-don't you ever think that. My home is here, with you.Now and forever."

I fell into him and we held each other, "This is why you were keeping your parents away from me?"

"I needed time."

"I can't even bear the thought," I began. "This isn't possible! Well never see each other again. I'm not letting you go! You should have told me."

I knew Alexander's parents had missed him. Their only son, several time zones away.Left alone to be attended by a single butler. This wasn't what they wanted for him. He was supposed to be hiding from the Maxwells , not falling in love.

"I was trying to figure out a plan."

"I'm all about figuring things out. And in this case, I think I know exactly what to do."

"Yes?"

"A solution to your problems and mine."

"Okay…"

"We're on sacred ground."

"Yes we are."

"I'd be yours forever."

"No- that's not an option." Alexander stepped back.

"It's our only chance," I said, tugging on his shirt. "I would be just like you-and your family. Then they won't worry about you being the only vampire in town."

"It's not time-" "Is there any other time better than this? Is there any better reason? If not now… then when?"

Alexander gazed down at me. His eyes were loving, yet sad. "You don't understand what you are asking me to do."

"I absolutely do. If I become a vampire, we will be bonded forever-together for eternity. If I stay a mortal, I'll never see you again."

Alexander paused. He was as dreamy as the first time I saw him. His hair blew in the breeze. "My home is here," he said, "with you the way it is now."

"You're the one making the decision for me," I challenged. "Maybe I should make it for myself."

"What would you do if it was the other way around?" he suddenly asked me. "And there was some way I could be justlike you-a mortal.Then what?"

Take the vampire out of Alexander? I hesitated. I pondered the thought of changing Alexander. I never realized the strain and burden I was placing upon him to fulfill my dream. What if I changed him and he didn't like being a mortal? What if it changed his personality? What if he was bitter and unhappy and, most of all, blamed me?

I never thought of it that way.

"Do you only like me because I'm a vampire?" he asked.

"Of course not.I'd like you if you were a troll. But it is who you are. I wouldn't want to change you."

"And that is how I see you." He cupped my face in his hands. "I love you just the way you are."

"So you wouldn't like me if I were a vampire?"

"Of course I'd love you, but… what if you didn't like being a vampire?" Alexander asked.

"But I'd love it! I've always dreamed of being like you."

"You'd never be able to tell your family about your new identity. And if you did, do you think they'd be happy? Their daughter is a bloodsucking vampire? It might be fun in theory until you have to leave town because you are being persecuted, like my grandparents. You think you are an outsider now, but what do you think you will become as a member of the Underworld?"

I really hadn't thought of all the details, just the highlights.

"So when you say, 'Just bite me,' it is always much more complicated than that. I'd be making a decision for you- for the rest of your life. And it's not an easy decision to make."

Alexander was always looking out for me. Not just presently, but forever.

"You can't leave Dullsville. Promise me you won't!" I said.

"I promise-to the best of my ability. I'm trying to figure out a solution, every minute of every day."

He squeezed my shoulders.

"Besides," he continued, "I can't leave you here alone with Trevor Mitchell."

I thought of the Mansion, of all the time I'd spent in Alexander's coffin, the nights watching him paint or walking through the corridors by candlelight.

"My heart is breaking," I said.

"Mine is, too. It's something I never thought was a possibility. I thought the Mansion would remain our family's forever. And I'd remain in it."

"Now you'll live inRomania ?" I asked. "I'll have to come with you. It's the only way I'll survive."

"We can't be so grim yet," he said softly, touching my cheek. "At this point there have been no offers on the house. There's still time to figure out a plan."

21

NEWS TRAVELS FAST

When I arrived home, my parents were on the edge of their couches waiting up for me. I was racked with pain and torment.

"So, what did Alexander have to say?" my mom asked. "Are they staying in town?"

I shook my head.

"You must be devastated."