Elias heard the footsteps stop behind the headstone and braced himself for the sting of her stake entering his chest—but it never came.
“Right,” said a brisk male voice that hinted at the south. “Come with me.”
Elias gained his feet and spun, ready to attack, finding a vampire roughly his age watching him with an air of confident curiosity. “Who the hell are you?”
The man put out his hand. “I’m Jonas Cantrell. Here to save you from your self-pity.”
“Fuck. Off.”
Jonas’s composure stayed intact, but he let his hand fall away. “How have you been feeding?” He scanned him with a critical eye, probably seeing the outline of his ribcage, the dirt under his fingernails. “Have you been feeding?”
“Only when I can’t hold off any longer,” Elias said after a stubborn silence. “It’s not natural. We are not natural.”
“No, but that doesn’t mean we can allow ourselves to lack purpose.”
“I have a purpose. I’m waiting here for her.”
Jonas raised an eyebrow. “A woman?”
“A slayer.” Elias dropped back to the ground, taking his post against the headstone. “I owe her a debt and I’m waiting for her to collect it.”
“Interesting.” Jonas blurred into a crouch at his side. “And then what?”
“What do you mean ‘and then what’?”
Jonas shrugged. “She won’t have long to enjoy her revenge.”
Something hot and dangerous roiled through Elias, the muscles bunching at the base of his neck. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means the lifespan of a slayer is woefully short. They can train all they want, they’re seldom a match for inhuman speed and reflexes.”
“She’s smarter than most,” Elias said through his teeth.
“The fact remains.” The other vampire almost sounded bored now. “She’ll probably only have a year tops to enjoy the retribution you offer her.”
Denial lodged in his throat. “I don’t like you.”
Jonas laughed and the graveyard fell silent for long moments. “I’ve watched you fight these last three nights. I need someone like you to have my back.”
“Again, I say, fuck off.”
His mouth twitched. “I’m the good guy.”
Elias snorted. “There are no good vampires.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” Jonas’s voice swelled with sincerity. “If we have to drag our lifeless bodies around eternally, I’m going to validate us. You can help me.” He paused. “More than that, you can help her. The slayer.”
Elias’s head whipped around. “How?”
“Like I said, she won’t live long. But you could protect her.” His gaze cut toward the ground. “Once upon a time, there was someone I would have guarded from the shadows eternally, if I’d been given the chance. Take it now. Live knowing you’ll help her do the same.”
“She hates me. Rightly so.”
Jonas stood and extended his hand again. “Who says she has to know?”
This time, Elias reached back.
Six months later
Elias sat perched on the roof of the building like a stone gargoyle, his fingers biting into the brick so hard they eventually drilled through.
There she was below.
Roksana.
Swaggering through the dark alley, wearing her invincibility like a cloak.
More beautiful than anything on earth, as always.
To say the sight of her was welcome would be a heinous understatement. She was a sparrow arriving on the bow of a boat to alert weary sailors that land was near. That grace and freedom and home was close by. Elias took a moment to absorb the sight of her into his bones, and another, longer one to remind himself he couldn’t let his presence be known. No matter how badly he wanted to drop down in front of her from ten stories above, fall to his knees and beg forgiveness, his presence was supposed to remain a secret.
Elias never intervened in her fights. He simply hung back.
After all, he’d watched proudly from the shadows as she’d kicked the shit out of dozens of vampires, slinging catchphrases and stakes like nobody’s business. He’d ached afterward watching her limp off alone, her demeanor one of deep dissatisfaction. It was those times he almost gave in and offered himself up. Her ultimate revenge. But he always managed to pull back, reminding himself that his protection could be more valuable someday.
As if the universe read his mind, Elias watched a vampire stalk Roksana in the shadows.
Any second now, she would turn and roundhouse him in the jaw. Turn him to dust.
But time ticked by and still she seemed distracted.
Lost in thought.
“Come on,” Elias hissed, prowling to the opposite corner of the roof and back, his eyes never leaving her. “Turn around, havoc wreaker. Turn around.”
She didn’t.
The vampire broke into a sprint and with panic slicing him in two, Elias didn’t hesitate. He dropped from the building, landing between Roksana and her predator, asphalt rippling out around him in a wave. “She’s off limits,” Elias seethed at her would-be attacker, his fingers loosening at his sides. “Run. And that offer is only good for the next five seconds.”
Based on the vampire’s expression, he recognized Elias immediately.