The Vampire's Luna

Damien turned to her slowly, blinking, uncertain. He wanted to believe her. Hell, he did believe her. "You haven’t exactly made it easy," he admitted. "You’ve run. You’ve hesitated. You’ve pushed me away more times than I can count."

She turned to him now too, eyes glimmering in the moonlight. "Yeah. I was worried. About my people. About my parents. About choosing wrong and losing everything I’ve ever known. And now... they’re moving on like I never even existed."

"No," Damien said softly, firmly. "They miss you. I hate to say this, but... Kyllian’s actions? They’re the screams of a heartbroken man. He lost you, and now he’s lost his mentor, his king. That kind of pain, back to back? It can break a man."

Luna looked down, trying to hide the quiver in her lips. "What would I do if I lost you too?" she asked, lifting her eyes again to meet his. "What would be left of me if I lost you?"

"I’m still here," Damien murmured, pressing his forehead to hers, his arms winding around her gently. "And you still owe me a wedding."

Luna let out a soft laugh, one of the first in what felt like days, and tilted her head up to look into his eyes. "Yeah," she said. "We need to get home first."

"I like the way you say that," Damien said, pulling her closer until her head rested against his chest. He ran his hand up and down her arm, slow and soothing. "Home."

Luna closed her eyes, breathing in his scent. "It is my home now," she whispered. "I’d do anything to protect it. And you."

Damien leaned back just enough to look at her face. "Actually," he said, "Morvakar came up with a solution. Said you asked him to. Did you threaten him?"

"No! I got on my knees and begged. I think he likes that sort of thing. You know, powerful sorcerer... fragile ego..."