The Daybreakers had carried him to a guest bedroom in Thierry's mansion
after he had passed out and laid him out on the bed. All had left except
Aradia, who placed herself in a chair next to his bed. She sat quietly
waiting for him to come to, placing her hands lovingly on her swelling
stomach. Despite the sad situation, she smiled as she thought of her
growing child. Although not technically a mother yet, the Witch's Council
had allowed her to become their Mother since she was going to be a mother.
Settling into her chair, Aradia closed her eyes remembering how she found
her soulmate as she waited for Ash to wake up.
When at last he woke it was getting dark. He didn't remember exactly what
had happened. All he knew was that his heart hurt. He saw Aradia sitting in
her chair and then he remembered. His eyes turned dark violet in grief.
Turning his face away from her he started to cry quietly, his shoulders
shaking with his sorrow. For the first time in his life, he cried in front
of someone. Aradia placed her hand hesitantly on his shoulder, silently
giving him some comfort. Eventually his tears stopped. Lying there in the
quiet, he had asked her in a hoarse voice to leave him alone.
She left him alone in the bedroom. There wasn't anything to be done about
his pain. He'd tried sleeping, but every time he closed his eyes, Mary-
Lynette's face would appear before his face: her soft dark hair and
sparkling blue eyes. And after her face he'd remember the way she'd looked
that night under the stars, the night they'd first kissed. The night she'd
killed Jeremy. That had been another thing he'd failed to do. Kill the
'wolf.
Maybe that's why the Goddess had taken her; Ash didn't deserve a soulmate
especially one as gentle and interesting and beautiful as his Mare.
His heart still hurt, but it would probably continue to hurt until he was
staked. Even then he'd probably still hurt after. She had been his
soulmate, for Goddess's sake!
Just two more weeks and I would've been back. Just two more weeks! Ash sat
up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. Goddess, why? The year was
almost up! I could've been there! I could've protected her from-I don't
even know how she died! He bent over, covering his face with his hands,
feeling like he was the worst soulmate in the world.
Was it some sort of illness that brought about her . . . death? No, he'd
have felt her suffering far earlier than today. A car accident? The roof
suddenly falling down on her head? A murder? Animal attack? That only
brought back memories of that werewolf. His hands dropped from his face.
Could it have-No, he's dead, burnt to a crisp.
Shouldn't his sisters have protected her? They knew she was his soulmate.
What about Mark? Didn't he love his sister? Why hadn't he protected her,
stopped her from dying? Ash could feel the anger building up against them.
They had let her die!! He lifted his face from his hands and stared blindly
out the window. But no, he knew that his family and Mark would have done
everything they could to prevent Mary-Lynette from dying.
His anger faded away as he saw the faint stars in the dark sky. She had
loved the stars. He knew that one of the reasons she had first agreed to
become a vampire was that she wanted to see the stars with her naked eye.
He remembered the shocked look on her face when she had shined the light
from the flashlight in his eyes. Since it had been dark, his pupils had
been dilated and the light had hurt!
If only he knew what had happened to her! That's it! He stood up and began
pacing. Nothing prevented him from finding out what happened. But he just
didn't want to see her lying peacefully in some coffin. But again, he
couldn't miss on knowing what had happened, or at least saying a last good-
bye.
He stopped near the window, his fierce yellow eyes looking up at the stars
remembering her. His decision was made, he was returning to Briar Creek.
