Jessica Sorensen: Darkness Fades

“Do you mean that?” he asks, stretching his legs.

I nod. “Of course I do.” I cup his cheek and force him to look at me, the daylight reflecting in his eyes. The perfect creation right before me, which makes me feel small, but at the same time, protected. “I know you don’t want to hear it, but I don’t want you to go out there and fight. I want you to stay here with me.”

He looks away from me, out at the desert land again. It’s so quiet, mainly because many of the vampires have been cured around here already. This colony has sort of turned into a sanctuary.

“Good,” he finally says quietly without looking at me. “Because I want to be cured by you. Right now.”

“Wait? You’re not going to put a fight up about this?” I sort of thought he would if I ever got the courage to ask him. I thought he’d tell me no because, honestly, if I had a choice in the matter, I probably would have.

He shakes his head and then looks at me, his eyes as black as singed wood. “I was going to, but then I started thinking… about you… and how much happier you look right now.” He touches his finger to the side of my eyes. “How beautiful these look even though you’re scared.” He traces a line from my eyes to my lips. “And how I just want us to live a normal life together, like we would have done if the world hadn’t changed.” He pauses as he thinks back, smiling to himself. “I just want to be with you.”

I swallow hard at his emotional words. I’ve actually been really emotional since I turned human and I both love it and hate it, but I’m hoping that once I get used to it, it’ll be easier.

I nervously hold my arm out. “Then be with me.”

He smiles softly, his eyes darkening as he takes my arm in his hand. “Are you sure that’s what you want?” he asks, arching his brow. “For me to be with you.”

I hesitate and then nod, telling the truth and arrogance rises on his face. It doesn’t piss me off though and I’m starting to accept that Sylas’s cockiness is something that pulls me to him.

Abruptly his fangs slip out, making me jump. His smile broadens at my tension and then he starts to lower his mouth to my arm, keeping his dark eyes on me the entire time. He places a delicate kiss on my forearm, breathing in my scent one last time before the tips of his teeth graze my skin. He pauses, taking a ravenous inhale, and then plunges his fangs deep into my skin.

Lightheadedness overpowers me as he savors my blood, his neck muscles tightening as he drinks. His eyes flutter shut and, for a second, I wonder if he’ll drink all of me, if he’ll lose control.

Moments later, however, his teeth leave my arm and then he falls to the ground, screaming and twisting, his face contorted in pain. It hurts too much to watch and I have to look away at the sunlight to try to block it out, balling my hands into fists. I hold my breath until it grows quiet—until I know for sure that his pain has stopped—then I look back at him.

He’s lying motionless beside me in the sand, his arms and legs limp with my blood staining his lips.

I kneel beside him and examine him over. “Sylas, can you hear me?”

His eyelids gradually lift open to show eyes that are no longer black, they’re bright blue. The sunlight reflects in them, making them look beautiful.

“Did it work?” he asks dazedly.

I nod, smiling, overwhelmed with relief and happiness as I lean down and press my lips to his. We kiss until the sun is fully up then we finally break apart and sit side by side, holding hands, watching the land, feeling the wind and breathing in the air as both of our hearts beat freely.

The land looks different, more alive, cacti growing in the sand, lizards and snakes scurrying back and forth. Even the sky looks clearer, the sun brighter and warmer. Maybe it’s just me looking at things differently. Because for once I have hope. A hope for tomorrow. A hope for humanity.

A hope for a future.