I looked in the reflection of the silver mirror on the wall.

Blood dripped down my chin, splattering on the floor at my feet.

A woman lay there, as well. Dead. I had drunk every bit of her blood.

“Sevan,” Cyrus’ voice said from behind. But I did not turn to look at him. “Is something the matter? That is the third feeder you have drained in five days.”

I looked down at her. And my heart shuttered a beat when I realized he was right.

“The burn,” I said, shaking my head. “It won’t stop. I can’t make it stop.”

He turned me, looking into my eyes. He searched me hard, as if he could read a diagnosis off my skin.

“Your Majes-”

The voice abruptly cut off as my handmaid stepped in and saw what was going on.

“Adeline,” Cyrus said, looking over at her. “Find someone to help you take the body away.”

She gave a little bow and quickly left the room.

It had been easier than it should have been. As people saw what we were capable of, we were either met with fear or awe. They either wanted to kill us, or worship us.

And we took care of them.

The people came.

We gave them a purpose.

We slowly built the town back up.

We had slowly built our own little kingdom over the past sixty years.

It was incredible what we had accomplished over these few years.

Incredible more that neither of us had aged a day.

When we should have aged out of our mortal lives years ago, we were both still going strong.

But no more.

“Something isn’t right, Cyrus,” I breathed hard. Already my throat burned hotter and all I could think about was more blood. More blood to ease the pain.

“Sevan,” Cyrus said in utter terror.

But I couldn’t hear his words.

All I could think about was finding another feeder.

I turned, and with glowing eyes and lengthening fangs, I darted through the castle, and leapt on the first person I came upon.

---

The burn was so intense, so hot.

But as I tried to rise up from my bed to go find yet another feeder, my strength was nowhere to be found.

“Cyrus,” I hissed, my words rough and difficult. My vision was blurry as I searched around the room for him. My head was spinning.

“I’m here, my forever heart,” he spoke softly.

I realized he had been sitting beside me the entire time. He took my hand, holding it close to his chest.

“This…” I struggled with the words. They came in and out with mountains of pain. My entire body was a burning inferno. Burning hotter than the sun. “This is the end.”

Cyrus pressed his lips to the back of my hand, shaking his head. “No,” he insisted. “I cured death. This is merely some illness we have yet to encounter. I can fix it. I only need some more time in the lab. I’ll bring you with me.”

Painfully I shook my head. “I can feel it, Cyrus. My time…” I winced, crying out as a new wave of heat scorched through me. “My time is out.”

“Sevan,” Cyrus cried. He gathered me into his lap, looking down at me. One of his tears slipped off of his face, splashing onto my cheek.

My eyes slid closed, too heavy to keep open.

“I hated that you took my choice from me,” I said, the words coming out slow and heavy. “But our lives…what we’ve done…it is incredible. But if all of this were taken away,” weakly, I waved a hand generally around. “I would still be grateful just that I could spend it all with you.”

“Sevan,” Cyrus cried again, holding me closer, pressing his lips to my forehead. “Eighty-nine years of immortality is not enough,” he shook his head. “Nowhere near enough.”

Another wave of pain shattered through me, but I didn’t have the strength to fight it. It pulled me, down. Down to the dark. Down to where I saw an end to it.

But I needed one last breath.

With every ounce of strength I had left, I opened my eyes.

I met Cyrus’ deep green ones.

I loved his eyes.

It was them that I first fell in love with.

Their intensity. Their determination.

“I love you, my forever heart,” I breathed.

His last words muddled into the wave of pain.

I held onto it, letting it pull me down, down to where it ended.

And I was released into the darkness.