~Rory~My eyes filled, my chest ached, and my head spun from all the things happening around me. How could this be possible?Weak on the knees, I leaned my back on the closed door for support.“The mate bond is absolute, Eli,” she replied, eyes brimming with mist. “In this world, it is. But there are ways to sever our bond.”Burned by her words, Elijah dropped his hand to his side, staring at Agata as if she said the world would come to an end tomorrow. “In this world?” he repeated. “You mean one of us has to die? Is that it?”She nodded a yes; a tear rolled down her cheek as she lowered her gaze to his chest. I understand why she can’t look him in the eyes. His pain was o

~Elijah~It was midday. The sun was up, and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafted in the air as I stepped out of my office.In the kitchen, Rory stood in front of the coffee machine, gazing at the glass window facing the Vitale estate forest. She still had my shirt on. She liked wearing my shirt in her sleep. It looks like an oversized shirt on her.“Hey.” I shrouded my arms around her from behind, burying my face in her hair.She turned, curled her arms around my shoulder, and planted her lips on mine. It was a gentle kiss, one that we always share every morning.“Hi.” She smiled. The familiar glint in her eyes was back.My eyes traipse across her face

~Rory~Dark clouds loomed over Salvatore Hills. It was an ordinary day, gloomy and melancholy. It’s as if the sky was also mourning my death.Concealed in the tree line bordering Salvatore Hills cemetery, Elijah tightened his hold on my hand.“My love.”I threw him a sideways glance, smiling. “I’m good, Elijah.”He kept asking me how I’ve been doing since yesterday, worried about how his plans would affect me. Staging my death was the easy part; staying dead was the hardest.With my heightened senses, it breaks my heart to see my friends cry while surrounding a casket with a Jane Doe’s body in it. Elijah used his persuasion abilities

~Rory~Elijah draped an arm over my shoulder, tucking me on his side, preventing me from attacking Iz.Iz raised a perfectly plucked brow, but I kept my hard gaze on her, waiting for her to mumble a smartass remark.My eyes were glowing. I could feel the rage coursing through my veins. This must be the side effect of whatever Agata did to me. I have very little control over my emotions these days, which is so unlike me.“What room are they keeping Loren?” Elijah threw a question at Iz.“Room 11,” she said, tipping her head to the elevator hoistway. “Alfonso instructed all guests to be placed at level 5.”Elijah’s body went rigid. “He

~Rory~My muscles begged for a breather, and my lungs pleaded for rest, but as they say, there was no rest for the wicked. If we take a moment to breathe, we’d be dead in a beat. In the afterlife, we could have the rest we needed. But we won’t go down that easily.The stench of blood wafts in the air.Elijah was yet to recover from his injuries, but he didn’t slow down. We fought harder than our enemies because we had a lot at stake. They were merely following orders while we were fighting for our survival.Five vampires down, five more to go. They pushed us back into the corner with nowhere to run. In the middle of the chaos, Loren took a blow on her shoulder. She’s now leaning on the wall for support. Elijah's and I’s clothes were drenched