They Rise at Dusk (Book #1) ✔️

Chapter 32: Cursed Ruins

Tears wouldn't stop sliding down my cheeks. There was no lump in my throat, or a cry in my lung, just warm water ruining my mascara.

It wasn't sadness. It was mourning.

Elena. Dorian. My youth.

Silence filled the limo. Not the tense kind, the calm, helpless kind.

I breathed in and checked my phone for the first time in hours, only to find Jax's text, sent half an hour ago. Another wave of sadness washed over me, this time it was about my future instead of my past.

I've decided I'm not ready to let you go, and I'll be waiting in front of Darascu's place.

My tears turned louder, and I blubbered for a few seconds. Then, as if Dorian wasn't sitting right next to me, I faced the window and the traffic, hoping it would hide my tears.

"You okay?" Dorian asked.

I laughed humourlessly through the tears, "Don't pretend to care."

"We were at truce for almost two hours, we can do three more minutes."

I faced him. There was a slouch to his posture that I've never seen, like he was so tired he couldn't sit straight anymore, like there was a weight on his shoulder that turned a bit too heavy. I gave him my phone.

His shoulders fell just a bit more as he read the message.

"You like him, don't you?"

"That doesn't really matter, right?" I chuckled. "He's a vampire hunter and I'm a fucking vampire. If I care about him at all, I'll get the fuck out of his life."

Dorian took in a breath, "Can I give you some unsolicited and unorthodox advice?"

I met his gaze, "Okay."

He handed me the phone, "Tell him the truth."

I laughed, "Right."

"I'm serious." Dorian pushed. "Tell him the truth. He's going to find out anyway if you keep seeing him. And you and I both know you're too selfish to truly walk away."

"Fuck you." I murmured. "Although you might be right."

"Tell him the truth." He shrugged. "Jax is layered enough to understand."

I scoffed, "He hates vampires."

"He doesn't know vampires."

My head snapped towards him again.

"He knows you." Dorian continued. "And he doesn't hate you."

Suspicion rose within me, and I squinted at him.

"Why would you suggest I do something like that? That's a dangerous precedent. He would know then."

Dorian chuckled, "Maybe it's time the world found out."

How I wished I could read him. How desperately I wanted to roam through his mind, find the answers to all the questions I've ever asked him.

"And what if he tries to kill me?" I raised my eyebrow.

He shrugged, "Do it in a public place. If he starts shouting that you're a vampire, no one's going to believe him and he's gonna end up arrested."

"Lovely."

Dorian laughed, "Hey, it's a bonus for me."

"Maybe you're right." I leaned my head against the window. "Maybe he'd be alright with it."

Jax didn't know vampires. He thought we were bloodsucking monsters with red eyes and forty teeth that burst into flames in contact with sunlight. We were bloodsucking monsters that looked just like people and could move around inconspicuously. I sighed.