Elysian House: Silver Bullet (2)

Chapter 2: The Return

"Viola?"

There she stood, black leather jacket, black and blue striped shirt, dark jeans, boots and her traditional silver mask that she rarely ever took off. Her chest was heaving and there was a thin sheet of sweat glistening on her forehead. She had her hand on the doorknob and was appearing to lean heavily against it. 

My first instinct was to run over there, hug her and thank the gods that she was here with me. Then, my second instinct came out and it was a bit more logical than that. I wondered why the hell she was here in the first place. 

"Viola, what..." I couldn't even say it. I was too surprised, too shocked to even speak.

She openly glared at me. Behind her, Adelene was standing, looking very perplexed and gave Viola a wary look. 

She leaned into the room and whispered. "Ms. Rowan, I will not speak of this. But you must be careful. Some Vampires do not approve of a human and a Vampire being in love." 

I stood up quickly, dusting off my ass. "Thank you, Adelene. Could you please close the door on your way out?"

She nodded once, gave one more glance to Viola, and then left, closing the door up behind her. 

Then there were two. 

Viola never stopped glaring at me. Her blue eyes were bright, but I couldn't tell if she was happy to see me or downright angry. I wanted it to be the former, but considering the way I left things, I wasn't going to get out of this without a firm scolding. I should have known it wouldn't have been that easy. 

"I drove... miles," Viola began, clearly still trying to catch her breath. "Alone. I ran through the streets of Paris, searching for any kind of Vampire. Every single one of them I did find... offered me sex. Or asked if I was going to donate my blood. I am tired, I am sore. And I am so... pissed."

I winced, ducking my head, ready to hear the yelling.

She took a few steps toward me and from my sight, even though I was looking down, I could see her fists were clenched tight. "I called you so many times. I thought so many things. And when you finally call me back, you're telling me you're leaving. And you don't expect me to come looking for you?" She growled. "We finally find each other. After so many years of being apart, and you leave!" 

"I know..." I whisper. "I'm sorry."

I suddenly felt hands on my shoulders. But they weren't rough. They were incredibly soft and light. I looked up, in surprise, expecting something more than just that. But when I looked up into those icy blue eyes, my breath hitched. She didn't look mad. No, in fact, she looked smitten. 

"Jesus Christ, Riley," she whispered, reaching up one hand to remove that silver mask of hers. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me tightly against her body. "Jesus..."

I didn't hug her back at first, mostly because I was surprised. But I was also cautious. When she still held me, leaning her head against mine, I finally wrapped my arms around her torso, clutching at the black leather. "You're supposed to be mad at me."

She sighed softly, the air brushing against my ear and making me shiver. "I am. But I'm too happy to care."

I inhaled the smell of blueberry and fresh soap. Her hand brushed over my back, while the other went to the back of my neck. For the first time since I left to go to Paris, I felt my muscles relax and my troubled mind begin to ease.

It felt amazing. 

"I got Winter to talk," she said, into my hair, with the movements of her jaw pressing against my temple. "She didn't want to tell me at first, but I made her."