CHAPTER 7: THE TRANSFORMATION
Elara's POV
Kael led me down stone steps that went deeper than I thought possible and with each step the air grew thicker and something ancient hummed through the walls and made my chest tight and through the bond I felt his fear mixing with mine and that scared me more than anything because Kael was never afraid.
"What if I lose myself?" I whispered and stopped walking and his hand tightened around mine and when he turned to face me his eyes were soft and sad and full of understanding.
"Then I'll find you and bring you back," he said and cupped my face so gently. "Every part of you that matters is already written into my soul and if you get lost in the darkness I'll be the light that guides you home."
Tears burned my eyes and I pressed into his touch and through the bond his love wrapped around me like a shield. "I'm scared."
"I know and I'm scared too because I've never done this before and eight hundred years didn't prepare me for how much I'd have to lose if this goes wrong," he breathed and kissed my forehead. "You're the first thing I've cared about in centuries."
The confession broke something open in my chest and I pulled him down and kissed him hard and desperate and poured everything I felt through the bond because I needed him to know that whatever happened next I was choosing him and choosing this and choosing us.
The chamber at the bottom was carved with symbols that glowed red and pulsed like a heartbeat and when I stepped into the circle the air pressure changed and my skin felt too tight. "Tell me what to do."
He pulled me close and his hands trembled against my waist. "First I feed from you deep enough to mark your soul and then you take my blood and my power and then we just hold on to each other and survive what comes next."
Through the bond I felt his terror that he might hurt me and I touched his face and made him look at me. "I trust you more than I've ever trusted anyone."
His eyes went bright and he kissed me slow and sweet and reverent and through the bond his love was so overwhelming it made my knees weak and then his fangs found my throat and the bond exploded between us.
He drank deeper than ever before and through the bond I felt him taking pieces of my humanity and cradling them like precious things and I felt my life pouring into him and the intimacy of it made tears stream down my face because this was more than feeding this was him seeing every part of me and loving all of it.
When he pulled back his hand was shaking when he bit his wrist and offered it to me. "Take what's mine and make it yours and don't let go of me no matter what happens."
I pressed my mouth to his wrist and his blood hit my tongue like lightning and fire and centuries of power slammed into my body and I gasped and grabbed onto him and through the bond I felt his shock because I was taking more of his power than he expected.
Pain exploded through every nerve and my bones started breaking and I screamed and Kael caught me before I hit the ground and pulled me against his chest. "I've got you and stay with me and fight through it," he said rough and desperate. "You're so strong and I'm right here."
Through the bond his presence anchored me while my body tore itself apart and remade itself into something new and I could feel my humanity slipping away like water through my fingers and panic clawed up my throat because what if I forgot who I was and what if I became something monstrous.
"Elara look at me," his voice cut through the pain and I forced my eyes open and his face was right there and tears were streaming down his cheeks. "You're still you and you'll always be you and I can feel your soul through the bond and it's bright and beautiful and nothing can take that away."
His words wrapped around me like a lifeline and I held onto them while the transformation ravaged through me and through the bond his love poured into me steady and unshakeable and slowly the pain started to fade and settle and transform into something else.
When I could finally breathe again the world looked different and sharper and I could hear hearts beating three floors above us and smell magic in the air and feel power humming under my skin.
"Look at you," he whispered and his voice broke. "You're absolutely magnificent."
I looked at my hands and they glowed faint silver and when I flexed my fingers the air shimmered. "Did it work?"
"Better than I dared hope," he said and kissed me deep and claiming. "You're something the world has never seen before and you're mine and I'm yours and nothing is taking you from me."
The building shook and somewhere above us glass shattered and screams echoed down the stone halls and through the bond Kael's alarm spiked sharp and immediate.
"The hunters are here and they brought an army," he said and pulled me to my feet.
Through the bond I felt his rage and his fear but when I stood I felt steady and strong and powerful in ways I'd never imagined and I grabbed his hand and smiled fierce. "Then let's go remind them why they shouldn't threaten what belongs to us."
His answering smile was all teeth and pride and through the bond his love blazed bright and together we ran toward the war waiting for us above.