* * *
Seth and David were in the kitchen, preparing dinner, when they sensed Darnell’s approach. David paused in the midst of basting the organic Cornish hens. The knife Seth was applying to several carrots for a salad stopped slicing.
Both felt their human friend’s emotions fluctuating wildly and exchanged a concerned glance before turning toward the entrance.
When Darnell filled the doorway, he was carrying a sheaf of printed papers and looked shell-shocked.
“What is it?” David asked, setting aside his spoon and wiping his hands on a nearby towel.
Darnell’s throat worked as he swallowed audibly. “I finally managed to decrypt the files on one of the laptops you stole when you rescued Amiriska.”
The mystery woman had finally disclosed her name when she had awakened after sleeping for nearly two days.
Seth abandoned the knife and carrots as Darnell approached them. “And?”
“They’re all about Ami,” he said, pronouncing the nickname he had given her as one would Amy. “How long they held her. The tests and experiments they performed on her. Horrible, torturous experiments. And there were so many of them.”
Seth cocked his head to one side. “Do they say who she is? Where they found her?” She was powerful enough that Seth couldn’t read her mind and glean the information himself without her knowing. And he didn’t want to frighten her.
Slowly Darnell nodded. “You aren’t going to believe it. Hell, I’ve read it five times and I don’t believe it.”
Seth took the papers he proffered and held them so David could read them, too.
When Seth reached the first significant passage, shock filtered through him.
“Are you serious?” David breathed beside him.
Movement drew their gazes to the entrance.
Amiriska stood there, watching them, eyes wide, her pretty face filling with trepidation as she realized they now knew her secret.
Sarah smiled as Roland took her hand and twined his fingers through hers. Though there was only the barest sliver of a moon, she had no difficulty seeing and gazed with wonder at the night scene around her.
It was all so clear. As clear as it would be on a cloudy afternoon.
Tall majestic trees that thickened into a forest. Fireflies sparkling in their midst. A rolling meadow liberally sprinkled with low-growing wildflowers, many of which had closed their petals for the night.
In the center of it all rested their new home: a spacious one-story with an equally spacious basement and three escape tunnels similar to David’s. All had been completed in only a few weeks’ time, thanks to Chris and the network, while Sarah had adjusted to the changes taking place in her body.
As they strolled up the pretty cobblestone path that led from the driveway to the front porch, Sarah again marveled at the proliferation of scents that danced on the summer breeze. The most compelling, of course, was Roland’s. No cologne. Just soap and water and him. Yum.
And the sounds …
Before there had just been the ch-ch-ch of those weird bugs and the croaking of frogs. Now she heard the wind brushing her clothing, field mice scuttling through distant grasses, an opossum lumbering through the forest a mile away, and the soft clop of deer hooves and the grinding of their teeth as they grazed near a stream beyond that. An owl’s feathers beat the air overhead as it scouted for prey. Bat wings flapped as the night creatures gorged themselves on insects.
Roland’s heartbeat, strong and steady, picked up a bit when she smiled at him.
Her senses were so much sharper now. All of them. Even touch. And her strength … !
She was even stronger and faster than Étienne and Lisette, a fact that astonished them all and titillated the hell out of the scientists at the network. No one had expected that. Not even Seth. Younger immortals were always weaker than older immortals.
Had being turned by an immortal instead of a vampire made the difference?
Was there something unique in Roland’s blood?
Was it because he was so much older, his bloodline purer?
No one knew.
The network had been hounding Roland to bring Sarah to the lab ever since word had gotten out, but he had flatly refused. He was protecting her, she knew, and had no interest in submitting to their tests himself. It was important, though, so Sarah decided she’d work on him later and see if she couldn’t coax him into changing his mind.
He may be a grumpy Gus with others, but with her he was a real softie.
“You really like it?” he asked.
“I love it,” she vowed as they climbed the steps to the covered front porch.
He paused and drew her into the circle of his embrace. “And I love you.” He dipped his head, capturing her lips in a slow sensual kiss. “Wife.”
“I love you, too,” she whispered against his lips, “husband.”
A soft growl rumbled forth as he deepened the kiss, sliding his hands down to cup her bottom and clutch her to him.
When she drew back, she knew her eyes were glowing green, could feel her fangs descending as they did whenever she was in the grip of strong emotion. Seeing herself like that for the first time had been quite a shock. She and Roland had just made love in the shower and she had caught her reflection in the mirror as they emerged.
Stunned speechless, she had gaped at her reflection so long the fangs had receded and her eyes had faded back to normal. Roland, seeing her disappointment and always happy to be of service, had stepped up behind her and palmed her breasts, teasing her nipples to hardness and making her breath catch. Her eyes had almost instantly begun to glow again. Her fangs had descended. Astonishing. That was going to be even harder to get used to than drinking blood, which really wasn’t that bad since she didn’t actually drink it. She just bit down into the bag and her fangs siphoned the liquid into her veins.
“Your eyes are glowing,” he murmured, rubbing noses with her.
“So are yours.”
He smiled. “They’ll always glow when I want you.”
Releasing her, he unlocked the door and punched in the security code. Then, turning, he lifted her into his arms, carried her across the threshold … and stopped short.
Sarah followed his gaze and stared at their living room in disbelief. “Wow.”
There were brightly wrapped gifts everywhere. On every surface. Every piece of furniture. Stacked nearly as high as the ceiling.
Roland lowered her feet to the floor and closed the door. “Seth warned me there would be wedding presents, but I didn’t expect there to be so many.”
The two of them had been married earlier that evening in David’s backyard in a private ceremony attended by Seth, David, Marcus, Chris, Lisette, and Étienne that was presided over by a minister friend of Chris’s.
Well, private wasn’t entirely accurate. The wedding had been broadcast live over the Internet on a heavily encrypted website only other Immortal Guardians and their Seconds could access. So many around the world had been awed and enchanted by their story that they had wanted to witness the historic event themselves.
Sarah and Roland had consented.
“Are these all from Seth and David?” she asked.
Roland glanced at the cards on the packages closest to them. “They’re from … everyone. Every immortal on the planet sent something, by the looks of it.”
“But they don’t even know me.”
“Most don’t know me either. And few that do like me. I’m as stunned as you are.”
They stood there for a long moment before he took her hand. “Why don’t we put off opening these until later. There’s something I want to show you.”
“Okay.”
Wending his way through the mountains of boxes, Roland led her to the back door. Sarah followed him out into the shadows that darkened the large deck.
A pretty meadow spread out before them and off to the side was …
She gasped. “A veggie garden!”
“I regretted that you never got to plant yours.”
Throwing her arms around his neck, she hugged him tightly. “Thank you, Roland. It’s perfect.”
He grinned, locking his arms behind her back. “You’re perfect.” Bending, he kissed her forehead, her cheeks, then her lips. “Thank you for saving my life, Sarah, in so many ways.”
She kissed him back. “Thank you for transforming mine.”