his eyes, searching for the glimmer of his soul within them. For an instant, I thought I caught a glimpse of it; or perhaps it was only a reflection of the ample moon behind us, or the millions of stars that flickered in the sky. He smiled as I admired him, pressing his forehead against mine. Sensations swirled through my body like smooth, delectable chocolate mixing with a single ripple of fear as I teetered on the edge of the balcony.
“You make me crazy.” He breathed the words as he moaned through the passion.
“Do I?” I exhaled softly onto his neck.
“You know you do.” He kissed me softly again before pulling back and holding my face in his hands, brushing my cheeks with his thumbs. “You’re so beautiful.” An expression altered his face into something I’d never seen him on him before. It was definitely fear, I was very familiar with that one, but there was something else. Could it be love?
“I want you to see something.” He placed my fingers on his lips before pulling me down from the ledge and twirling me like a princess on the dance floor. A giggle escaped me and I slapped my hand over my mouth. I hadn’t laughed in so long that it felt alien to me, and on a night like tonight it felt wrong.
He smiled encouragingly when he caught my startled expression, pulling my back against his chest. I followed his finger with my eyes as he pointed up to the night sky, where the massive moon hung like a sparkling diamond. Gasping, I stepped closer to the railing.
“I’ve never seen it look like that before.” I cast my eyes across the luminescent globe, painting every inch of it into my memory.
“It’s almost as beautiful as you are tonight.”
His breath tickled my ear and I let out a sigh. He was being awfully sweet to me. I just woke up and I was still in my pajamas, I couldn’t be that beautiful.
“Why does it look like that?” In all my life, human and vampire, I’d never seen the moon like that.
“My mother used to call it the Moon of Tears.” He’d never talked much about his parents before and as much as I wanted to ask him more about them, now wasn’t the time.
“Moon of Tears?” I buried myself deeper against his chest.
“Yeah, look.” He pointed to a darker spot in the sky toward the northeast edge, just over the nearby forest.
I followed his direction. “What am I looking for?” Just as I said it, movement grabbed my attention. What I had thought were merely stars before was more than that. “Are those shooting stars?”
“No, they are falling stars,” he said, sadly.
“Tears.” I understood his mother’s name for it now. It looked like the night sky was crying stars. They floated downward toward the earth, flickering sparkles capturing the light of the moon. “It’s so stunning, but so sad at the same time.”
“I was thinking the same thing before you came out here. I was wondering how something so amazing could be so depressing.”
“How come I’ve never seen them before?”
“Well, the last time I ever heard of this happening was after the Dark Ages. And even if it has happened since then, I don’t think humans can see it.”
I spun around in his arms. “Do you think they’re Nyx’s tears?”
“I’d like to think so. If it is her tears; that has to mean she is watching over us, right?” I nodded.
I thought the very same thing. If it weren’t for my belief in Nyx, I might never have made it through my transformation, and I definitely wouldn’t make it through what was to come. The thought brought chills stampeding down my spine, and sobered any passion left between us.
“We’d better get ready. What time do we need to be at the forest’s edge?”
“Midnight.” Arrick gave the moon one last, longing, glance, no doubt casting a silent prayer to Nyx.
Judging by the distance of the moon from the horizon, I guessed that only gave us about two hours to get ready. As with most ceremonies in my new life, tradition dominated and there were customary garments that had to be worn. Arrick had already pulled our cloaks from the closet. They were a lot like the ones used in our Blood Mate ceremony; only these were a deep navy blue, flecked with infinitesimal silver beads covering its entirety. No doubt they were made to resemble the night sky.