“Can we get out of this cave now?” Cole asks wearily.
I nod at him. He looks worn out and I don’t blame him. It’s been a trying day all around and he needs to feed. I turn to CK and ask, “Can you get them out of here? There’s somewhere I need to go.”
He looks suspicious but agrees. “I can get out of here, but can you?”
“Yes, I can. Don’t worry about me. Just please get Cole back to the hotel and get him something to drink.” I pull Cole to me in a tight hug and he grabs me back in a death grip.
He pulls away slightly to kiss me sweetly. “Where are you going? Do you want me to come with?”
“No, I’m fine. I need to go on my own. Go with CK and Devon. I’ll see you shortly,” I say.
He agrees reluctantly. Devon pulls me to him then and we repeat the process. Bless my boys, I think gratefully.
“If you aren’t back in twenty minutes I will come and find you,” CK threatens me and I smile.
“Just go. I will be fine.”
He takes Devon and Cole by the arms and blinks out of the cave. Left alone, I put my now shaking hand to my stomach. I feel weak and my head is spinning. I need to feed as well and soon, but first I have to go to him. Concentrating on where I want to be, I close my eyes and Astral out in a swirl of black.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
F eeling the wet chill of the rain on my arms, I open my eyes again. My heart lurches and I sob when I see his gravestone. “Fraser Hamish Campbell. Beloved husband to Emily Campbell. 1720 – 1746. Ne Obliviscaris.”
Dropping to my knees on the wet grass, I crawl over to the headstone and place my hand on the cold, wet stone, tracing each letter out over and over again.
“Thought I would find you here,” CK’s voice says from behind me some time, presumably twenty minutes, later.
Not startled, as I knew he was there, I ignore him and carry on with my tracing.
He crouches next to me. “We should get back, my love. It’s muddy and wet. What is it with this place and rain?” he asks rhetorically.
“You go. I’m staying,” I say absently.
“I’m not leaving you here,” he says resolutely and sits down next to me.
I shrug and carry on with my obsessive tracing.
After a few minutes, he murmurs, “Your true love? Can’t say that didn’t hurt.”
Placing my hand flat on the stone, I stop my task and look at him then. He looks almost sad. Even though my heart is breaking over Fraser, I take his hand in mine and lean into him. He puts his arm around me, and we sit again in silence for a few minutes.
I break the silence when I say, “He was my true love. I won’t deny that.”
“I’m not asking you to,” he says petulantly, and I snort unattractively. Petulance on him is most amusing, even considering the somber mood. Relaxing slightly, I feel the need to comfort him. “Don’t pout, my sire. You know you will always be my first and my last, forever.”
His smug, arrogant look returns at my words, but then he frowns. “Don’t do that,” he scolds.
“Do what?”
“Don’t feel you have to protect me or comfort me. I told you before, it’s not your job,” he says.
“But I will do it anyway,” I say softly.
He sighs. “Are you ready to go? You need to feed after everything you’ve been through today.”
“A few more minutes, please.”
He nods.