Chapter Fifteen
~Claire~
"They came for you," she whispered, her fingers clenching tightly over my chest. "They realized who and what you were, and their fear would not allow them to leave until they had blood on their hands."
"We could have run together," I told her, fear gripping me as if I were reliving that night all over again. I hadn’t expected her to want to talk about it, at least not yet, but she seemed to need to, and I would always allow her anything she needed. "You didn't have to sacrifice yourself for me."
"They wouldn’t have stopped unless they got at least some of what they came for. And I believed we would be reunited," she said, lifting her head and staring down at me with wide eyes that were clouded with unshed tears. "And now we are."
“I will never allow harm to come to you again,” I vowed to her, lacing my fingers with hers. “I would sacrifice myself a thousand times to save you.”
“Maybe we could stop dying for each other and just live our lives together instead,” she suggested, blowing out a sigh before settling against me once more.
“I think that sounds like a good idea,” I agreed, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “How are you feeling?”
“I feel wonderful,” she said, her tone full of surprise. “Energized. Like I’ve spent my life living in a fog and it’s finally lifted. I thought I knew what happiness was but now I realize that I’ve never felt anything like this before.”
I thought about that and realized she was right. I’d never felt as whole as I felt with Claire in my arms. It had never occurred to me that by not bonding with her all those years ago, I’d allowed us both to exist with incomplete souls. Now that we were really and truly one it was as if I were seeing a sunrise for the first time. Though I was quite sure that no rising or setting of a ball of fire in the sky could compare to the beauty of my darling Claire.
“When will you turn me again?” she asked suddenly, jarring me from my own thoughts.
“How jumbled are your memories right now?” I asked in return, my lips frowning with concern.
“Very,” she admitted. “I remember eating pancakes this morning, yet also remember chasing down and draining deer with you in Canada. It’s…odd.”
“I would imagine,” I agreed. “Where my consciousness drifted for centuries, allowing me a continuation of learning and memories, you are being bombarded by a past and a present that do not coexist. It would be best, I believe, if we were to wait.” I held up a hand to stop the protest I could see forming on her lips. “Just for a little while as you adjust and recover.”
“I’m not a patient woman,” she grumbled, sliding in closer to me until she was practically laying over my entire chest.
“You never were,” I assured her with a chuckle. My fingers roamed over her naked back, and I found myself blinking back tears. It was overwhelming to be back with Claire after all this time. And while we would both have much to adjust to and recover from, I knew that we would be doing it together.
Forever.
Just as we were always meant to do.