LUNA
My offer hung in the air between us, and my heart raced as I waited for Sebastian to respond.
This was the only logical way for us to get out of here. He required blood to survive, and I was the only human around.
I was the best choice—the only choice, really. I remembered what Sebastian said about the Binding. My blood was the only one that would give him what he needed.
I used to think that having a vampire drink my blood would be repulsive, but I no longer held that belief. If anything, I was more than a little excited to find out what it would feel like to have Sebastian’s fangs at my neck. It seemed like we had been dancing around this for weeks, and finally, I would get to know what it felt like when he drank my blood.
My curiosity was purely academic, of course.
“Sebastian,” I whispered, tightening my grip. “Did you hear me? I said you can bite me.”
He rasped, “I heard.”
“And?”
A tormented sigh filled the air, and a knot twisted within me. I needed him to say yes. He couldn’t read my mind—of that I was certain. If he could have, we wouldn’t be dancing around each other any more. Not about this.
Somewhere along the way, this vampire prince stopped being the object of my nightmares. Knowing that he wanted me, that heneededme, did something to my heart.
I wasn’t ready to analyze it. Not yet. But soon, I would have to. After this. Once he survived. He had to survive.
Above us, the ancient wood holding up the remnants of the tunnel groaned. If shadowing into parts of the tunnel was dangerous, staying down here after an earthquake definitely wasn’t ideal.
“That really doesn’t sound good,” I said. “I’m no engineer, but I’m fairly certain staying in a collapsed tunnel isn’t a brilliant idea.”
As if concurring with my statement, the wooden beams creaked.
“Sebastian?”
“No,” he growled. “I would never force you to let me… No.”
“Who said anything about forcing?” I narrowed my eyes and frustration leaked into my words. “I didn’t say you were forcing me. In fact, I am fairly certain I said, ‘bite me’.”
I couldn’t believe we were having a discussion about this. His blood soaked the ground, and a wooden stake protruded from his chest. Though I wasn’t an expert in anatomy, I knew that was not good.
“No,” he said resolutely.
This male. At this rate, he was going to argue himself right into an early grave.
“Why not?” My eyes widened. “Don’t you want to live?”
A beat passed, and when Sebastian spoke again, his voice was softer. “I won’t take that choice from you.”
“Oh,” I breathed.
How did I not see this sooner? I remembered what he told me earlier.
It was the last choice I would ever be allowed to make.
This, at least, was a worry I could put to rest once and for all. I wasn’t used to feeling helpless. Kydona only knew, I never felt helpless before I moved to Eleyta. Since coming here, it seemed like everything thrown my way was insurmountable.
But this.
I could do this. I could prove to Sebastian that this was a choice I was more than willing to make.
Careful not to disturb the stake sticking out of Sebastian’s chest—which was definitely a sentence I never thought I’d say—I ran my free hand up his arm.