Keeping his eye on the blade in Robert’s hand, Ezra weighed his options. He didn’t have any illusions about this fight – he knew it could go either way. What concerned him more than winning or losing was what would happen to Kayla once this was all over.

Would Robert regain a semblance of honor and let her go, or was his bitterness so far gone he would hurt her just out of spite? Ezra didn’t know, and that scared him. He would never have guessed Robert would sink low enough to use Kayla against him in the first place, so anything was possible.

I can’t let her get hurt because of me, Ezra thought, backing away when Robert approached him, blade in hand.

The silver was smooth and shiny, and the sight of it had immediately filled Ezra with unease. The handle of it was thick and rubbery, no doubt to insulate Robert from its harmful effects. The man looked uncomfortable as he held it, and Ezra could feel his blood start to hum the closer Robert got.

I have to buy Kayla some time so she can get away.

Backing away from Robert, Ezra led him away from the door while he snuck a glance at Kayla. She looked frightened, flattened against the wall as she watched the men, but when she caught Ezra looking at her, she squared her shoulders, as if she was trying to look brave for him.

My sweet Kayla…

“Kayla, run!” he called out, a second before lunging at Robert, taking as much care as he could to avoid the blade in the man’s hand.

Kayla’s eyes widened and she stood, stunned for a moment before pushing herself off the wall she was pressed against and sprinting into motion. Her eyes were glued to Ezra as she ran toward the door, tears streaming down her cheeks.

The sight of her, and the desperate voice inside Ezra willing her to make it out of there was enough to distract him. He had been holding on to Robert’s wrists so the man couldn’t jab the blade into his flesh, but as he was busy watching Kayla clear the container and disappear out the door, Robert pulled his hand away, and stuck the silver dagger straight into his gut.

Immediately, pain exploded throughout Ezra’s body, pulsating in his veins like fire. He tried reaching for the blade’s handle, but Robert grabbed his wrists and bent them backwards before letting him fall to the ground. With the silver infecting every part of him, Ezra was struggling to heal, his bones unable to snap back into place like they usually would.

So he was left helpless on the ground, fingers twitching as he willed whatever power he had left to focus on making his hands move again. Robert stood over him with a victorious grin, eyes wild, and clothes disheveled, but still poised, as was suitable for a man of his heritage and stature.

“I always thought you were a pretentious snob, you know,” Ezra said, hoping if he kept Robert talking the man wouldn’t think to go after Kayla, at least.

Robert gave him a swift kick to the ribs, making Ezra groan as he rolled around on the floor from the force of the blow. He could hear his ribs cracking, but ignored it, still focused on regaining the use of his hands.

His right wrist was tingling slightly, the nerves trying to grow back together, but the process was just too slow…

Robert used the toe of his shoe to roll Ezra onto his back, and disdain echoed off his words as he spoke.

“I never did realize what Lilith saw in you,” he said. “Crude and classless, with nothing to offer. By human standards you might be wealthy, but compared to me, you’re nothing but a common peasant.”

“You always were too preoccupied by your money to see what was going on around you,” Ezra replied, struggling to use his elbows to push himself up.

The movement sent searing pain through every muscle as the silver blade moved around in his wound, and it was all Ezra could do to keep himself from passing out.

“I thought I was going to take my time, watch you squirm, but I’ve had enough of you,” Robert scoffed.

As he started to reach down, his hands aiming for Ezra’s throat, Kayla’s voice made him still and look up.

“Stop,” she said, and Ezra craned his neck to see her standing at the door, holding a piece of wood in her hands.

It looked like it was broken off of something, the edge of splintered off and sharp. Ezra cursed to himself, his hand cracking and trembling as he instinctively tried to make a fist and failed.

“Kayla, no…” he said quietly, his head falling to rest on the ground. “Why did you come back?”

“Who cares why?” Robert chuckled. “There might be some fun to be had here, after all,” he said, stepping toward Kayla as she stood there, wide-eyed, looking over at Ezra.

“I couldn’t leave you,” she whispered. “Not without saying I love you,” she added, her knuckles white around the piece of wood she was holding and her eyes rimmed red.

Ezra forgot about the pain coursing through him as he listened to those words, and felt the emotion and sincerity behind them. In that moment, he knew he had been a fool to question Kayla’s motives.

Hadn’t he seen enough of who she was to know the kind of betrayal he had implied was beyond what she was capable of? How had he even thought a kind, considerate and honest woman like Kayla could lie so thoroughly? She wore her heart on her sleeve and her emotions on her face, after all.

Ezra couldn’t help but smile, despite the fact that Robert was preparing to kill them both, if the silver didn’t finish Ezra off before he could. But there was no way Ezra could die now. Not when the woman he loved had just confessed her feelings for him.

There was so much more he wanted to share with her, to show her, to learn from her. An eternity would barely be enough.

“How sweet,” Robert sneered, and just the sound of his voice made anger sweep through Ezra.

No way was he letting this asshole rob him of a life with Kayla, the woman who had opened up a whole new world for him. And he wasn’t going to let some silver in his gut stop him from protecting his woman.

“What are you going to do with that makeshift stake, little human?” Robert taunted Kayla, slowly stepping toward her, laughing when she trembled at the sight of him.

Fueled by what felt like fury alone, Ezra dragged his arm toward his stomach, his wrist almost at a natural angle again, but some of his fingers still numb. He could see the bones connecting his fingers to his wrist strain beneath his skin as he tried desperately to wrap his hand around the handle of the dagger.

Just…a little…more…

Gritting his teeth and ignoring the way his throat was starting to close up, just another effect of the poisonous silver making its way through his body, he managed to get one finger around the rubber handle sticking out of his gut, and then another, and another…

“Are you going to plunge it through the heart of the bad vampire-man?” Robert continued on, apparently taking pleasure in Kayla’s fear.

Her hair whipped around her face when Robert used his speed to close the distance between them, and she gasped as they were now face to face. Yet she still stood up straight and lifted her chin, as she stared back at Robert.

Ezra now finally had a grip on Robert’s blade and was slowly and quietly pulling it out of his flesh, feeling relief spread out all over his body once the silver was no longer in contact with his skin. He still felt weak, and hungrier than he had been in a long time, but he pushed himself to his feet, nonetheless.

“No. I’m not going to be the one to kill you,” Kayla said, her eyes moving from Robert’s face to look over his shoulder at Ezra.

Before Robert could even whirl around, Ezra had used all the strength he had left to speed behind the man’s back, and plunged the silver dagger into the man’s spine. Robert gasped, his hands flailing at his sides as he tried to reach the blade but failed. A pained groan escaped his lips as he fell on his knees in front of Kayla, who looked on, only the barest hint of sympathy in her eyes.

“Will you hand me that piece of wood, my sweet?” Ezra asked, his voice sounding a bit raspier than usual.

Kayla only nodded as she reached out her hand, and let him take the stake from her.

“You can’t... I am Robert Belford, Maker of one of the oldest lines there is… My legacy… It can’t…” Robert rambled on as Ezra circled him, coming to a stop at Kayla’s side.

“You came after an innocent human, my betrothed, no less, to settle your own petty scores. I am doing you a favor. The royal families would not be so kind with your death as I am about to be,” Ezra said, pressing the sharp end of the stake against Robert’s chest. “Goodbye, Robert.”

With one sharp movement, he pressed the stake straight through Robert’s body, piercing his heart in the process. A wordless scream died on the man’s lips as he started to crumple and decay before their very eyes, until there was nothing left but rot and bones, that soon turned to thick, black ash.

Letting the stake drop to the ground, Ezra wrapped an arm around Kayla and pulled her close, spinning her away from the grizzly scene.

“Are you alright?” he asked, well aware of what a stupid question that was at the moment.

“Are you?” she asked back, looking up at him as he lead her out of the container.

“I just need some blood and I’ll be fine,” he replied, pressing her close to him, as if he was afraid she might evaporate as well. “You shouldn’t have come back for me. If anything would have happened to you…”

“I had to,” she said quietly, tears welling up in her eyes.

“I know,” he replied, coming to a stop and facing her, gently taking hold of her shoulders. “I would have done the same thing. Because I love you, Kayla Clarke, more than I have ever loved anyone.”

There was a glimmer in Kayla’s eyes as she stared back at him, a tear rolling down her cheek, but a smile on her face.

“I was never going to go back to Seth, I just wanted to make him sweat,” she said. “And I’ve already deleted that stupid article. I never wanted to…”

“I know,” Ezra cut her off, brushing a strand of her hair away from her face. “How could I ever question a woman who so daringly came to my rescue? You don’t need to prove anything to me. I should have believed you from the start, but I let my own inner doubts cloud my judgment.”

Using his thumb to wipe away the tear rolling down her cheek, he couldn’t help but smile at her. Robert was dead, and Kayla was all his. There was nothing standing in the way of their happiness together, except for themselves, and Ezra wasn’t planning on making the same mistakes twice.

His gut had been telling him he could trust Kayla all along, and it was time to go with those instincts.

“I was pretty daring, wasn’t I?” Kayla smiled back at him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

“The bravest little human I have ever seen,” Ezra joked, earning an eye-roll from her.

Taking her face into his hands, he just held her for a while, letting it sink in that she was safe, and his, and it made him feel more alive than he had in some time. She melted in his arms, eyes fluttering shut when his fingers brushed against her cheeks.

“Are you going to kiss me now or what?” she asked quietly, despite her heartbeat growing louder by the second.

Slowly, Ezra bent his head down, gently pressing his lips against hers, teasing until she shivered in his arms. When he deepened his kiss, she responded immediately, sighing softly as he took his time tasting her.

Everything else fell away when they were together, and Ezra knew that was exactly how it was supposed to be – him and her against the world.

Forever.