"That's not a wise course of action." Levi's frown deepens as he rises to his feet. "You saw what we do to each other. For you, it would be much worse."

My lips thin into a line. This time I wasn't harmed, but witnessing Levi's pain got to me. It felt personal. If I continue with my planned course of action, that's something I'll have to deal with. When the stakes are higher, and now that Lucien knows his life is threatened, who knows what could happen to the two of us.

"But you handle that kind of pain?" I ask.

The fingers on his left hand flex, as if he were checking to make sure he was really in one piece. "I've come to terms with it."

"Then I have, too." I walk over to him, gaze sweeping the coast before scanning the city skyline, shimmering in gold and red hues of the sunset. "I came back to fight Lucien and the others. I can't stand the thought of them hurting you or Kristi without consequence, or moving on from victim to victim. I hate being his target, and I can't let someone else take my place because I simply ran off."

Levi doesn't answer. Tense silence settles over us, broken every now and then by the crashing of low waves. A mild wind blows in off the water, and I wrap my arms around my body.

I've made up my mind. Levi can either keep me as a hostage to enforce my safety, or let me do what I want. Either way I don't need his approval.

"You won't have to use Compulsion to get me to stay this time." The words are spoken so soft that the breeze almost carries them away.

I turn, eyeing him in the fading light. "What does that mean?" It's not like I've ever made him do anything, I'm the one who was thrown into a supernatural world.

"On our third night together, you asked me to stay with you, but it was not formed as a question." He shifts, blocking some of the wind from reaching me as his eyes meet mine. "At the time I didn't recognize what it was, but you demonstrated the same power with Lucien today, when you told him to stop. You compelled us. I wasn't going to tell you because of the implications; because you seemed to have no knowledge of it and I've already asked you to leave behind everything you know."

"What implications? What do you mean?" My face creases in confusion. The way he's talking, it's as if compel means something more, as if it's another one of those vampire terms like Deception. But I'm not one of them.

Am I?

"Compulsion is a skill used by a Source—or a necromancer," he clarifies. "To control those they've raised to the undead."

A what?

Stunned, I step back, needing more distance between me and him. Between my version of reality, and his. I'm not—

My heel tips backwards, resting halfway off the pier, and I start to slip. Lurching forward, I flail out my arms and Levi grabs, pulling me back to a safe position. "Are you okay?"

His touch grounds me more than my unsteady feet could. "Yeah, yes. I'm—I'm okay." I ramble on, embarrassed. "Lost my balance is all."

Then it hits me for the second time. "You're saying I'm a necromancer."

Concern etches into his face as he studies me. "It would seem so, but most are more aware of that fact than you have been."

"I am...was not aware." I sound like someone learning how to talk, not like an all-powerful necromancer. Is that what my Grandma was trying to tell me all those years ago? "You sure?" I ask.

"Not entirely, but the evidence is there," Levi replies.

Recalling the first time Lucien cornered me, I remember that struggling against him did nothing, but when I told him to let go, he did. Back then I thought he did it on purpose, to taunt me.

But today he was dead set on killing Levi, and he stopped...because I said so?

It's too much to take in, and as Levi loosens his grip, I reach back out and grab him, clutching the folds of his jacket. I'm afraid to speak. Afraid of my own words. Of who I might be.

Too many questions are jumbled in my head, and none of them make sense.

I draw my eyes back to Levi's, searching for the familiarity I'm used to. For something in this world to feel normal and safe.

He waits, allowing me time to process. I settle on a question, the extent of what I can digest right now. "I compelled you? When?"

His lips twitch. "You were already half asleep, and told me to stay with you." His glance shifts away, and I bite the inside of my cheek. "It was a weak order, so I could have fought it...but I didn't."

I chew harder on my cheek, slowly piecing the memory together. The night we both slept in the bed. Here I was thinking he stayed out of some connection between us and...I had forced him to do it.

Now his distance the next morning makes sense. My eyes widen and I let go of his jacket, not wanting to impose more than I already have. "I am so sorry. I shouldn't have—"

He catches my elbow and tugs me back towards him. "No, I didn't mind. It's okay. I chose to sleep next to you on my own accord."

The touch awakens my nerves, ignites a fire underneath my skin. My next breath gets lodged in my throat. Try as I might, I can't think back to our other conversations. Right now I can't think of much at all.

His eyes turn on me, pupils dilated and black as coal. The same eyes I stared into a short while ago, hoping he would kiss me. Did I force that, too? "I, um... I only did it to you once?"

He hums in confirmation, tucking a loose hair behind my ear. The cool touch fans the flames inside me, and heat pools low in my belly.

"I've given up on trying to keep my distance from you," he murmurs, then offers a small smile. "If you're okay with that."

I know he can hear it, the fluttering of my heart. He knows what my body is reacting to. What I want.

Him.

Kiss me—the words pop in my brain, however I don't need to say it. My eyes close as he leans in, and our lips connect.

The world tilts and I fall into him, into the kiss, and find sanctuary within the protective shell of his chest. Our arms wrap around each other, feeling as our lips move slow and hesitant. I can taste his cool skin as it melts like a delicate layer of frost.

My own body is burning, desperate to consume his tender lips and possessive touch. His hand skims around my back, over my shoulder blade and up the nape of my spine. Weaving into the hair at the base of my scalp, his fingers curl and angle my head just right. The kiss deepens and Levi nips at my lips. My body hums to life.

Just as I'm running out of breath, his lips drift to the side of my mouth, then down along my jaw and leave a trail to my ear. My back arches and his arm slides down until it rests on the curve of my hip.

He pulls me closer, fingers kneading the back of my neck and tender skin on my side. His tongue finds the pulse point in my neck and it throbs relentlessly, begging for more attention. I'm falling apart, lost in his scent and his touch.

A throaty groan breaks our reverie, and cold breath caresses my neck as he pulls away. "God..." Levi groans, panting as he takes a few deep breaths. "I need to stop."

My chest is heaving almost as much as his, and I take a moment to come back to reality. He's right. Lucien and the others could find us anytime. My cheeks burn with sudden embarrassment, like I'm a school girl who got caught making out under the bleachers. I pull back, but only a little.

"Yeah, we shou—" I stop mid sentence, caught off guard by the look in his eyes.

Need. Unadulterated, held at bay by what looks like a sliver of restraint. "Levi?"

He swallows, Adam's apple slowly bobbing down. "I lost a lot of energy looking for you, then I fought Lucien and just now I... I almost..."

My eyes widen at the implication. He needs blood. I should have noticed how drained his eyes look. I feel stupid. "Take some," I whisper, stretching my neck out to him. "How much do you need?"

A bite wouldn't bother me, not from him. The thought alone has my pulse picking back up.

His eyes squeeze closed and he stops breathing. "No." Resting his forehead against mine, he lets out a shaky breath. "I can find someone nearby, then we should leave before it gets too late."

I try to hide my disappointment. Already I miss his lips on my skin, and I imagine his fangs couldn't be too bad, not if he kept holding me like this. "Where will we go?"

"I'd like to go back to the cabin, if you don't mind the trip."

I nod. "That sounds nice."

The cabin is the one place I want to be right now. I haven't yet come to terms with my new identity, and despite knowing I have some power over Lucien, I don't know or understand how to use it. Our last encounter was close enough for the fear to still resonate at the memory.

Levi straightens, pulling away. I shiver as the cold of our extended proximity and the night air finally gets to me. The sky is black, stars hidden by a layer of clouds and thick smog. I'm jobless. Hunted by vampires. My future holds no certainties. But as Levi's hand slips into mine, I feel okay.

I've decided to stay on this path no matter what. I'm going to discover who I am, and do all I can to save others along the way.

Although now more than ever I'm lost on my own identity, I don't mind being in my own skin.

I haven't felt that way in a long time.

Ahhhh finallyyyyy!

❤️‍🩹 Siberia