A silence, thick and heavy as the ancient stones surrounding them, followed Reina's declaration. The air itself seemed to hold its breath. Jane's frozen mask of composure did not change, but her crimson eyes flared with a profound, terrifying hunger. The cool fingertips against Reina's throat pressed infinitesimally harder, a silent, possessive punctuation.
"Yes."
The single word, so quiet it was almost a thought given sound, hung between them. Then, a tremor, a tiny crack in Jane's icy facade. Her lips parted, not in a smile, but in a sharp, silent inhalation as if she'd been physically struck by the word.
Aro's chuckle broke the spell, a dry, rustling sound. "Marvelous! A celebration, then! A new sister for our dear Jane. The first of her kind in… well, in a very long time." He clapped his hands together softly. "We shall prepare the—"
"No."
Jane's voice was a whip-crack of authority, slicing through Aro's theatrics. Every guard in the hall stiffened almost imperceptibly. She finally pulled her gaze from Reina's, turning it toward the kings. The deference she had shown earlier was gone, replaced by a fierce, protective resolve that was far more ancient.
"The transformation will be performed," Jane stated, her tone leaving no room for debate. "But it will be done by my hand. And it will be done in private." Her gaze flickered to Caius, who watched with a raised, skeptical brow, and then to Marcus, whose sad eyes seemed to hold a flicker of understanding. "I will not have my… my mate's transition be a spectacle for the court."
Aro's expression was one of pure, unadulterated delight at this show of passion. "Of course, dear one! Of course. A sacred moment. We would not dream of intruding." He waved a dismissive hand. "Take her to your chambers. We shall expect you when the change is complete."
Without another word, Jane's hand closed around Reina's. Her grip was firm, unbreakable, yet not painful. It was an anchor. She turned and led Reina from the throne room, past the rows of statuesque guards. Reina caught the faint, almost-smirk on the face of the beautiful vampire named Heidi, and the curious, intense stare of Jane's brother, Alec, before the massive doors swung shut behind them, muting the opulent world of the kings.
The corridors they navigated were darker, older, hewn from the same deep gray stone as the fortress exterior. The air grew cooler, the only sound the faint, echoing click of Jane's footsteps and the frantic, living drumbeat of Reina's own heart. Jane did not speak, her focus absolute, her movements efficient as she guided Reina through a labyrinth of passages.
Finally, she stopped before an ornate door of dark, carved wood. She pushed it open and guided Reina inside before closing it with a definitive, muted thud.
The chamber was vast, a testament to centuries of existence. A vaulted ceiling arched high above, and a large, unlit fireplace dominated one wall. Tapestries depicting scenes of a darker, more ancient world softened the stone. But Reina's eyes were drawn to the center of the room, to a massive bed draped in the deepest black silk. The intimacy of the space, the clear, potent fact of it being Jane's space, sent a fresh wave of shivers through her.
Jane released her hand and moved to stand before the cold fireplace, her back to Reina for a moment. Her small form was rigid with a tension Reina could feel across the room.
"You deserve an explanation," Jane said, her voice low and echoing slightly in the spacious room. She turned, and her eyes were burning. "Before I do this. You deserve that."
Reina simply nodded, her throat too tight for words.
"The venom," Jane began, her clinical tone a stark contrast to the fire in her gaze. "It is the mechanism of our existence. It will burn. It is a fire that will feel as though it is consuming every particle of your being from the inside out. It will be the most excruciating pain you can possibly imagine, and then it will become more. It will last for… a time. Several days, typically."
She took a step closer, the distance between them shrinking, the air crackling. "Your heart will stop. Your lungs will cease their pointless function. The blood I have not… taken… will be burned away by the venom." Another step. "And when the fire recedes, you will awake. You will be frozen like this, forever as you are now. Stronger than any human. Faster. Your senses will be so acute the world will feel entirely new. And you will be… parched."
Jane was only a foot away now. Reina could see the impossible perfection of her poreless skin, could feel the cool energy radiating from her body.
"The thirst is a new kind of fire. It is a constant, raging need. It will be your first and primary instinct, an ache that demands to be sated. It is a part of you, and you must master it, as I have." Her eyes dropped to Reina's lips, then back to her eyes. "But first, you must survive the burn."
Reina swallowed, the sound loud in the quiet room. The description was terrifying. It was a death sentence described in horrifying detail. Yet, looking at Jane, at the fierce devotion and terrifying love in her eyes, the fear began to morph, twisting into something else—a desperate, aching need of her own.
"Why here?" Reina whispered, gesturing vaguely to the private chamber. "Why not with the others?"
A low, almost imperceptible sound, like a growl, rumbled in Jane's chest. "Because," she said, her voice dropping to a husky, intimate whisper. "The moment you are mine, truly and eternally mine, will not be witnessed by anyone. The moment your human life ends and your immortal life begins belongs to me. To us. Alone."
She lifted her hand, and her cool fingers gently traced the line of Reina's jaw. The touch was electric, a promise and a threat intertwined. "I will be the last thing your human eyes see. And I will be the first thing your new eyes see. I will be your entire world, Reina. As you are mine."
The possessiveness in her words should have been frightening. Instead, it ignited a deep, answering claim within Reina. This emptiness inside her, this void left by her stolen memories, yearned to be filled by this fierce, beautiful, dangerous creature.
"I'm not afraid," Reina breathed, the truth of the statement surprising her. The fear was there, a cold knot in her stomach, but it was utterly dwarfed by her certainty. "I trust you."
Jane's eyes fluttered closed for a fraction of a second, as if the words were a physical caress. When they opened, the crimson depths held a terrifying, beautiful tenderness.
"Then lie down," Jane instructed, her voice barely a whisper, yet it held the weight of a commandment. She gestured to the bed of black silk. "It is time."
Reina's legs felt weak, but she obeyed, moving to the edge of the immense bed and lowering herself onto the impossibly soft, cool fabric. She leaned back, her heart hammering against her ribs, a frantic, living drum counting down her final moments of humanity.
Jane stood over her, a pale angel of death and rebirth. She leaned down, her silver-blonde hair forming a curtain around their faces, blocking out the rest of the world. The scent of cold stone and something uniquely, intoxicatingly Jane filled Reina's senses.
"Close your eyes," Jane murmured, her lips so close they brushed against Reina's ear, sending another violent shiver through her.
Reina did. The world went dark. All she could feel was the cool weight of Jane beside her on the bed, the anticipation singing in the air, the terrifying, exhilarating knowledge of what was to come.
She felt Jane's cool breath on her neck, right over the frantic pulse that leapt beneath her skin. She felt the faintest brush of lips, a ghost of a kiss against her throat.
"It will be over soon," Jane whispered, her voice a hypnotic lullaby in the darkness. "And then forever begins."
The tension coiled in the air, thick and sweet as honey. Reina waited, every nerve ending screaming with anticipation for the piercing pain, for the fire, for the end of everything she knew and the beginning of everything she was destined to be. Jane's body shifted above her, a predator poised for the transformative strike, and her final words were a warm caress against Reina's skin.
"Are you ready for me?"