To Kill a Vampire - A.K. Koonce Page 0,48

to stand motionless in the Emerald Ocean.

Movement catches my eye, pulling me from my dark thoughts.

Long white arms slither though the water; slender bodies glide through the waves toward me. Two water fae peek out, their slick heads bobbing above the surface.

When I see what else they have, my heart soars.

They drag her body through the waves, bringing her back to me.

A breath shakes out of my lungs.

“This one isn’t ours to keep,” one of them seethes in a rattling whisper. “Let her go again, and we’ll keep her, hybrid.” Its tiny jagged teeth are on full display.

An empty breath stumbles past my lips as I clutch her to me, her limp body falling into my arms. She isn’t warm; her body is like ice against mine. I grip her closer to me, cradling her to my chest.

“I won’t let her go again,” I whisper as I back away from their narrowed white eyes, their hands reluctantly slipping from her body.

The waves crash around my hurried steps as thunder roars through the night. The darkness seems heavier now, but her faintly blue lips are all I see.

My boots slip up the slick rocks, dripping water from my clinging shirt and jeans with every step I take. I breathe out a heavy breath, my drenched hair waving against my forehead.

I lie her down on shore the moment I’m able, sinking to my knees as she coughs violently. The rocks cut into my knees, but I don’t even think about it. I push her dark hair from her face, just needing to touch her again. My fingers linger against her cool cheek.

My heart pounds against my chest when her beautiful green eyes slowly open to me. Fluttering lashes look all around.

Water drops on her forehead, beading across her skin as hundreds of droplets fall from the heavens above, a cold current building with each one shed.

“Is that–” She flinches as another one pellets her cheek. “Is that rain?” She raises a hand to her face, looking skeptically at the water on her fingertips.

My heart flutters just seeing her curiosity. Just seeing her once again.

“It’s rain.”

Her brows lower, her gaze turning toward me, flooding me with happiness from the simple sight of her beautiful face.

She isn’t the girl I met at Compound 186 anymore. She isn’t the naive girl who was afraid to ask questions. She’s stronger than she realizes. She’s amazing, and she doesn’t even see it.

“The last of the vampires are gone. You broke the curse, Fallon.”

Twenty-Four

A New World

Fallon

Curse, curse, curse.

It’s all I’ve heard for days. Decades might come and go, and people will probably still whisper the word every time they look at me.

Will they remember him as well?

Will they remember the hybrid they pushed to the brink? The hybrid who lost his life to save mine? The one who put himself in danger time and time again just to find acceptance among his peers.

The waves knock into me, soaking my jeans as I watch Declan’s body drift out to sea. I hate thinking that he’s alone out there.

The sun hasn’t risen yet. The world is still quiet as the night still clings to the skyline. A blazing hue stains the sky, a hint of the sun casting across the ocean while the clear moon still hangs high above me.

With little strength, I pushed him out to sea while everyone slept. By myself. I didn’t want the others to help me. It’s something I had to do alone. Something that was too close to my heart to share with anyone else.

I swallow hard, my arms wrapping around myself as his body becomes nothing more than a spec of color in this world, the distant horizon enveloping him into nothingness.

My eyes close tightly, his careless smile burning into my memory.

We didn’t save the others. We did all we could do to save the hybrids locked away within the Capitol, but it wasn’t enough. Too much damage had already been done. My lungs tighten, struggling for a normal breath.

Asher and Gabriel might be the last remaining hybrids of this world.

Steps slosh through the water, sweeping waves onto my calves. The noise halts, and I can sense someone at my side. Wet lashes bring my attention up to Asher.

Quietly he waits, his arm lightly brushing mine, his Crimson Sword dipping into the water. The image of the other glowing Crimson Sword disappearing into ocean flits through my mind.

I sniffle as I look back out at the ocean. He’s gone, though.

“He was a good