Blast from the Very Distant Past
Juliette. I hadn't thought I would see her again. Honestly, I hadn't given her any thought at all since I had met Diana. So I foolishly hadn't been concerned that she would be a danger to anyone but herself. Certainly not me.
I had been assisting Diana with learning to defend herself against the likes of Knox and other vampires. Really against everyone but the two of us. We were laughing and joking. I didn't sense Juliette's presence myself until it was too late.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, just not when it meant putting Diana's life in danger. Especially when Diana knew nothing about Juliette. It wasn't that I was keeping what was turning out to be an important piece of information from Diana. I just hadn't thought about Juliette in years.
There was no forgetting her now, when she had a grip on Diana's throat in a jealous rage. Or more to the point, I was never forgetting the look on Diana's face. It was a mixture of fear and confusion. But she was standing her ground. My brave lioness.
I, on the other hand was crumbling inside. I could not lose Diana. She was everything to me. Since the death of my wife and son, I had kept my heart closely guarded. And then I had met Diana and found the piece of my heart that I hadn't known had been missing. I could not go back to a life without her.
Gilbert had created Juliette to infiltrate my heart and my family. A plan that had never really worked. For one thing my family despised her especially Marcus and for the other, she never truly captured my heart. At best, she was a dalliance. There was never true love on my part which I always felt a little guilty for.
My assuring Diana that all would be fine did nothing to calm Juliette. After all, Gilbert had groomed her to be the object of my desire. She no longer had any value or purpose now. To be fair, I had desired her at one time. But I had never loved her. With Diana, there were both.
I was sorry and I told her so, but they were empty words to her. Though I should have seen the attack coming, I didn't. A woman scorned was always dangerous. As the wounds Juliette had unleashed on me threatened to end my existence, my fleeting thought was that at least Diana would be safe from one threat. I vaguely heard Juliette tell Diana that her magic couldn't save me, then Juliette's scream, a flash of heat and the sound of splintering wood. Underestimating Diana had been Juliette's downfall.
"I've searched for you my whole life." Truer words had never been spoken. At least by me.
"You're not going to die. You hear me?" At least I would die knowing Diana truly loved me, something I now knew I had never really doubted. I heard her muttering something and Marcus arriving. Then a feeling of warmth surrounding me. And the sound of other voices. Then it was there. Her scent. So strong and powerful. Had Juliette hurt her after all? In my weakened state I was unable to resist. I drank, savouring her as one would a fine wine. I had to stop. Diana's death could not be my doing. It took every last ounce of strength to stop drinking. This was my worst fear realised. Her life in danger because of me. My inability to resist her.
She had saved me, but at what cost to herself?