When I awoke, I found myself lying enveloped in Jacobi’s warmth, his body aligned against my back with his arms around me protectively and his legs tangled with mine. My own arms hugged his to my chest and I stared at his flesh in wonder. I felt higher wired than usual, a firm clarity taking place of my previous timid and fearful nature. A part of me thought it had to do with the knowledge that I had finally changed my fate; I wasn’t going to be executed. Another part of me felt it had nothing to do with my avoided execution, but rather with the feeling that I was where I finally belonged.

I squirmed against Jacobi, enjoying the feel of his skin brushing over mine and sighed contently in response. It felt different, the claim over me by Jacobi, than it had when Aveline and Xander had claimed me. I couldn’t quite identify what felt different about it, only that I knew it was. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that I could still feel his spirit, a steady hum of power, thrumming in my own soul.

Jacobi’s hand suddenly began to move over my skin lazily, trailing down to my stomach and below my belly button affectionately. I bravely twisted in his arms, turning to face him before lifting my eyes up to peer into his. Those golden brown eyes which glowed with power were now tired, watching me with lazy satisfaction. I knew without him telling me that he hadn’t recovered from the massive amount of healing his spirit had done for me. I could feel the exhaustion as if it were my own, quiet but there in my bones.

I pressed myself against his body; twisting my legs between his and moving my own hand over the flesh of his chest carefully. It felt strange, knowing this was mine, regardless of the fact that Jacobi hadn’t verbally told me he was mine. Something inside announced it over and over again, like a reverberating echo that wouldn’t allow me to think otherwise. I wondered if he heard the same about me in his own soul.

We laid there silent for the longest time, basking in the warmth of our bodies. I felt as though we were waiting for something or someone; probably Noland McElroy, who no doubt was beyond pissed at what I had done. I dreaded his rage, though I knew now Jacobi wouldn’t allow me to be harmed. I worried the harm would instead be passed on to someone else and our party wasn’t a large one at this point in time.

“Jacobi,” I whispered quietly, watching as his eyes slowly open once again to greet me. My skin heated under his attention, but I didn’t look away. I figured though I did enjoy our current situation that now would be as good as a time to feed some of my curiosity before the mess with Noland went down. “You said you’d tell me your life story.”

He closed his eyes in response, ignoring my request.

“Jacobi,” I whispered again, moving against him slightly to settle even deeper in his arms. He mumbled unintelligibly under his breath, but I knew whatever he had meant to say was along the lines of: too sleepy, be quiet. “Come on. You said you would.” I prodded at his chest and side with my fingers. Then I raked my nails lightly over his skin. A resounding growl bubbled from his throat in reply, causing me to giggle pleasantly.

“You shouldn’t wake a sleeping vampire. It’s bad luck,” Jacobi muttered unhappily. He peeked at me through one opened eye and I smiled in amusement. I thought so far my luck was practically nonexistent, so adding some more bad luck to the mix would probably do nothing to affect my fate worse than it was already heading.

“Pretend you’re asleep and dreaming about telling me your life story,” I told him, causing him to groan reluctantly. I watched him curiously, becoming more intrigued by his untold story the more that he appeared unwilling to tell it. Was it a horrible story of massacres and evil deeds? Was it an embarrassing story similar to a choir boy becoming a Master vampire? Was there hidden past romances and a long lost wife involved? The thought sent a twinge of unpleasant feelings inside me, though I couldn’t identify exactly why or what that feeling was.

“Fine. What do you want to know?” I almost did a jig in excitement at his words.

“When were you turned?” I asked immediately, watching him intensely. He scoffed abruptly, the sarcastic sound quiet but clear.

“1598.” I paled considerably and widened my eyes in surprise. He opened his lazily, a sliver of amusement creeping into his expression. “I lived in hiding with my village in Scotland, on the Isle of Islay not far off from Loch Gorm. Not that it’s obvious, seeing as I lost the accent centuries ago.”

“You’re like a billion years old,” I said in a hushed voice. Jacobi chuckled in response.

“More like in the 400s. You shouldn’t ask a vampire their age, it’s rude.”

I ignored his comment without fail. “Why did Eve turn you?”

“Elysia,” He warned, his tone dark. I could feel his fierce but subtle anger pulsing inside my own soul, but it didn’t frighten me. If anything, it made me furthermore curious.

“Why don’t you want to tell me?”

Jacobi watched me, more alert than ever. His form had tensed uncomfortably against me and though I didn’t enjoy his discomfort, I sincerely wanted to know what made him so sensitive about his history. For a moment, I thought he wouldn’t say anything further, but then I could feel his resolve crumbling as he peered down to my pleading face.

“I’ve never told anyone that story,” He informed me cautiously. “That’s a long time not to tell anyone, Lysa. That’s a lot of people asking the same questions and not receiving any answers. Why should I tell you?” I didn’t hesitate or pull away. I looked into those intoxicating eyes and reached up to trace my fingers through that dark black hair affectionately.

“You can tell me anything. I won’t ever share your secrets,” I told him sincerely. Jacobi closed his eyes briefly as I ran my fingers through his hair slowly. Then he leaned forward and brushed his lips over mine. I tilted my head back, rising up to claim his lips demandingly. He pulled away before I could find satisfaction, leaving me nearly pouting at him.

“Eve was going to kill me,” Jacobi said quietly, bending his head down to press his forehead against mine. I held my breath, listening aptly to a story I knew he wouldn’t repeat. “My village was full of innocents but the Brion family was generation after generation of vampire hunters. I’d killed dozens of vampires and I was preparing to target the Royals.”

“You were a-“ I gasped, but he put a finger over my lips in warning, demanding my silence.

“Hunters,” He whispered sharply, “Are the vampires’ number one enemy. It’s unheard of to capture any for prisoners. It’s downright blasphemous to turn them. Do you understand?” I nodded my head, my eyes wide with shock.

“Eve found our hidden village and destroyed each and every one of the family Brion, save me and my young brother. She didn’t have it in her to harm a child, no matter who they are, and as for me… when she prepared to kill me, she had a vision. I never knew what that vision was or why it stopped her, but she instead took me as hers and turned me,” Jacobi explained quietly. “I hated her for the longest time. As her Kindred, she forced me to silence, ordering me not to attempt to assassinate any vampires. It was in my very nature to hate everything that I had turned into.”

Jacobi paused, looking away in deep thought.

“Things changed, the longer I stayed with her. I started to see that vampires weren’t what I had been raised to believe. At least, not the vampire society that Eve wanted us to grow to. I found I had unique abilities and the strength to build my own coterie. The sensation of the bonds, something no human and hunter has been allowed to feel, was life changing. Now I’ve been a Master vampire lifetimes longer than I ever was anything else and I’d never want to change that.”

“If anyone found out what you were, what would happen?” I asked nervously.

“The Royals would execute me, especially now. Audrina would love a reason to kill the last connection to the Raene line. She’s always wanted to be the leading Royal and it kills her that the vampires would still prefer Eve over her,” Jacobi’s eyes narrowed as he thought of Audrina.

I gasped as something registered in my mind. “Aveline? She was…”

“She was an orphan, untrained and never reached her potential, but yes. Not even she knows. I believe that’s why she felt drawn to you.” A parallel statement rang behind his last words: I believe that’s why I felt drawn to you. Was what pulled me to his spirit that very thing; the same thing that caused me to protect Clio? Was it our nature as born vampire hunters that called to each other?

“Nobody else knows?”

“Only Eve and I knew. I changed my name the minute I became a vampire. The hunters heard rumors, that one of theirs had been turned, and moved to find and kill me. Whenever they got too close, I just slightly changed my name again. I think now it’s just a myth the hunters tell each other,” Jacobi said dryly before splaying his hand over my side, trailing down to my hips slowly. I closed my eyes contently, enjoying his slow caresses. “We should shower. There’s still blood from the fight last night.” I felt his fingers rise up to lightly touch my tangled hair, reminding me of the pain I had felt after the repeated blows in the woods.

I sharply opened my eyes. “Did I kill that vampire?” I asked in a hushed and slightly panicked voice. “Did you kill them?”

Jacobi smiled with a devious gleam in his eyes. “As much as I would have liked to, I’m afraid not. Not while being a guest with so few backup on someone else’s territory. And no, you didn’t kill him. A broken neck doesn’t end a vampire’s life.” I sighed with relief. I’d never killed anyone before. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel if I had taken an actual life, no matter what that being was.

“A shower, then,” I said before sliding out from his arms. I pushed myself to the edge of the bed and turned to look behind me. Jacobi stayed in his spot, watching me with predator eyes which trailed slowly from my bare flesh to my back and then landed on my own gaze. I blushed, feeling shyer now that I was further away from him. “Come with me.”

Without waiting for a reply, I walked towards a door I assumed would lead to the bathroom, if it was similar to the Bryant Coterie’s headquarters. I opened it, finding my assumption to be correct, and headed inside leaving the door opened behind me. Once I turned on the shower, I looked behind me to see if he had followed, but found myself alone. With a shrug, I stepped under the warm waterfall, drifting off into my own world in the process.

I was remembering Jacobi’s lips on my skin when suddenly they were there, pressing against my shoulder. I leaned my head back against him, baring more of my flesh as his arms wrapped around me possessively.

“I believe I’m the one who’s supposed to be ordering you around, dove,” His thick voice spoke into my ear as he moved his hand between my legs, brushing the healing bite on my inner thigh as though pointing out that he had been the one to claim me and not the other way around.

“Don’t you get tired of being the boss?” I gasped as his hand caressed my breast teasingly. Jacobi made a low noise in his throat, like a hum while he thought over my question.

“Nope,” He responded before his voice dropped huskily, “Put your hands on the wall.” My heart jolted in anticipation, the heat his words brought pooling in my abdomen. I hesitated, if only because I didn’t want to remove myself from his arms, but then humored him and leaned my hands against the shower wall which was cool and wet against my palms.

Jacobi gripped my hips and pulled me back against him, pressing his hard bulge against me suggestively. I struggled to hold still as he ran his hand from my lower back up my spine slowly. I relished in the feeling of his eyes heatedly watching my body against him, my own lust making it harder for me to breathe. His hand trailed its way slowly back to my hips, which he grasped once again before aligning himself in preparation.

My breath caught in my throat as I excitedly waited for him to plunge inside me, but before he could, there was a loud knock on the bathroom door. I didn’t move, for fear of having imagined things, but Jacobi froze as well. There came another abrupt banging against the door and Jacobi growled most unpleasantly behind me.

“What?” He snapped at the unknown interruption.

“Master Jacobi, we have a problem,” Wyatt’s voice called through the door. I pushed myself from the wall, but Jacobi stopped me from moving out the shower by pulling me against his chest. I tensed for a moment, but then relaxed shortly afterwards.

“It can wait. I’m busy,” Jacobi answered, tracing his lips over my ear affectionately.

“Noland wants to see you and the girl. Aveline tried her best to postpone it and now Xander’s holding off his coterie outside your door. They’re pissed.” My heart constricted at his words. They’d finally come for me. I looked over my shoulder, lifting my face to peer at Jacobi with a deep frown. The water from the shower cascaded over him, flowing from his skin onto mine like warm caresses.

“You’re safe, Elysia. You’re mine,” Jacobi traced his fingers through my wet hair slowly. To Wyatt, he called out, “Inform them we’re coming, Callum.” Though I wanted to fear for my life, knowing that now I would be presented before a very angry Master, I couldn’t find it in me to feel concern for myself. Instead, I looked into those golden brown eyes which watched me hungrily and felt the fear for my life come to an ease. My fear evolved within a span of a second, feeling the exhaustion Jacobi felt as he still had yet to recover from healing me. It wasn’t my life I feared for any longer. It was his.

------------------

Music: Kendrick Lamar- I Love Myself

Dedicated to idiosyncraticforever, who was so kind as to host an interview with me. If you'd like to see it, go to her page to check it out!