Chasing Daybreak

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

I hadn’t been prepared for a great many things that night. I hadn’t been prepared for the limo that picked us up. I hadn’t been prepared for the way Shane looked in his tux pants, white shirt, and shiny black vest—so much like I imagined he would have looked on our wedding day that it actually took my breath away when I saw him. I hadn’t been prepared for the swarm of flashing cameras and paparazzi as we pulled up to the turn-of-the-century mansion that served as Conclave headquarters, or for the heaviness in the pit of my stomach. Even through all the glitz, I felt like I was being thrown in a pool full of sharks.

But mostly, I hadn’t been prepared for the deep, driving loneliness growing inside me as the clock continued to tick, each tiny sound bringing me closer to losing Shane—to losing a part of myself.

The golden gown Mercy sent fit me perfectly, clinging in all the right places, flaring in others. The fabric was a delicate combination of satin and lace. Not exactly the sort of gown you got off the rack at a local department store. If I hadn’t been so nervous, I might have felt like a princess. As it was, I just wanted not to vomit.

Initiation was a big deal in the new celebrity that was the sexy, vampire lifestyle. Thanks to a few million lame books about sparkly, sensitive vampires, they—while abhorred on one hand—were super glamorous on the other. And Shane was the story of the day.

We were ushered in quickly by a group of very tall, very wide doormen who shielded us, as much as possible, from the frenzy. Still, I had no doubt that my stupefied face stepping out of the limo holding Shane’s hand would be fodder for the next day’s Society page.

Inside, soft orchestral music played. I mistook it for a recording before I spotted the actual orchestra playing in the library. I guessed vampires spared no expense.

The knot in my stomach grew to basketball size as we were led upstairs to a small bedroom decorated much like an upscale hotel—generic and impeccably clean, in a pattern of black and white. The only actual color was in the green stem of a potted orchid on the nightstand. Then our guard-escort instructed us to wait there before he turned and left.

I looked at Shane and raised an eyebrow.

He shrugged in response to my unasked question. “I’m sure they just want to walk us through the ceremony.”

I smoothed my dress and sat on the edge of the bed.

“That would be nice. I’d hate to mess up the secret handshake,” I said, my tone dry.

The fact was, even though I’d agreed to this, I hated it. Down to the tips of my toes, I hated that Shane would be leaving. It was selfish, childish really, but there it was. I really wanted to be all mature and understanding, but I wasn’t. The possibility that someday I might be was the only thing keeping me from resorting to crying and begging him to come home with me right then. But I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t ask him to come, not if I wasn’t going to keep him.

And I knew I wasn’t.

In silence, he sat on the edge of the bed across from me. I looked at him, hoping to see a trace of hesitation or fear, but it was the cool, calm face of the undead. It looked so wrong on him, and yet at the same time, kind of right, too.

“You look beautiful,” he said finally.

I felt the blush creep into my cheeks, but before I could say anything, the door opened and Xavier, Mercy, and Xavier’s second in command, a busty redhead named Ahnarra, glided in. Mercy rushed to Shane, who stood and caught her in a tight embrace.

I turned my attention to Xavier. “So, what’s the drill?”

He leaned casually against the dresser. “The ceremony is called Valde Vitualamen, or in English, the Great Sacrifice. It’s symbolic of vampires cutting their ties with the human world and embracing their destiny as immortals.”