"And I didn't speak a word of Chinese," Dahlia laughed. "You were a mess, covered in old blood, wearing rags that were more dirt than cloth, and I just wanted to tell you what was going on. I wanted to help you."
"You did," she promised. "When you held me like that, I knew that I was going to be ok. We didn't have to be anything alike to fit together perfectly." Her palm pressed against the side of Dahlia's face. "I think about that moment all the time. How I looked up and saw this impossible creature. I thought you had to be the sun come to life, and you hugged me so hard, rocking me so that I'd know it was ok."
"And your laughter when I tried to learn your words!" Dahlia tipped her forehead to press against Mei's. "Things were so much simpler back then."
"And in a thousand years, we'll think this age was simple," Mei said. "Then we'll say the same about the next. All we can do is live one day at a time. Today is that day."
Dahlia shifted to lay back, then thrust out an arm in an invitation. Mei took the place beside her, using Dahlia's shoulder for her pillow. Mei's arms went around Dahlia's waist. Dahlia's went around Mei's back, and the pair just held each other. There, in the cheap hotel room, nothing else mattered but the fact that they were together. Neither was alone, and they never would be.
"I'm so tired of fucking," Dahlia groaned.
"Tomorrow, I'll get a phone," Mei decided. "Today, we'll just lie here and let the world pass us by. Even if you do like Thane, he can't give you what I can, and no one will ever be able to give me what you do. Lovers will come and go..."
"But we are eternal," Dahlia said softly. "Until the sun doesn't shine, Li Xiu."
"Until the darkness takes us, Valka Sjorensdotter," Mei replied.
The sound of her real name made warmth flow up Dahlia's spine. For a moment, she allowed herself to simply enjoy the sensation, kissing the top of Mei's hair because she had to touch her just a little more. To love her in the purest way she could imagine.
Then, she told her girlfriend every single thing Thane had said. All of it, because the world wouldn't really pass them by if the inquisitors were after them. Eventually, reality would catch up, and they needed to be prepared for when that happened.
Chapter Fifteen
THANE
The day after killing the teen banshee, nothing happened. The Bishop didn't call him in for another round of questions. Laird didn't have any new warnings. Thane spent the rest of that day at work, then headed home to enjoy his two days off. After that, he was back.
The hunters were given a handful of assignments, but all of them turned out to be completely human occurrences. According to the priests, there was still no sign of the two "vampires" who'd gotten away. Thane had to bite his tongue every time his team talked about them, wanting to snap that they were not vampires! He didn't, even if he came close a few times.
But he hadn't seen or heard a thing about either woman. No possible sightings. No potential deaths that seemed inexplicable. To keep himself from thinking about them, Thane opened up Tinder. He found himself swiping right on tall women with light hair. Didn't matter if it was blonde or lighter brown. He clearly had a type, and that type looked a lot like Dahlia.
So he decided to mix it up a bit. A cute brunette caught his eye. He swiped right. A few more women got shifted to the left, and then he found a real cute girl-next-door type. Chocolate hair, big brown eyes, and she was a short thing. Five-and-a-half feet, her profile said. The moment he swiped right, he matched with her.
So he decided to send her a message. It wasn't anything fancy, just a nice comment about the music she said she liked. She replied almost immediately. Things got a little awkward when she asked what he did for a living. Thane told a little white lie and said he worked for the community outreach program at his church. It was close enough, right?
But the woman, whose name was Cora, thought that was amazing. Thane moved to one of the bunks, his phone held before his face, and kept typing back to her. One reply became ten, and then there were ten more. She was a substitute teacher, hoping to get a permanent position, but that meant her evenings were free. When he said he'd love to have a coffee with her sometime, just to talk, she asked if he was free that night.
Thane said he wasn't. He had a rotating schedule so there was always someone available for a crisis, but he could meet her the next day. She picked a pub she knew. It was just public enough that she'd be safe, but not so public that they couldn't have an actual conversation. The whole time he was talking to her, he didn't once think about the undead woman who had been haunting him for the last two weeks. When he got off work the next morning, Thane had a little extra bounce in his step. Dale noticed.
"Big plans for the day?" he asked.
"Got a date tonight," Thane bragged. "Schoolteacher who looks like a bikini model." He grinned to show what he thought of that.
Dale just shook his head. "Which means she won't be the kind of girl to go home with you on the first date."
Thane just slapped a hand over his heart. "Dale! How dare you. I would like you to know that I just want to talk to her!"
"Naked, with your dick," Dale joked. "Seriously, Thane. When was the last time you had a real date?"
"It's been a while," he admitted. "She just doesn't seem to be the kind of girl who'd be down for a one-nighter."
"And why are you talking to her?" Dale asked.
Thane shrugged before turning for the door that led to the parking lot. "Because I'm too old for the club scene. The girls keep getting younger, and I need a hobby. Figured a girlfriend should count, and this one is a nice church girl."
"But you are not a nice church boy," Dale called after him.
"See you in two days!" Thane called back as he headed for his truck.