‘Really,’ Quinn adds. ‘There’s no way I’ll ever be able to repay you for this.’
But Elias just shakes his head. ‘Think of it as redemption,’ he says, ruffling our hair like we’re his kids. ‘I’ve turned so many people–toomany people– and for a long time it was against their will. I’ve realised now that I took something from them– something that wasn’t mine to take. But with you two, I…’ He pauses, weighing his words. ‘I feel like I’m giving something back.’
‘You gave me mylifeback,’ Quinn says, a drag to his voice that I’ve rarely heard. He sounds like he could cry. ‘I was like a ticking clock, and now…’
‘Now we have all the time in the world,’ I finish for him, and my words escape like my breath– in a long, lyrical sigh that feels as if it releases more than air. All the worry and fear of the last few days, longer than that, really, flows out of me with my breath, until all that’s left is warmth, and gratitude, and love.
Quinn’s back. He’s well, and now I don’t need to worry about him leaving me. Not unless he chooses to, anyway. And I’ll do anything in my power to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Elias returns our hug, squeezing us together as one, and then he flashes us a more awkward half-smile than I might expect of an ancient being, and slopes off back to the bar, trying to hide the mist of tears in his eyes.
When the door closes behind him, Quinn turns to me, and for the first time, I fully appreciate his new appearance. There’s still the faintest hint of a bruise at the back of his neck that will probably fade at near a normal human rate, but other than that, he looks great. Those dark shadows that cut underneath his eyes are totally gone, and the bite wound on his neck has fully healed too.
His eyes are still almost the same shade, that perfect balance of blue and green, but there’s a new light in them, his old sparkle, and something new too– the first flushes of immortality. They’re a little paler than they were, the colours just a touch less saturated, but I can barely look away. I can just about see the first faint flickers of aura around him, like the dawning of a new star.
When his hand comes to my jaw, it’s a little cooler than I’m used to, a little smoother too, but the fires that ignite as he traces a finger along my jawbone burn every bit as brightly. And when he kisses me again, I hear the same familiar tune humming an echo deep in my chest. He mutters my name as my fingers slip under his shirt, and the timbre of it sends shivers skating across my skin the way that it always did.
I’m glad I was able to know Quinn as a human, and I’ll carry the memories of it with me forever, but the core parts of him, the parts that I’ve come to love, well, they haven’t changed a bit.
I thought that sleeping with vampires was forgettable because they were vampires, but the longer and deeper that Quinn kisses me, the more desperate the noises that escape him become, the more I realise that isn’t the case at all. Because there isn’t a single part of this that’s worse than it was when Quinn was human.
I can’t smell his emotions anymore, but I can still sense his relief, and I can feel the thrum of his desire racing just under his skin. It feels almost like his heartbeat. But, unlike his heartbeat, it feels like it’s for only me.
‘Florence,’ he says again, more roughly this time, and when I pull away from him there’s a look of such wonder in his eyes that it almost brings me to my knees. ‘I need to ask you something.’
My chest swells, warmth rushing to fill all the spaces left by the breath I was holding for him, but in that moment I know. I know what’s he’s going to ask, and I know that one day I’m going to say yes, and I’m going to mean it. But I also know what he doesn’t– that right now, in this moment, it’s his adrenaline talking.
And so I don’t let him ask. Instead, I put a finger to his lips, gently shushing him.
‘Don’t rush this,’ I say, pressing featherlight kisses to his cheeks. ‘We have all the time in the world.’
And maybe he hears what I’m not saying, because he nods once, and then he smiles his brightest smile, the one that makes his eyes sparkle and his dimples pop. And when he takes me by the hand and leads me to his bed, I don’t feel a bit of resentment in the way he kisses me. There’s only love, and relief, and joy, and the very slightest of scratches from his newly erupted fangs as he runs them down my neck for the very first time.
We tumble into bed as one, a tangle of limbs and teeth and promises to last for eternity. Because that’s something we have a chance at now.
Forever is a possibility for us, and I’m so ready to spend my forever with him.
Epilogue
QUINN
From the sound of Florence’s squeal, you would be forgiven for thinking she’s mortal.
She clambers closer to me under the layer of animal skins as a team of huskies pull our sled through the snow, her hair whipping and snapping in the Arctic breeze. Her gloved hands grip my arms, one leg twisting its way between mine.
It’s been over three years now, and though my transition has had its ups and downs, my relationship with Florence has been smooth sailing all the way. I never tire of the way she feels in my arms, or the way she makes my still heart feel like it’s beating a riot in my chest. I’ve never felt more alive than I have in these past three years, which is ironic, since that was around the time that, technically, I died.
Every day with her has been an adventure, but our latest adventure has taken us further afield– to the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, in the Arctic Circle. It’s late November, so Svalbard is just entering its period of polar night, and the twenty-four hours of darkness makes it the ideal holiday destination for a pair of vampires.
Even one who appears to be afraid of husky rides.
The dogs veer sharply to the left and Florence squeals again, as the movement of the sled flings her against my chest. I gather her up there and press a tiny kiss to her frozen nose.
I haven’t told her yet, but there’s an arc of the aurora just visible above us, the trail of green starting to ribbon its way across the night sky. I keep it to myself, for now, tucked in my pocket with the other secret I’m keeping– one that’s been with me for a while now.
I slip one hand out of its glove so I can run a finger down the edge of the velvet box. Florence doesn’t know this, but it’s accompanied us on almost all our adventures, hidden safely away until I put the ring inside on her finger.
She told me twice to wait, when I– albeit impulsively– tried to propose. And in retrospect, she was right. It was a good idea to wait, what with everything that was going on then. But it’s been three years of waiting now, three years since, only a few days after my transition, I bought this ring from a little jewellery shop near the 199 steps.