Elora is 14
Duke
“Phe rogue attacks are getting out of hand. Almost ten clans have been attacked in the past year alone,” Felix explained, his tone
irate.
I gazed down at the table, shaking my head in thought. The escalation in attacks wasn’t something new, at least not to me, and many had died as a result of them. In the past, we’d step in, each of us going to a different region where we’d offer assistance, but Elora was my life now. I couldn’t just leave her.
In an effort to calm myself, I listened to her. She was sleeping; her steady breathing and fragile heartbeat reminded me why I needed to stay.
“Are you suggesting that more than three of us go?” Dane asked.
Leaning back in my chair, I observed Felix. As much as I don’t like the idea, I understand the seriousness of the situation. If we let the rogues continue to rampage our clans, vampires could become even more endangered–more so than we already are.
Felix looked between all of us, “Duke, Lucifer, and I have the most experience in war strategies and fighting rogues–”
“I will not leave Elora. We all know this mission will take years. I said I would be her sole caregiver, and I refuse to go,” I stated with conviction.
When I found her all those years ago, I didn’t know I’d become as attached to her as I was. My plan was to raise her and give her a better life, not to love her. I couldn’t leave her, not when I was her best friend. Not seeing her smiling face every day isn’t something I could handle.
Our leader narrowed his eyes at me. “They need you and your expertise. Not even I know battle tactics as well as you, Duke. Like it or not, we have
a responsibility to stop events like this,” he reminded me as though I didn’t already know my talents.
“Felix is right,” Eugene looked between Lucifer and me. “Between the three of you, you’ll make a lot of progress with things fast. Quin, Theo, Dane, and I are strong fighters, but when it comes to negotiation, we cannot compete with you.”
I ran a hand through my hair, knitting my brows. The longest I’ve ever been away from Elora was three weeks.
Dane grabbed my shoulder. “Believe it or not, we are capable of looking after Elora.”
They shouldn’t have to, though. She was my responsibility, and taking her in was my decision. Over the years, they’d all come to love her too, but she was mine first. I couldn’t bear the thought of missing even a second of her life, let alone years.
Felix had clearly made up his mind. I had no choice; I was going whether I wanted to or not. All I could do was glare at the royal and hope, somehow, that could change his decision.
To my surprise, his eyes softened, and I felt hope only for it to be squashed as he spoke gently. “I’m sorry, Duke. We need you. You know I wouldn’t ask this of you if it wasn’t necessary.”
Melancholy filled me, and my mind was clouded with dread. Elora would be under the care of Theo, Eugene, and Quin. One was a horrible influence and a terrible authority figure. Another teased her constantly, almost as much as the first, and I worried for her self–esteem with both of them ganging up on her. Then there was Quin–a cruel monster. Granted, he never showed her that side of him, but he wouldn’t hesitate to drain her dry should she cut herself and bleed while in his care.
My only hope was Dane, the most reliable of the bunch. He’d be there when she needed it. He was kind and nurturing, but even he had his faults. For one, he was easygoing. All she’d need to do was ask, and Dane would give her anything her heart desired without question.
Felix, Lucifer, and I had been the only ones to give her any kind of authority or punishment, and we were leaving. I’d leave her in the care of four unfit vampires during her formative years.
Lucifer stood up. “We’ll leave on Monday. The sooner we leave, the sooner we’ll get back,” he said in his usual whisper. He glanced in my direction before leaving for his quarters.
I stood and made my way to the staircase, letting my feet guide me toward Elora’s bedroom. Gently opening her door, I couldn’t stop my slight smile at the sight of her form practically being swallowed by her king–sized bed as she slept.
She was the only one in the house who slept, so I bought her the best bed money could buy. I’d always gone a bit overboard in spoiling her, but I was happy with my decision to do so. Seeing her so calm and bundled made me smile. She’d always been a tiny thing.
Sitting on the edge of her mattress, I held her little hand in mine. How could I tell her? How would I tell her? She wouldn’t take it well and wouldn’t want to let me leave. Even before, she’d hated when I had to go.
Had I made a mistake in spoiling her and coddling her? At that moment, watching her little nose twitch as she slept, I felt like I’d failed her. She’d depended on me her whole life, and I’d always been there. From the moment I’d met her, she’d attached herself to me. Now, I wouldn’t be there for her. I’d be thousands of miles away while she’d remain right here.
Leaning down, I placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. “Forgive me,” I whispered. I let go of her hand and headed towards the door.
“Duke?” Elora mumbled, her tone groggy.
I turned to look at her as she sat up, rubbing her eyes. She squinted at me through the darkness, seeming confused by my presence. I felt guilty for waking her; she’d always been an incredibly tired person and had made it clear she liked her sleep. Theo and her bicker about her sleeping habits at least three times a year. He didn’t understand humans, and she didn’t understand vampires. It was pretty amusing.
“Go back to sleep,” I murmured. She’d finished middle school recently and was on summer break, but that didn’t change her strict eight o’clock bedtime. To be honest, she never really needed one. She naturally fell asleep by eight.
She yawned, nodding her head and pointing to the dresser. “Can you grab my water?”
The water bottle wasn’t too far, and I was able to grab it quickly before sitting back down at her side. With an arm outstretched, I handed off her bottle before apologizing. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
She shrugged as she gracelessly chugged the remaining water. I chucked, shaking my head at her.
Elora held out the empty trash to me, “I need to stay hydrated. I plan to be on track, tennis, and soccer teams next year,” she sleepily muttered.
I rolled my eyes, taking the piece of plastic from her. It was clear I had spoiled her. She would never have handed anyone else her trash so shamelessly. I was fully wrapped around her finger, and she knew it.
“That’s a lot for freshman year,” I stated with a nod.
“If I’m going to make varsity by junior year, I need to start putting in the work now,” she reasoned as she laid back down. Even in the dark, I could see her eyes blinking up at me.
Her ambition made me smile, pride filling my entire being. While Elora may not have been the most competitive (or poised) person, she’d definitely been athletic. Over the years, I’d watched her run track, swim, and play softball–giving it her all each and every time. No matter what, we supported her; through loss or victory, we were always there.
“There’s not a doubt in my mind that you won’t make varsity by then… or sooner,” I replied honestly.
My mind was filled with all the milestones I’d miss–birthdays, sporting events, games, awards, ceremonies, dating, and more. I wouldn’t be there for any of those moments. In a perfect world, I wouldn’t be gone longer than a year–which I still felt was too long.
She eyed me, her eyebrows pulling together. “You look sad,” Elora observed.
Honesty was always something I prized, showing it through example versus verbal lessons. Even when the truth was challenging or painful, I never hesitated to share it. That was why she never lied–at least not to me. With me, she was comfortable enough to tell me anything.
“I am sad,” I admitted instantly.
Elora tilted her head, her eyes widening. She’d always been something of an empath–a soul far too kind for our world. “What’s wrong?”
I didn’t want to tell her like this. I planned to take her out for ice cream or milkshakes and soften the blow before I shared the bad news. Waking her up and ruining her evening wasn’t ideal in the slightest. “Felix, Lucifer, and I are going away for a while.”
Elora responded with a nod. “You’ve been gone before. Do you not like where you’re going this time?”
Oh, my dear sweet girl. She wasn’t understanding. She knew what we did when we were gone and how long it could take sometimes. I’d never
woken her so solemnly before any of my other trips.
I shook my head. “It’s different this time, Sweetheart. We’ll be gone for a long time,” I explained, feeling a pain emerging in my chest.
Instantly, she was sitting up, her expression worried and a bit frantic. An accusatory finger was pointed at my chest as she spoke. “You’re not leaving me for a month again, are you? You said you wouldn’t be gone that long ever again, remember? You promised.”
There was shuffling downstairs, and I could hear Eugene clearly despite the distance. “I can’t listen to this,” he stated somberly, his footsteps approaching the front door. “I’m going to get ice cream.”
Seeing the sad look in her big blue eyes caused my chest to ache. I never imagined I’d be gone so long, not again. After finding her, we’d agreed I would only join month-long missions, nothing more. I’d told her that, too; it seemed Felix wasn’t the only one breaking his word.
Grabbing her hand in mine, I sighed and tried to comfort her. “I don’t have a choice, Elora,” I explained gently. “Dane and the others will be here, and I’ll be back before you know it.”
She didn’t look away from me, and I heard her heart beginning to race in her chest. “How long?” She asked, knowing I was avoiding the answer.
I dropped my shoulders, hating that I was causing her sadness. “Years.”
Her mouth dropped open in shock, and she instantly started shaking her head. Her eyes became glossy with tears as she repositioned herself until she was my height. “No,” she rejected, her voice rushed and desperate, “You can’t do that! I won’t let you–you can’t leave me for that long! Send Quin or Eugene. They–they love going on missions. Please, anyone but you.”
If I had a beating heart, it would break. Seeing her like that was the worst form of torture. I shook my head, mumbling my reply. “I’m sorry, Elora.”
Her breathing became rushed, shallow and heavy, and I knew a panic attack was imminent. She got them sometimes, but only because she stressed about the little things. At first, mind control was the only thing that could stop them–something we vowed never to do outside of her frenzied anxious state. Thankfully, Dane taught her several methods to quell the attacks before they began, something I aimed to help with any chance I could.
“No, they can’t make you! I don’t want you to go,” she sobbed, her body wracked with emotion. She was collapsing, breaking right in front of me.
I wrapped my arms protectively around her, pulling her into my lap as she wept. This was out of my power; I couldn’t do anything to stop it. Not even her tears could change the outcome of this.
“Please stop, Elora,” I pled as I held her tighter. “Relax. Deep breaths.” “I hate Felix,” Elora mumbled while she buried her head into my chest,
soaking my shirt with fresh tears. Pulling her head from me, she looked toward her still–open door. “I know you can hear me, and I hate you!”
The sob that followed was a clear indication that she didn’t really loathe our friend. Still, her initial statement didn’t change how taken aback I was. With brows pushed together, I watched her cry harder. It didn’t take a scientist to know Elora was just angry and speaking rashly in the moment.
Closing my eyes, I hated myself for what I was about to do, but she needed to understand this wasn’t all Felix’s fault. Yes, he was making me go, but it was his duty, just as it was mine, to listen and do as instructed. If she was going to be upset with anyone, it should’ve been me. I gave her my word after all.
“Shh, it’s okay,” I began. My following words felt like poison on my tongue, and I had to hold back a grimace as I let them out. “This isn’t his fault, Elora. I asked to go.”
She lifted her head, staring up at me. Tears streamed from her doe eyes, and their sadness only furthered the ache in my chest. “W–what?” She mumbled. “You want to leave me?”
I nodded my head. “It’s not what I want to do–I have to. The other clans need us. If there was another way, you know I’d stay.”
Her lower lip wobbled before she wailed once more. “But I need you.”
In my thousands of years, I’d never felt so much agony. I’d rather be ripped to shreds by rogues than ever see Elora like this again.
“I’ll still be here,” I comforted or tried to. I was pretty sure I was attempting to soothe both of us now. “I’ll get you a cell phone before I leave on Monday, and I’ll call you every day.”
Elora gasped. “You’re leaving in two days?”
Nodding, I tried to keep my expression calm. “I’ll send you packages of those shiny agates you like whenever I find them,” I bargained, hoping she
would feel better. Part of me knew she wouldn’t, but I’d do anything to lessen her pain.
Her little arms wrapped around me while her head found my chest again. Though her sobs had quieted, her embrace tightened as though I’d disappear any minute.
It didn’t take long before her breathing and crying calmed. With tear- stained cheeks and eyes shut, she continued to hold me.
As she fell asleep in my arms, I savored the moment, not knowing when I’d get to do it again. The thought alone made me squeeze my eyes shut and hold her even tighter.
Leaving her was the last thing I wanted to do. I was a horrible vampire, clan mate, and leader for thinking it, but I’d let the rogues take over if it meant staying at her side. She was my whole world, and I was abandoning her.
Elora
Two days weren’t long enough. I didn’t understand why he had to leave for so long. He told me he didn’t even like going on missions. Suddenly he was going and leaving for years. How many? Would I be in college the next time I saw him? Could I be moved out by the time he returned?
I really didn’t want him to go.
Duke had been practically glued to my side for the last 48 hours. It was my choice–just like it was his choice to leave. He was my best friend in the whole wide world, yet he was choosing to go. I felt uneasy whenever I thought about his confession. My chest would get heavy, and my breathing hard as I tried to soothe the pain in my heart.
Still, I wanted to soak up every moment with him that I could, going as far as convincing him to stay in my room while I slept. If he was going to abandon me, he would deal with my clinginess before he did.
I wasn’t speaking to anyone, knowing someone must have convinced my Duke to leave. It was the only thing that made sense! Whoever it was, I was angry at them. They knew I needed Duke, and they talked him into leaving me. Duke could say whatever he wanted, but I knew him. He wouldn’t choose this… right?
It was hard to believe that Felix, Lucifer, and Duke would be gone for so long. Sure, I got along fine with Theo, Dane, Quin, and Eugene, but they were so laid back. The other three were different–a good different that I’d definitely miss.
When I said I hated Felix, I truly had, but only at that moment. I didn’t really hate him, and I honestly felt guilty that I’d said it in the first place. I wanted to apologize to him before he left, but I was hesitant to approach him. Who was I kidding–Felix didn’t care if I hated him or not.
Looking out the window, I couldn’t help except notice how the rain fit the mood. I was solemn and gray, just like the sky, as I watched Duke pack his suitcase. The darkening sky told me it was almost time for him to leave. We only had so many minutes left.
I walked over to his bed and sat beside his luggage, watching it slowly fill with clothes. My fingers fidgeted, twiddling the edges of shirts and sweaters as I let my nerves get to me. My eyes felt dry. I’d cried so much over the past two days, definitely enough to fill a pool, and I wasn’t sure I
had any more tears left. I hoped I didn’t; I’d promised Duke I wouldn’t cry when he left. There was no way I was fulfilling that promise, but it didn’t hurt to try.
Duke stepped out of his closet, his eyes meeting mine. I pulled my gaze away and looked at the space he had left in his suitcase. “I could fit, you know,” I bargained. “Just take me with you.”
He sighed, setting more neatly folded clothes into his suitcase. Duke gave me a pointed look. “You wouldn’t be safe where we’re going–”
“You wouldn’t let anything bad happen to me,” I reasoned, suddenly hopeful that he’d take the bait and let me tag along.
“Elora,” he spoke gently, kneeling before me with a concerned expression. “This is your home. Everything you know is here–your life is here. You know I can not take you with me. Don’t do this again.”
I glared at his luggage with a pout. I could definitely fit. “Will you come to visit?” I asked as I returned my focus to him.
“I probably won’t have time, sweetheart,” Duke stated before standing and returning to his closet. He came back a moment later with more clothes for his suitcase. Once they were in, he zipped it up. “These situations are serious, and I have to work around the clock.”
My shoulders slumped at his rejection but straightened up as hope flooded my system. I looked at him with widened eyes. “But you’ll try, right?”
With one hand holding his suitcase, Duke reached for me. I grabbed his outstretched one, holding it tightly as he led us out of his room and down the hall. “Of course, I will. I just don’t want you to get your hopes up.”
Reality set in once I saw Felix and Lucifer already standing by the door. My stomach dropped, my heart hammering while my brain begged for all of this to be a bad dream. The two vampires held their luggage as they said goodbye to the rest of our friends, but all I could think about was Duke.
Felix and Lucifer didn’t really need him, did they? He was my best friend, not theirs. Besides, they were grown men and vampires! They could handle anything they wanted to on their own.
My feet moved, but I was too numb to notice. One second, I was at the last step of the staircase, and the next, I was joining Lucifer and Felix by the door.
Don’t cry. I kept telling myself. Don’t cry.
“There’s been several attacks in Delaware in the past few hours. I’ll start there,” Felix announced.
“I’ll go to Texas,” Lucifer said softly.
“Montana,” Duke grunted, sounding beside himself. He should; he’s leaving me.
Felix nodded and then glanced down at me. “Very well,” he affirmed, his gaze darting back to Lucifer and Duke. “We should go.”
“Give them hell for us,” Quin smirked, giving them each a side–hug. Duke let go of my hand to hug him back, making it that much harder to control my emotions.
I wasn’t only sad about Duke leaving. I wouldn’t see Felix or Lucifer for a long time, either. It may not have seemed like it, but I’d miss them, no matter how stern and scary they were at times.
“Bye, Lucifer. I’m going to miss our long talks,” I joked as I held him tightly. Theo was the only one who laughed, but that wasn’t surprising; he’d always been silly with no concept of proper timing.
Lucifer stiffly patted me on my shoulder, not wanting to hug me back. That was okay, though. He’d never been very touchy-feely. Pulling away, I watched as he withdrew an envelope from his pocket and handed it to me.
With a slight smile (the only I’d ever seen from him if I was being honest), he patted my head. “You’ll be okay.”
Turning the envelope over in my hands, I didn’t notice Lucifer take his leave until it was too late. Instead, I focused on the next vampire in line– Felix.
With a shy glance at the giant leader, I couldn’t help but give him a quick (yet gentle) hug. “I don’t hate you,” I mumbled into his shirt.
I know you don’t,” he replied, trying to hide the solace in his red gaze. I saw it when I peered up to meet his eyes, and I couldn’t help my sudden guilt at the sight. Had he really thought I hated him for the best two days? Giving me a soft smile, Felix continued, “Be good, Elora.”
My lip began to wobble as tears clouded my vision. I watched Felix leave, catching Lucifer’s fancy car peeling away while he entered his. Did they all have to leave? I didn’t want them to go.
“Elora,” Duke spoke, pulling my attention back to him. He knelt in front of me, and just like that, my resolve broke. Tears raced down my cheeks, their saltiness stinging as they fell.
I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, soaking his shirt as I wept. “I can fit in your suitcase,” I blubbered.
He wrapped his arms around me, rubbing my back as he did. “I’ll be back before you know it, I promise,” he repeated for what felt like the hundredth time.
My body shook, and I squeezed my eyes shut in an effort to keep myself from breaking down. “Please don’t go,” I whispered through sniffles and sobs. “I don’t want you to go.”
Duke pressed me closer to him, his voice as hushed as mine. “I love you too,” he said before standing.
With a forlorn glance, he looked to Dane and then turned to leave.
“Duke!” I wailed, ready to run out the door. Duke couldn’t leave; I wouldn’t let him. My chest heaved, and I panicked as he made his way to his car.
Dane gripped my shoulders, preventing me from running after Duke. “Shh, it’s okay, Elora,” he consoled, pulling me into his chest.
It wasn’t okay. There was nothing okay about Duke being gone for years. Thrashing against Dane, I made a fruitless effort to fight him off– going as far as elbowing him to do so. I could feel my chest caving in on itself as I watched Duke pull his car door open. Without a single glance back, he got into his vehicle.
“I can go with you!” I screamed. My lungs stopped working, my sight blurred, and my face soaked with a new surge of tears. I could honestly care less. The person I loved most was speeding away, and I had no idea when I’d see him again–or if I ever would.
Dane turned me away from the door, kneeling before me the same way Duke had moments before. I tried to get back to the door, hoping I could still catch a glimpse of my best friend, but it was useless. My sobs weren’t stopping, and I still couldn’t breathe. Coughs began to wrack my body, and my head felt woozy due to a lack of oxygen.
