“I failed you before. I will not make that mistake again,” Silas swore vehemently. He was so fierce, my heart ached.

He was fighting lifetimes of prejudice, how could he hope to change things so quickly? The vampires would not stop until I was dead. I didn’t believe there was any way to change lifetimes of prejudice.

“The only way is if you let me go,” I said to him, knowing it wasn’t something he wanted to hear.

“That will never happen. You are mine Avery. For however long I draw breath, you will be mine and I will protect you.” Anger glittered in his eyes.

But the vampires were just as determined to preserve their way of life and that made me a problem that needed to be fixed. We had both nearly died, somehow it didn’t feel like we had a chance.

What horrified me about the last attack was that they were willing to sacrifice him to complete their mission. It showed the lengths they were prepared to go to and that frightened me more than the fear for my own life.

It meant Silas and our sons were at risk. This wasn’t just about me, anymore. I wasn’t the only at risk and I could not allow anything to happen to Silas or our sons.

“They were willing to kill you Silas. I don’t even know how we are both still here. We should be dead.” It was a lot to take in, in that moment too much.

“The most important thing is they have failed. We have both survived. There will be time for revenge but we need to recover. Both of us.”

He was always so strong, unwavering. Now I understood he had weaknesses the vampires would exploit to get what they wanted.

“But how? None of this makes any sense. I saw you. You were a Scav. How did you go from that to this?” I took a steadying breath. “I remember being so hungry I would have killed you given the chance.”

It was a terrible thing to admit, but it was the truth. In the haze of hunger that had ravaged my body I would have done anything, including kill the man I loved. It frightened me, how little control I had.

He took my hand into his. “I know. We are still trying to figure it out and so far we believe there is something in your blood that stops the spread of the infection.”

“Really?”

“You were not infected in the initial fight with the Scav. Even previously when you fought the Scav in training you did not get infection.”

“But I did get sick.”

“We believe that happened because I weakened you when I drank your blood. What saved me allowed the infection to spread through you.”

It made sense in some sort of way.

“It’s never happened before so we are only at the theoretical stage. We would have to do some research to conclusively prove the theory.”

I nodded. It was mind blowing that we had made it through. I was just thankful.

“How can we trust that it won’t happen again?” I asked the question that was bugging me.

“We are working on a way to ensure our safety Avery.” He held my hand tightly. “What inspired hate in my kind has inspired a glimmer of hope in others.”

I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Jason and the people who took you in heard about our marriage. We did the unthinkable and it a gave them hope that new traditions can replace old outdated ones. Traditions that inspire loyalty and not slavery.”

It was so much to take in.

“Until I’m able to get to investigate the full extent of the betrayal and who was involved, Jason will provide us with protection. We are less likely to have a breach in our security when we are being protected by people who have a vested interest in our survival.”

I was stunned.

It gave me hope that we weren’t in this alone, and there were others who were striving for the same change.

If anyone had told me this was how things would unfold I would have told them they were crazy.

He kissed my hand and I stared at him, allowing myself to feel some hope that we weren’t doomed to fail.

“You are too weak to move right now but as soon as you are better we will go into hiding.”

That did not fill me with confidence.

“Why do we need to hide Silas?”

He sighed. “I have to ascend and to do that I will need to leave you. I cannot leave you if I fear you are not safe. I have to know you and our sons are protected to be able to complete it. Taking a risk at this stage would be foolish. It is the only way to stop them.”

“Ascend?” What was he talking about? I had never heard that mentioned before.

“As a royal I have a powerful bloodline. It was never something I wanted or needed. I was content to get my hands dirty with training our new Sires to ensure the continuation and protection of my kind. But now things have changed. It is time to become who I was meant to be, a royal with everything that entails.”

“How will that helps us?”

The only royals I had seen in the human world were materialistically better off than the ordinary folks.

“Ascending will make me more powerful than a typical vampire. It gives me the power to keep you and our sons safe. It is the only way to ensure your safety Avery. It was something I never needed, but now it is essential to our survival.”

“If this threatens them, they will try to stop you.”

I could not see the vampires waiting on the sidelines while Silas took steps to become stronger.

He frowned.

I had a distinct feeling there was something he wasn’t saying. I searched his features while he was silent.

“It is a great power. Not everyone is worthy of it.”

That gave me a sense of dread. “What are you talking about?”

“Some do not survive the ascension process.”

I was already shaking my head. I would not risk his life, not after nearly losing him. “There has to be another way.”

“There is no other way. Trust me Avery. I have to do this or you will never be safe.”

I felt too weak to have the strength to argue with him.

“What does Jude have to say?”

He released my hand. “He has his reservations about it.”

I just knew it.

“He doesn’t want you to do it.”

Silas refused to confirm my assumption. He didn’t have to.

“In a world where I had a choice, perhaps the choice would be different. But in this situation we are in, there is no choice.” He stood. “I will not live in fear of my kind.”

He folded his arms across his broad chest. Even after nearly dying he still looked strong and powerful. Maybe it was the confidence that had survived in his bloodline that was coming out in full force.

“I will not risk you and our sons.”

“What if I don’t want to risk your life Silas?” I asked the question softly.

He studied me, dropping his arms to his side. “You know I have to do this.”

“I can’t do any of this without you.” My words were soft spoken but they were straight from my heart.

He lowered himself in the chair and gather my hand in the warmth of both of his, bringing it closer to his lips. “I know what it feels like to lose you.” He paused. There was a flicker of emotion in his eyes. “I won’t live through that again so I will do everything to protect you. Do you understand that?”

I did understand, I felt that same way about him, I would do anything to protect him.

I had never considered it before and it made me feel selfish for trying to protect him in that way. If I had known I might not have been strong enough to leave him.

“Everything I have ever done was to protect you,” I declared in a whisper.

He squeezed my hand in his.

“I don’t plan on dying Avery. This has always been my fate. It is who I am. I’m going to embrace it fully. I’m going to become what I was always meant to.”