Aster:
She was just putting away the last of her dresses, when she felt it. Like the last time she felt such intense grief from Declan, she wasn’t prepared, but this time she knew they weren’t her feelings and she handled it better. Breathing deeply, she sat on the bed and waited for him to put up his defences like he did the last time, but it didn’t happen, and as time wore on, it became worse.
Aster couldn’t just sit there. Not again. What if he came back, and decided to shut her out like last time? She couldn’t go through that again. She decided to give it another five minutes, watching the old clock on the mantelpiece. It was the longest five minutes of her life. At exactly five minutes past twelve, she got up.
She didn’t notice the vampire sitting outside the bedroom, nor did she hear him when he cleared his throat and called after her. She was one hundred percent focused on Declan. His grief like a honing beacon, all she had to do was f
Aster Part 2: She waited quietly while Declan lit the torch. He took her by the elbow and steered her through the maze. Aster had no idea how he found his way around so quickly, she’d get lost in five minutes flat. “We have to hurry.” “Okay,” she said, trying her best to keep up with Declan. He was going just a little too fast for her, and she was already growing tired. “What’s the rush?” “Cyrus would have felt Justice die. He has hundreds of sons, so chances are he won’t care – especially about one as young as the kid, but just in case…we need to get Eros and Rowan and get the fuck out of here.” A little bit of curiosity plucked through the fear. “So fathers and sons share a bond like you do with me?” He looked over his shoulder at her, a little exasperated that she dared ask questions now. “I only ask, because you never have time to tell me anything. I know nothing about this life.” He softened a little. “Yes, we share a bon
Declan:Declan was bone tired. The thought of facing this night filled him with dread. He didn’t want to get up and spend another night in the sky, flying to the next safe house – which was in Scotland. From there he planned on doubling back to England, Germany and Norway. While they were in the air, they were untouchable, but once they were on land they became vulnerableAster lay on her side, as always with her fist tucked in under her chin, but this morning when she went to sleep, she was on her back, which meant she woke up again during the day. Sighing, he flung his arm over his face and swallowed against the nagging thirst. He could handle it for a few days, even a few weeks, but Aster couldn’t, and he knew that he’d have to get up soon to go hunting.He was still trying to motivate himself to get out of bed, when Eros banged the door open. Declan made a mental note to educate the ancient on twenty-first century eti
Aster: Aster woke slowly, the springs from the worn out mattress poking her everywhere. Sighing, she battled upright. She was thirstier and more tired than usual, but attributed it to the previous night’s excitement. “There’s blood on the nightstand,” Declan said. She turned her head to look at the glass bottle filled with blood. “Where--” she cleared her throat, and abandoned the effort it took to speak. She managed only a few sips before giving up on it. “I know, it’s disgusting, but you have to finish it.” “Where did it come from?” “Eros.” “Do I even wanna know?” “Probably not.” Declan sat in the windowsill, one foot resting on a rickety old wooden chair, throwing a ball from one hand to the other. “So we need to talk.” “Well, of course we do. I wonder what a day without drama would be like.” “Your father is safe. I spoke to Melena.” She hadn’t even given considered her fathe
Declan: The moment Eros knocked Aster out Declan stopped feeling her. It was like she had died. Every instinct wanted him to rush to her, get her away from Eros, but his common sense told him that his intuition was lying to him…that he needed to trust that their clan elder knew what he was doing. Feeling useless, Declan puttered around in the cottage, looking for suitable clothing for Eros. The few garments he found were so old that they crumbled to dust when he pulled it out of the closets. They hadn’t needed their safe houses for some time, and they didn’t maintain the place – a bad oversight on their part, but no one could foresee what happened. Whether Cyrus truly believed they were on their side or not stopped mattering the moment he killed Joel. Even if Declan hadn’t killed Justice, this is the way things would have turned out – their clan scattered to the four corners until they could reunite. He glanced out the front doo
Declan – part 2:It was rare, but it did happen from time to time that a vampire would betray their own clan, and that is exactly what he thought Eros did, and since it didn’t really matter either which way what he said at that point, he asked the ancient if that was what he had done. Looking offended, the vampire shook his head. “Feel her vibrations. She is healed. This should not be happening.”“Get out,” Declan said.“Let me try--”“No. Leave.” He had an idea what might be happening, but he lacked the motivation and Latin vocabulary to explain it to Eros. “I know what to do. Please leave.”“If you attempt--”“Get. Out.”Nodding woefully, Eros left, even closing the door behind him. Declan stretched out next to Aster on the uncomfortable bed. Lying on his side, he cupped her face, gently caressing her soft skin with his t
Aster: She was stuck, with no idea how to get out. For just one split second, before he dragged her into the light, she glanced over her shoulder, hoping to get one last glimpse of her mother and brother. When she looked back Declan was gone and so was the beach. Aster stood rooted, a thin trickle of fear running through her. She was stuck in a dream with no idea how to get out. She had nowhere to go, because there wasn’t anywhere to go. She was trapped in nothingness. She tried to conjure up the lost beach, but now that she knew it was nothing but a hallucination, it was impossible. Her brain wouldn’t believe it, so she couldn’t make it happen. Her world was nothing but deafening silence and the bright light. It was peaceful for a while, but then she slowly started to lose her mind. With nothing to do, no one to talk to….Declan was right – with or without the beach, she would have lost her shit eventually. Punching at the void, she screamed
Declan: “No way,” Katelynn said her eyes big with shock. “Oh my God--” Declan was about to bash Kate’s skull against the wall when Aster spoke. “How?” She shook her head and pointed to her throat. He came in here to feed her, as he did every other night, when he caught Katelynn standing over her with a raised sword. For a moment, he let the rage he’d been feeling for years now take over, he’d have killed Kate with his bare hands, was about to do just that, when Aster woke. He unceremoniously dropped Kate, and rushed over to the cot where Aster lay – for the first time in years, he could feel all her emotions…it was unsettling, he had gotten used to feeling only glimmers from her, and in the last year or so he cut himself off from her completely. All he felt from her was despair, and it made it impossible for him to function. “Get out,” he told Kate. “Go tell your husband what you did.” “Declan, I…I wanted to do it for you. I w
Aster:Aster looked around the little room, a small frown on her face. Her bed stood against the wall in the corner. Next to that was an uncomfortable looking steel chair. The rough walls were painted an uninspiring white, but like the dungeon at the old estate, this place was damp and slightly mouldy. At least they tried to keep it clean. There was no accumulated dirt or dust that she could see.Against the opposite wall was a small dresser and another door. She opened the top drawer of the dresser first – nothing but a few t-shirts and leggings, exactly like the ones she had on. The door led to a small bathroom with a shower, basin, and toilet.That was it. There were no windows, no carpet, or even an area rug -- the floors were nothing more than smooth, grey stone. Even the cot that had been her bed for seven years had nothing but a simple, white sheet on it.Sighing, she sat back down, running her hands over the fabric. It remin