A Shade of Vampire 84 A Memory of Time - Bella Forrest Page 0,51
condition, and I may never be able to get away from it. You’re embedded in my soul, and I cannot fathom the rest of my existence without you,” he continued.
I cupped his face and kissed him. I was soft and sweet, putting everything I felt into this fleeting moment. A peculiar glow emerged between us, and we both looked down. It came from the cores of our souls. A warm light permeated our spiritual forms, a link that could never be broken. This was true love, I thought, in its most naked variant, and it was ours.
“I love you, Seeley.”
“I can see that,” he managed with a smile.
“How is it possible?”
“I’m not sure, but there’s no other way for me to describe it. It’s what I feel from it, so why not consider it love?” he replied.
We stepped back for a few seconds, watching the glow subside. It was still inside me. I felt it—a warm permanence that would never leave me, but its illumination faded slowly. “This is so weird,” I said. “Wonderful, but weird.”
“I’ve heard tales about Reapers falling in love, but this phenomenon was never mentioned.”
“Maybe the First Tenners can tell us more,” I suggested.
He put an arm around my shoulders and beckoned me away from the wall as we continued our walk around the city. I didn’t feel the rain or the wind or the mud, but I could feel Seeley on the deepest level. “Let’s finish this round first,” he said, and I didn’t object, glad for more time with him, alone and away from everyone else.
Yes, I felt our love blossoming, growing stronger every minute. I wasn’t sure what would become of me, since I only had a couple of possible futures. With that in mind, I decided that I was better off living in the now, cherishing every moment I had with him. For as long as the Reapers allowed me to exist as a ghost, I would be happy.
I would be happy because I would be with Seeley.
Tristan
The room had begun to shift, with Phantom’s help. It wasn’t Kyle and Anna’s place anymore. We were somewhere else. It was dimly lit by old sconces flickering on the walls, their soft light dancing across the peeling wallpaper. A broken table occupied one corner. Something heavy had fallen onto it, splintering the top board. The legs were fractured, abandoned beneath thick spiderwebs. The chairs had apparently been used as weapons at some point. Only pieces remained, scattered on the squeaky floor.
“Where are we, exactly?” I asked.
Valaine sat in front of me with her legs crossed. She didn’t seem to have an answer, and neither did Morning, who’d settled to my right. Phantom sat to my left, the shadow of a smile testing her lips. I waited for her to tell me, but it felt like forever before I got tired and allowed myself a bored groan.
“Come on,” I said. “You obviously know something.”
“It’s a memory,” Phantom replied dryly, looking at Valaine.
“What, one of mine?” she asked, surprised.
Phantom’s ability involved reaching deep into people’s minds and building alternate realities, dreams that felt real. Taeral and his crew had experienced the full force of her power about a year ago, during the last stage of the Thieron challenge. She’d done something similar here, even though the space provided belonged to Soul.
“You’ve awakened lifetimes of memories into your subconscious. Every time you delve into your Unending past, you unlock more doors. All I need to do is stick my nose in there, look around, and pluck out a memory I can work with,” Phantom explained. “This is yours, from your days as Eliana, Mira and Kemi’s daughter.”
Valaine’s gaze moved from Phantom to Morning, and then to me. There was grief in her dark eyes, the kind that might never fade away. There was guilt, too. A smidge of sadness. All this was weighing on her, and despite wanting to do the right thing, Valaine struggled to focus. All the running around and the repeated loss of control over her darkness had taken their toll. She had the best intentions, but her mind was the prime saboteur.
“You can see into my mind, my memories, even if I can’t?” Valaine asked.
“Technically speaking, you can. There is a lot stored inside your head, dear sister. It just takes focus, which you seem to be lacking,” Phantom said, her slim brows furrowed. “How can we help?”