Sacrifice in Blood

Chapter 24: Guilt

I couldn't breathe. Bound together forever?

I didn't ask for this or consent to this. I started to feel dizzy as my mind went into overdrive. What did that mean? What was my life now? Was I really bound to Talon, a vampire, my supposed enemy, for the rest of my life?

I needed to get out of there.

I ran to the front door, wrenched it open and ran outside. I breathed in the fresh air and closed my eyes, letting the sunlight warm my skin. I sat down on the steps, brought my knees to my chest and rested my head.

I don't know how long I sat there, time seemed to stand still. After a little while, Talon joined me on the steps. We sat there, not speaking for a while. I made no attempt to move, or get into my car and drive away.

"I didn't ask for this," I said, not looking at him, but looking at the garden and the surrounding tree-line of the property.

"Neither did I. I'm sorry." He said, his voice serious.
"I think I've known...but was in denial. That night when we escaped, you gave me your blood, trusting me completely when I could have killed you, and then I gave you my blood after to heal you. It's like we did our own version of the ceremony without realising it."

I looked at him, his shirt was buttoned up again and he too had been staring at the trees.
"And our tattoos seemed to have improvised." I added, filling in the story, it finally sinking in. "So, nothing can break this bond?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Only way it breaks is if one of us dies." Talon replied, his eyes meeting mine. They looked conflicted, sad.

Okay, so this is one massive blimp in your plan, but so what? What's been done, cannot be undone. The Goddess' voice echoed in my head again. You knew there would be consequences when you first decided to sacrifice yourself and lead the vampires away from your coven and you knew there would be implications for trusting a vampire. This was it.

So get over it.

"I guess we're stuck with each other," I said, nudging Talon with my shoulder. It could be worse. I could be bloodbound to Lance, I thought in horror. Whereas, I think I actually liked Talon. He did save my life, multiple times. Talon looked at me, eyebrows raised and slowly his signature smirk returned.

"Friends?" I offered, biting my lip.

"Friends" he agreed, nudging me back.
"No-one can know about this though. Humans and vampires haven't been blood-bound in centuries and I can't recall there ever being a witch and a vampire being blood-bound." He said quickly.

"Everyone would freak." I agreed, thinking of the horrified looks of my coven and the Witches' Council.

"I should probably get going." I said, checking my phone and seeing the time. Ava would be wondering where I was. Ava. What would she think about all this? I couldn't tell her. This was my problem. I couldn't dump it on her.

Talon stood up and offered me his hand. I gave him a puzzled look of surprise, not used to this friendly side of him. I accepted his hand and he quickly pulled me up beside him, causing me to lose balance and lurch forwards into his chest. My heart leapt, beating fast. He steadied me and I pulled back to see his smirk. I glared and adjusted my denim jacket, but my heart wasn't in it. I started walking towards my car but then stopped and turned back.

"Could I...come over tomorrow? After work? I think I should probably educate myself a little more if I'm going to be around vampires my whole life." I said, brushing my red hair out of my face, feeling a little awkward.