From Darkness To The Light - Chapter Forty

Am I dead? I thought for sure I died in Dimitri's arms when I finally gave into the darkness. I feel arms around me, and a body pressed up against my back. The familiar smell of Dimitri fills my senses. I can feel Dimitri breathing slow and steady on my shoulder, letting me know he is asleep. Do we sleep in heaven? This can only be heaven if I'm with Dimitri again. I make my sleepy eyes open to see a familiar room. This is Dimitri's room, maybe I'm not dead. I move my arm and find an IV attached to my arm. It is hooked to a bag of blood that hangs on a nearby pole. 

"Your awake," Dimitri says as he goes to sit up. I roll over to see Dimitri wearing his PJ bottoms with no shirt. My mouth goes slack at the very sight of this beautiful man. 

 Dimitri reaches over, shutting my mouth with his finger as he grins at me. He shifts close to me as the smile fades from his face. 

"How do you feel?" Dimitri asks. "I feel tired," I reply. 

Dimitri shifts off the bed, then walks around to my side of the bed. He sits down on the edge of the bed, pulling me into his lap. "You scared me," he says as he wraps his arms around me. 

He places me on the bed, then drops down on his knee in front of me. "What happened in there?" he asks as he takes my hands into his. 

"That women feed on me every day and was very rough with me. I got desperate, so I tried to end the pain by starving myself to death. 

"I'm so sorry, Emily. I never wanted to put you in danger. I didn't keep you safe. I'm not worthy of you. "I tried to get to you, but they had me outnumbered," Dimitri says as he hangs his head down. 

I stand up, causing Dimitri to get to his feet. I pull him to me, wrapping my arms around his neck. "You did your best. It was just meant to be. We were destined to be in their hands. It was our fate. I do not blame you or look at you as a failure," I tell Dimitri, who lets out a sigh. 

 "Emily, I love you. I will never let anyone hurt you again," I promise, he says as he runs his hand down my cheek. 

 "I wish that was true, but we both know that she will not stop until she gets her hands on me and you out of the picture permanently. I will never be free of them," I say as I have come to accept my fate.  

 "You don't have anything to fear, I promise," Dimitri says as steps closer to me. "Don't make promises that will have to be broken later," I tell him. 

  "This is a promise that I will keep. You don't have to worry about them ever again," he says as he grabs ahold of me, pulling me into his arms. I have no chance to respond when Dimitri covers my lips with his, taking me by surprise.  

"Let's get you something to eat," Dimitri says as he leads me down the hall. As we walk down the steps into the kitchen, I noticed that there is no one in sight. I watch Dimitri move around the kitchen with ease. This is something I have not seen him do. "I'll fix you some soup, it will make you feel better," he says as he loads the processor with the ingredients that he has gathered. 

He walks over to the stove, placing the pot on the burner. He goes to work, adding various spices. My stomach starts to growl as the smell of the soup fills the room. 

When it is done, Dimitri makes me a bowl. I sit down at the table, taking in the delicious scent. I take a bite, and it's heavenly. "I didn't think you could cook like this," I say between my bites. "I learned all kinds of things growing up. Me and Daniel were both taught by our mother to cook at an early age. We needed to learn how to survive on our own when we were sent off to study to be guardians," he says as I swallow my next bite. I finish the bowl in no time, and I'm about to bust. "That was delicious, thank you," I say. 

 "Come, let's get you a bath," he says as he leads me into the bathroom. When we get into the bathroom, he lays out the towels and some clean clothes. Dimitri then walks over to me, taking me into his arms. "I love you," he whispers as he places his forehead against mine. 

"I love you too," I say as I place a kiss on his lips. He lets me go to start the bathwater. He then walks over to me and starts addressing me. I feel my face growing hot as he finishes with all the buttons on my nightshirt. He pushes the shirt off my shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. He finishes undressing me, then removes his clothes too. 

I look over and give him a suggestive look. "Don't think about it," he says as he points over to the bathtub. 

He climbs in behind me, pulling me against his bare chest. He picks up the sponge to start washing me when I turn around to face him. His eyes grow wide from my sudden move. I pull his lips to mine in a kiss that makes grunt. I pull back, looking down at this man that is all mine. I run my finger across his bottom lip. "Emily," he warns. 

"What," I say with innocents. "No, this is not the time for that. We will have plenty of time for that. You need to save your strength, you're still very weak. Turn around so I can get you clean," he says as he spins me back around. 

  "Let's get dressed, I want you to meet someone," Dimitri says as he hands me my clothes after we get out of the tub. I get dressed and walk over to Dimitri, who has managed to pull himself together pretty fast. "Ready," he asks as he places his arms around my waist. "Where is everyone?" I ask as I look up at him. "You will find out," he says as he takes me by my hand and leads me out of the bathroom.  

 I follow Dimitri into a room that has a woman standing there waiting for us. I stop dead in my tracks. "It's Ok," Dimitri says as he gives my hand a reassuring squeeze. When I look at her, I see Night Walker, but she doesn't quite look like them. Her pale skin is so different from theirs, and her eyes are not red. 

"It's been a while, Dimitri, seems like you have gotten yourself into some trouble," she says. "I'm sorry I got you involved in this matter. I tried to deal with it on my own," Dimitri says. "You are family, we stick together. You should have come to me sooner, I could have helped you through this transition," she says. "I know, it's just that I'm a Nightwalker, not an original cursed," he says. "I understand, we will talk about it later, for now, who is the special girl you told me about?" she asks.  

"This is Emily, she is the daughter of the late lightling king and queen," Dimitri says. "It's nice to meet you. Dimitri has told me so much about you," she says. "Grandmother," Dimitri says with a grin. 

"Never mind him. My name is Amelia," she says as she looks over at Dimitri with a smile. Grandmother?" I ask. "It's a long story, I will explain everything later," she says.

"This is exciting, I have never met any of his family. He's been a mystery all this time," I say. "Yes, that is how a lot of my family are, you will understand when we explain things," Amelia says. 

"For now, we must go before the Nightwalkers get back. My people are keeping them away till I get you two to safety. They are not happy that I have stepped in. Once she found out Dimitri's true identity, she was furious," Amelia says. 

Dimitri wraps his arm around my waist as he follows Amelia down the hall. "Where are we doing?" I ask. "To my house," he says as he gives me a wink. 

Hysteria - Chapter Thirty Nine

 

Pulling myself up off the floor, I run over to the door to try to get it open. I pull and twist the knob, but it's no use, it won't open no matter how hard I try. In desperation, I start to beat on the door. "Let me out," I scream.

Dimitri, please help me," I shout as I bang at the door once again. I have lost track of how long I have stood at this door, just beating away at the wood that has made my hands hurt. I start kicking and running at the door but realize it shows no signs of budging.

No one seems to hear my cries. Dimitri hasn't shown up, and no one has bothered to come in. Out of exhaustion, I slide down to the floor.

Slumping against the door, I begin to cry. Dimitri must be locked up somewhere, and I'm going to die? I should have known this day would come eventually. It seems to be my destiny to fall into the hands of the Nightwalkers. I was the last one in my bloodline that was still alive. My heart is pounding in my chest as I try to catch my breath.

I ball up in the middle of the floor as I let my tears come. I fear I will not see Dimtri or Chris again. I know it is only a matter of time before she comes to kill me. 

 I pull myself up off the floor next to the fireplace that is lit by a small fire. All I can think of is Dimitri. Is he alright? Will they kill him? I start to tremble as the unknown of what will come next scares me. 

"Dimitri, I love you, if you can hear me, I love you," I whisper into the silence.

I wipe the tears from my eyes as I face the reality that I will not leave this room alive. 

I sit, staring at the flames as my mind races with so many thoughts. I fear that they have already killed Dimitri, with no signs from him. I began to think if she doesn't kill me first............... I will find a way to end this nightmare.

It's quiet, and I'm contemplating my end. I hear voices from outside the door. I go over to the door to listen. All of a sudden, the door comes open, pushing me backward. 

Ella appears through the doorway, taking me by surprise. I go running, but she grabs me by my shoulders, pulling me to her. I stumble as she takes me off guard. She grabs my head, tilting it to the side with blunt force. I know exactly at this moment what she's getting ready to do. I feel her cold breath nearing my neck, I know its only a matter of time before I feel her teeth sink in. I try to brace myself for the bite.

Nothing prepares me for the pain that hits me as I feel her teeth pierce into my skin. A pain shoots through my whole body as my nerve endings light on fire. Within a second, the pain melts away as my body relaxes. It has to be something from the bite I think to my self as she continues to drink from my neck. "This is wrong," I scream in my head. I try to fight through the power her bite has on me. I try to pull away only to find that she has a firm hold on me. The high is overwhelming me.

Panic is setting in as I fear that she will not stop. She suddenly jerks away, giving me an ice-cold look with her red eyes. I sway from the dizzy feeling my head has from the bite. I gasp when she backhands me across the face knocking me back several feet. It shocks me more than it hurts. It brings me back to my senses as I look at her with shock. 

A loud snap comes as she slaps me again. "Your Bonded!" she shouts at me with a growl.

I start to back up and trip right in front of her. The look on her face as she peers down at me with hate makes me panic. I brace myself for my fate. She's going to kill me. To my utter shock, she stops as she wipes my blood off her mouth with the sleeve of her dress. "You were supposed to be mine, but you and Dimitri thought it was clever to bond you two together. Well, my dear, it will only save you to a certain degree. I may not be able to kill you or drain you of all your blood, but I will get my way one way or another. I can lock you away from Dimitri, and then you will suffer more than you would have if you had served me," she screams.

She storms out the door as I pull myself up off the floor. I rub my sore cheek that stings from her backhanding me as the haze continues to wear off.

She's not going to kill me but torture me. I would rather her just kill me and get it over with. My heart sinks as I think of how she's going to torture Dimitri with all kinds of lies about what she does to me and what she will do to me. I know Dimitri is going to suffer greatly. I can almost hear his heartbreaking from here. I know he's still alive. She gave that one away when she threatened to keep me away from him. Her new weapon of choice is me.

Hours pass, and the room grows quiet. The sound of the door unlocking has me running over to the wall behind the sofa. I peak up to see Luke enter. He sets a plate of food on the table without saying a word or looking at me. "Luke!" I whisper.

He drops his head, not looking at me. He heads to the door as I watch him leave, expecting him to look back or say something, but he doesn't. I hear the door lock knowing I'm once again a prisoner.

My stomach growls as I smell the food. I stare at it, knowing I should be hungry but don't see the point. My last meal, I chuckle to myself as the hysteria starts to set in.

I sit for a while, and with several hours passing, I must have dozed off.

A sudden sound coming from the door snaps me awake. It's Dimitri, and he's shouting and arguing with someone. "I want to see her," he shouts. "You know I can't do that, she will have my head," the man says. "I'll have your head!" Dimitri shouts. "Your threats will make no difference," the man replies.

I hear a thud, which makes me jump. The door starts too open. More shouts come from down the hall. I can't make them out. There is more than one person shouting at Dimitri. The door closes, and the sound of the lock clicks loud. More arguing, then they stop, and it grows quiet again. 

 I find myself lying on the floor, just staring into space. My thoughts have become nonexistent as the darkness starts to take over me. It feels like I have been in here for weeks now. The days have been coming and going. I've lost all sense of time. I don't know how long I have been here.

I sleep most of the time with the lack of energy I have from not eating, and the women draining my blood each day. She's never gentle when she bites into my neck, and the constant haze from her bite is exhausting. The days seem to go by as I doze in and out of consciousness. The only time I stir is when the door opens, signaling either someone bringing food or the woman is back for her next meal. I refuse any food they bring in, no matter how much they threaten me.

I feel death at my doorstep, it's so close that I welcome it. I beg for it to take me quick. I wait for my body to give in, but it deceives me in fighting to stay alive. Just die, I tell myself. "Let go," I say out loud, piercing the dead silence of the room. I barely hear the door unlock. Here they come to end this or try to prolong it. In my blurry vision, I see a man or woman I have no idea who comes in. I'm so light-headed I can't even make them out. I lay my head back down as I close my eyes once again. "Make it fast," I say as my voice cracks.

Then a familiar voice calls to me, "Emily, what have they done to you?" I don't even have the strength to look up at him. "Just let me die, I'm almost there," I say in a mumble. I find myself drifting off. He shakes me hard, making my eyes flutter.

"Don't!" I whisper. "Let me go, I'm done fighting," I say in a cracked voice, barely a whisper as I try to pull away from him. I manage to roll over to face away from him. I can't bare to see his face. "Emily, please," he begs. I have no strength to even say anything. After a few moments, he drapes his body over mine. He wraps his arms around me with his face against my shoulder. I can feel him crying. I can't even cry, I just want to go to sleep and never wake up. He pleads with me to stay by his side that everything is safe now. I will never be safe, I will never be ok no matter how much he promises me. As long as she's alive, I will never be safe.

Emily Dimitri shouts, making me vaguely aware that I'm in his arms. He's kissing my forehead as he carries me to where I have no idea. "Stay with me," he whispers. "I have something really important to tell you," he pleads. I can no longer fight the darkness, it takes me........