Darkly Devoted (Book 1, 2, 3)

DD Chapter 24 - Aftermath

"I'M SORRY you had to witness that," Blake apologized as his mansion in the forest came into sight. "I didn't anticipate your friends would react so badly. Otherwise, I would have kept you away."

"Two weeks. You could have told me back at the diner that you had already found Satan's Hollow."

"I've known for a while now. It took my workers time to access the site safely. I apologize for not telling you sooner. I didn't want the news to spread until I was sure."

"You don't trust me?"

"I do. More than anyone."

"But you worry that I would unintentionally screw up your plans," Vivienne muttered bitterly. "I don't know enough about your world to be a part of it."

The car came to a slow stop in the curved driveway of the mansion. Vivienne opened the car door and stepped out before Blake could respond. She needed to breathe. Even though the irritation of the tear gas had long since passed, she still felt as though she needed time and space to recover from what she had seen. What happened back there was more than anything that seemed humanly possible.

Was that the work of a vampire?

No, even though Vivienne didn't know much, she had a feeling Blake's command of the Segais was completely apart from anything to do with the taint of the Black Waters. No, a talent like that was innate. As her friends from Remin said back at the Sunnyside Diner, the ability to create life was a gift as opposite as could be from the demonic need for blood.

"Do you want Glenn to drive you home?" Blake asked as he slowly, weakly came up from behind her. Whatever it was that he had done in the meadow, it was clear the act had completely drained him of energy. Glenn had known to stop Blake before he continued. Had Blake done it before? Did he perform acts like that all the time?

"No," Vivienne whispered. She couldn't help but notice that his demeanor brightened when she refused to leave. "I'll stay with you tonight. You look like you need a friend."

"You're staying?" he repeated in disbelief. "Here?"

"Would you rather I stay at a hotel?"

"No, no!" He exclaimed and laughed at the suggestion. "No. Let's go inside." Blake reached for her hand to guide her up the steps as though he were afraid she would change her mind. As they approached the front door, he slid a blank black card into her palm.

"What's this?"

"A key to this house. You are free to stay here. Even when I am no longer here."

Vivienne wanted to refuse, but she decided to spare him yet another fight. Blake looked as though he were ready to faint where he stood.

"The vampirism doesn't help with your Segais gift, does it?" Vivienne remarked as she offered him her hand to steady himself. He gently retook her hand as though he were awfully glad to be wounded enough to require her support.

"No," Blake laughed softly. "Drinking blood heals only flesh wounds. This is something else entirely."

"A demon who can command the very last thing humanity has to fight monsters," Vivienne mused. "If they knew that, it would blow their minds."

"The truth is that I believed turning to vampirism would end my ability to speak to the Segais trees. What I am able to do is unnatural. A long time ago, it confused my mother, too. Then, she said to me that even if she will not be beside me always, Orienne's protection will always be."

Vivienne chuckled. "And it sounds like she was right."

Yes, Vivienne thought. You have Orienne's Grace wrapped around you like a mother's unconditional love. Where others are judged, you are offered unlimited second chances. It is an unrelenting love that threatens to destroy the very fabric of humanity.

Vivienne took one last deep breath of the cold, October night and stepped inside the house. Once again, she marveled at the beautiful interior of his mansion. It was modern, sleek, and oppressively clean. It was nothing like River Way. Vivienne could see why Blake described it as a wilderness that he had no wish to return to. Perhaps it reminded him of his mother. Blake collapsed onto a nearby couch.

Conall immediately offered Vivienne a change of clothes and informed her that the chef was busy preparing a late-night meal for them both. Blake waved his servants away as though their presence were an annoyance.

"You look tired," Vivienne said as she sat down on the couch beside him. "Why don't you sleep?"

"I'm not tired," Blake insisted even as his eyes began to flutter closed. "Let me sit for just a second and then we'll talk."

"Sure," Vivienne said reassuringly and wrapped her hand around his. Within seconds, his grip relaxed, and he drifted off to sleep. It couldn't be comfortable, the way he was sleeping with his chin resting on his hand. Vivienne didn't dare disturb him. In fact, she rather liked it this way.

Finally, she had a chance to talk to him without interference.

"I want to go back to Manna City with you," Vivienne whispered to his sleeping form. She lay down and placed her head against his shoulder. He must have been exhausted because the weight of her body didn't wake him. "I know I should say no. I know what you're doing is wrong. But even if it is the depths of hell that you're digging yourself into, I want to be right there beside you."