We’d just found one another, and he was about to be torn away? Sent to an afterlife while I was left here on earth? I’d just realized I cared for him, and now we were going to be forced apart?
I moved into the Oracle’s line of sight. “Why did this happen?”
“Because of you, my dear. You’re his mate, decreed by fate. But he is a turned vampire, immortal and everlasting. Until he found you, at least. Until he bit you.”
“How do we fix it?” I demanded, anxiety screaming within me.
“That’s the cursed part of this entire situation, I’m afraid. You are the one who started the transition for him, and you will be the one to end it.”
“No,” Grey snapped, shocking me.
I stared at him. “Of course I’ll help end it.”
“You can’t, Carrow.” The expression in his eyes gentled as he looked at me. “You know what must be done to stop this. You’ve seen it.”
The dream flashed through my mind.
He’d drink me to death.
“That’s it,” he said, clearly seeing that I understood. He turned to the Oracle. “The only way to stop this is for me to drain her, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Her blood heals you. All of her blood will return your immortality.”
Fear scrabbled inside me like an animal in a cage. I desperately reached for sol
utions. “What if he just drinks a little, but more often? Daily or weekly? Would that work?”
11
Grey
My heartbeat thundered in my head as I stared at Carrow.
She was willing to let me drink from her at regular intervals to keep my miserable life. The beast inside me roared, wanting to claw its way to the surface.
Survive.
I swallowed hard, clenching my fists. If we tried that, the beast would win. I could still taste her blood on my tongue. Still feel the warmth of her beneath me, hear her moans in my ear. If we tried that again, I would never stop. The beast would rise. It wouldn’t stop at small amounts meant to keep me mortal. It would want it all—it would want immortality.
“No.” I tried to keep my voice gentle.
Instead, I wanted to rage. This wasn’t how anything was supposed to happen. I’d been in control for so long, and suddenly, it was all slipping away.
I looked at the Oracle. “How long do I have, precisely?”
“Like I said…three weeks? A month? Time is calling you, and it will be too strong to resist soon. If an injury doesn’t take you first.”
“This is crazy.” Carrow strode away, then back, pacing with restless energy. “Fate has decreed that we are meant to be together, but it would tear us apart. No happily ever after, no matter what.”
“You know that would never happen, anyway,” I said.
She jerked back, a hurt expression crossing her face, and self-loathing streaked through me. “What? I’m not good enough for you? You don’t care for me at all?”
The beast inside me roared, this time with anger. It wanted her as much as I did, and that was the problem.
“I have a solution,” Carrow said. “Yet you’re ignoring it. My blood heals you. Therefore, it can keep you alive if you only take a little.”
“It won’t work, dear,” the Oracle said. “The beast inside him would never stop. If he gets a taste of you, it is all over.”