Chapter Thirty One:

I sat in the middle of the cleared living room, my eyes closed, my legs crossed. Godric sat across from me in a similar position, not a single sound emitting from the vampire. I could faintly hear Eric somewhere within the penthouse suite, but I tried not to let the blonde distract me. I followed Godric's advice, I tried to clear my mind, and I tried to concentrate on these metaphysical walls. I thought long and hard about brick walls encasing my inner self. I tried to visualize brick by brick, the wall being built until it was completely solid and indestructible. But no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't do it. Every time I thought I was making progress, Godric was just able to knock down those walls, entering my inner most thoughts and desires.

"Okay I can't do this." I sighed, my shoulders slumping forward. I opened my eyes, a frown settling on my lips. "This is impossible, Godric."

"You just need to concentrate." Godric's eyes opened, sending me an encouraging smile.

"I'm trying Godric, I am. But I just can't do it." I mumbled with a shake of my head. "I just can't."

"You can, Savannah. I know that you can." He reached over, grasping my hand. "You just need to focus."

"I am focusing. I'm doing everything you're telling me to do and it's still not working." I sighed, rubbing my temple as I felt a headache coming on. "I don't think I'm as strong as you think I am, Godric."

"You are. I know you are." He squeezed my hand gently. "Why don't we take a break? We've all been put through a lot in the past twenty four hours. Perhaps tonight was the wrong time to begin this."

"I want to be able to do this, Godric, I really do."

"I know my love." Godric nodded, rising from his spot on the floor. "Let's just call it a night. We've been working at this for long enough. We'll try again another night."

I just nodded as Godric tugged me to my feet with ease. I swayed on the spot, feeling dizzy before Godric steadied me. He stole a short but sweet kiss on the lips, our fingers intertwining as he began tugging me out of the living room and down the hallway. He led me back into the bedroom we had woken up in earlier and I was surprised to find Eric making the bed, the torn silk sheets thrown off to the side. Guilt coursed through my veins as I realized I had been the cause for the beautiful sheets to be ruined.

"Sorry about your sheets." I blushed in embarrassment. "I didn't mean to..."

"They're sheets, Savannah." Eric rolled his eyes as he lounged on the bed, his ankles crossed, his arms resting behind his head. "Hardly something to cry over."

"Oh well for the wealthy Vampire, sure." I rolled my eyes, though there was a smile tugging at my lips. I couldn't help the feel of elation as I stared at Eric's half naked form. I was realizing how heightened my own emotions felt with this new bond, and that included my desires. I wanted nothing more than to jump that vampire and rip off what little clothing we were wearing. Eric must have known exactly what I was thinking as the smirk plastered across his lips spread wide.

"Is there anything I can help you with, lover?" he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

I looked away, my cascading hair masking my bright red cheeks. Godric however, had other thoughts in mind as he tucked the strands of hair behind my ear, the backs of his fingers caressing my cheek. He smiled warmly as our gazes met, a twinkle in those sea coloured orbs of his. It was a twinkle that reminded me greatly of his progeny. I guess what they say is true; the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. Though I had a feeling Eric was this sexual when he was human just as he was now as a vampire. It had just heightened over the last thousand years or so.

"There's no shame in your desires, Savannah." He cupped my cheek, drawing himself closer as his lips brushed across my forehead. "There's no shame in wanting what you do."

"Well I don't know about that. Wanting to rip both of your clothes off and having you fuck me senseless didn't exactly go over well last time." I reminded him.

"The violent end to our...evening was due to the triumvirate forming. It won't happen again, I can assure you that."

"How can you be so sure? Remember, when we kiss sometimes, I end up nearly dying." I pointed out.

"I actually have a theory about that. The times this happened, it was after I had given you my blood, a part of myself, my essence. Nothing is ever free, Savannah, and I think perhaps when we kissed, you too were sharing your essence with me. Only it turned..."

"Deadly." Eric finished for him.

"Exactly." Godric nodded. "But this has never happened with you and Eric as you've never shared blood."

"So what, as long as either of you don't give me blood, then we'll be fine?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Perhaps should there be a reason to give you blood, we'll just skip the intimacy." He chuckled, his eyes twinkling. "That shouldn't be a reason to fear what you want, Savannah, what you desire."

I wrapped my arms around myself. "I'm not used to this. I'm not used to wanting two men, not to mention at the same time. This is...new to me."

"And we can take this as slow as you wish." He assured. "We won't do anything you're not comfortable with. You just need to trust your instincts, my love. Don't let your fears consume you."

"I know." I nodded with a sigh, gazing over Godric's shoulder to the Viking on the bed. There was a look of curiosity on his face as he watched us, though the moment our eyes locked, a rare, true smile graced those kissable lips of his.

"Come here." He patted the bed beside him.

I felt the strong desire to go to him. Godric even encouraged it, nudging me towards the bed. I chewed on my bottom lip but nodded, following my instincts and shoving all my fears, my worries to the side. Yes, this was new and sort of scary, wanting these two vampires in the way that I did. That desire was only heightened now; it was even stronger than it had been before. I did just want to rip their clothes off and let them ravish me until I couldn't walk. I did want to let them consume me. And that scared me. I had been so independent my entire life. I had never intended on falling in love, in revolving my life around one man, nevertheless two. Especially not at such a young age. I still had my whole life ahead of me. I had plans at one point, goals and a career I had been so adamant about. And now, that all seemed to be a part of the past. I still knew what I wanted, but there were new wants, new desires now. And they all had to do with these two vampires. A part of me feared that, while the other part of me just wanted to let go and just enjoy what fate had thrown into my lap. There was a reason we had all met, why we had bonded, why we had formed this triumvirate. There was a reason for it all. So what could it hurt to just go along with what destiny has planned for me?

"You are a million miles away, lover." Eric reached a hand out to me as I reached the side of the bed. "Come here."

I slowly slid my hand into his, the vampire immediately tugging me onto the bed with such quickness, I felt dizzy when I came to rest between Eric's legs. He was sitting up now, his back against the many pillows as he held me in his arms, his chin resting on my shoulder. I sighed in content as I just melted into his embrace, my back leaning against his bare chest. I let my eyes flutter close as one of his hands began to travel across my bare leg, tracing invisible designs on my inner thigh. I felt more relaxed in Eric's harms in that moment than I ever had before in my life. Because with us this close to one another, I felt our bond flourish to life. It was as if the link in the chain had strengthened, our essences flowing between each other fluidly. It leapt into overdrive however, when Godric joined us on the bed, his hand falling to my opposite thigh, his warm fingers dancing across my bare flesh. It felt like little electric shocks were pinching at my skin. It wasn't painful, and in fact, it was the most wonderful feeling. I couldn't help the moan that escaped my lips as I leaned my head back against Eric's shoulder, my heart beginning to race in my chest.

Fingers, I wasn't sure who they belonged to, began wandering higher and higher, slipping beneath Eric's flowing shirt still encasing my naked form, and reached my already wet and hot core. A gasp sounded from my lips as the fingers barely even touched my most intimate region, though it was enough to elicit moan after moan of pleasure. It was different than last night. With our new bond, every little touch, every little sensations was heightened, it was more than it should have been. And it felt amazing. I could already feel my orgasm growing, the waves of pleasure washing over me as the fingers teased and toyed with me.

Another hand ripped apart the shirt, buttons flying everywhere as my breasts were soon freed. My nipples hardened as a thumb grazed across them. My body began moving on its own accord, my hips rocking to meet the fingers teasing me, still not yet thrusting inside of me like I wished for. A chuckle sounded behind me as a pair of fingers tweaked a nipple. A gasp of ecstasy escaped my lips, my eyes rolling into the back of my head. After the violent finish to last night's escapades, I never thought I would be ready for more. Even after a nice relaxing bath with Eric, I had still been sore. But now, now I was ready for these two vampires to use me over and over again, sending waves and waves of pleasure right through me until I couldn't even walk. This was what I desired, this was what I wanted.

Maybe Godric was right.

Maybe I needed to succumb to my desires without a single ounce of shame.

And I think that's exactly what I was going to do.

"Please..." I pleaded barely above a whisper, but both heard me clear as day.

"What do you want, lover?" Eric whispered huskily into my ear, his tongue flicking out to my most sensitive spot just below my earlobe. "Tell us what you want."

"I want you." I rasped out, my breathing growing heavy as the fingers slowly began pushing inside of me, though there was no need for the careful approach. I was more than read for those set of fingers. "I want both of you. Now. Right now. Please."

"Master, what do you think?" Eric kissed down my neck before resting his lips over my pulsing vein. "Should we give her what she desires?"

"I think we should, my son." Godric's voice sounded in my other ear, his own lips perched against the opposite side of my neck.

It felt like my heart was going to leap right from my chest as the fingers suddenly thrust deep inside of me. I could feel now that they were Godric's probing fingers that were rocking inside of me while it was Eric's hands that played with my breasts, kneading them, tweaking my nipples until they were nearly too sensitive to touch. Neither of them stopped, even as my breathing grew unsteady, even as my body began shaking between them. My hips were bucking, trying to speed the pace of Godric's fingers, every little movement casing my nipples to brush against Eric's warm hands. I was crying out in pleasure, crying out in pure ecstasy as the pace of his fingers became so fast, I couldn't even keep track of them. It was when he curled his fingers that I went wild, that the orgasm crashed down around me.

It was also when both vampires sunk their fangs into both sides of my neck. I gasped, my eyes flashing open as the waves of orgasm washed over me one after the other. Neither of the vampires ceased however, and while they hungrily tasted my blood, they continued to tease me. Eric was twisting and tugging on my nipples while Godric's fingers, if at all possible, thrust into me even faster. Before the first orgasm could even settle, a second came coursing through me with such intensity; it felt like I couldn't breathe. My mouth opened into a perfect 'O' but not a single sound escaped my lips.

I wasn't sure how much time passed. Time had no meaning as my body began to fall limp in Eric's arms, Godric's fingers becoming still inside of me. I couldn't speak; I could barely even breathe as I just sat there, both vampires lapping at my neck wounds before I felt them begin to already heal.

"I think we're going to have to change the sheets again." Eric was the first to speak, his chest rumbling as he chuckled.

A faint laugh left my lips, but I couldn't muster the strength for much else. I was perfectly content with just laying in Eric's arms, Godric's hands caressing my exhausted form as I drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

"Where do you think you're going?" Eric mumbled later that night, dawn quickly approaching.

I had awakened after a few hours of the most perfect, dreamless sleep I had had in the longest time. It was hard to sleep well during four years of stressful school work. And the last few months had been even more stressful and confusing with my growing powers, not to mention Godric's almost suicidal death. I hadn't slept well in too long. Who would have thought having two gorgeous vampires use me sexually would be the best antidote. I would have to remember that for the future.

But as dawn began to approach, my mother likely due home in the next hour, I had been about to slip out and leave. Godric was already sleep on my right while Eric had nestled himself around my body to my left. Sleeping between two vampires was difficult, especially when trying to sneak out, but I had been hoping that with how close it was to dawn, that Eric too would be fast asleep. But apparently he wasn't, and as I began rising, slipping from both of their embraces, Eric had caught me around the waist and tugged me back down between them.

I sighed as I tried to pry his arm from around me, but to no avail. There was no point in arguing with a stubborn vampire while lying together in bed.

"I was going to go home." I whispered, not wanting to wake Godric up. I wasn't sure if he had fallen into his dead rest yet, and if he hadn't, then I didn't want to disturb him. We had all gone through an ordeal in the past twenty four hours. We all deserved some rest. "My mom will be home soon and she usually checks in on me."

"You're an adult." He pointed out groggily.

"Yes, but she doesn't know that I'm currently fucking two vampires." I pointed out. "And I want to keep it that way."

"Ashamed of us?"

"Not at all. But my mom...she wouldn't understand." I sighed. "She works at the hospital, Eric. She's the one that deals with the vampire victims that come into the ER night after night. She's the one who has to stitch them up or send them down to the morgue. I know how she'll react if she knew about you and Godric. And I'd like to just avoid that conversation."

"We're a triumvirate now, my sweet necromancer. You can't hide from this forever. This is your fate now." He stroked his hand down my bare side.

"I know." I knew he was right. Eventually my mom was going to find out. Either someone was going to tell her or I was going to slip up. She was my mother after all, she knew me better than I knew myself half of the time. I hated lying to her; I hated not being able to tell her the truth. I was just scared about her reaction. I didn't want to end up having to choose. Because I wasn't so sure who I would choose if that ended up happening. On one hand, I loved my mother; she was the woman who gave me life. But on the other hand, I loved these two vampires more than I ever thought possible. We were bonded for life now, and I couldn't just change that. I just prayed it wouldn't come down to that.

"You really must go?"

"Well maybe I could stay..." I shrugged, glancing over my shoulder at the vampire who was smiling down at me.

"Good." His arm tightened around my waist, tugging my back to his chest.

I smiled in returned as I snuggled back between the two vampires, Godric moving in his sleep, drawing closer to Eric and me. I was in the center of a vampire sandwich, and I never thought I would ever say this, but it was the only place in the world I wanted to be in that moment. I felt safe, perfectly content, and completely loved. How these two vampires had come to love me, I would never know. But for whatever reason, fate had sent me these two wonderful men, and I would forever be grateful for that gift.

I snuck into the eerily quiet house, hoping to not wake up my sleeping mother. I had managed to slip out of Eric's grasps after waking later in the afternoon. As content as I was with just lying there for hours between my two vampires, I knew I would eventually have to return to the real world. I had vanished off the face of the earth for an entire day and now it was time to face reality. So I had fought with Eric's solid as rock arm and climbed from the bed. After a long, enjoyable shower, I found my discarded clothes from two nights ago and quickly slipped them on. It had been harder than I thought it would have been to leave both Eric and Godric. I had peeked into the bedroom one last time before leaving and it took all of my strength to keep from returning to that bed.

Eventually I had managed to leave, taking the long ride down to the lobby where I was embarrassed to find the same doorman from the other night stationed off to the side, a knowing look on his face as he recognized me. I blushed a deep shade of red as I hurried from the building and began the trek to where I had parked my car the other night. Thankfully it hadn't been towed and soon enough, I was pulling up in front of my silent house. My mother would have gone straight to bed once she had gotten home. I just hoped she never realized I hadn't been home since two nights ago. I may have been an adult and capable of making my own decisions, but she was still my mother, I was always going to be her little girl. She was always going to worry about me, especially with the changes that had come to our world in the last few years.

I was grateful, however, to find the house quiet as I made my way up the stairs. I hoped that meant she was still sleeping and I would be able to slip into my room as if I had been there all along. But the moment I stepped up onto the second floor, my heart dropped.

"And where have you been?" My mother stood there, her hands planted on her hips. There was a hard expression on her face, but it were her eyes that told me just how worried she had been.

"I was just...out." I offered, knowing that I couldn't tell her the truth. I just hated lying to her. It was becoming a bad habit and I wish I could have just told her the truth. But what I had told Eric this morning had been the truth; I couldn't tell her, not anytime soon anyways.

"Out where? You weren't home when I came in this morning. And you weren't here when I left last night." She tapped her foot on the floor. "Where have you been, Savannah?"

"Just out with some friends. I'm sorry I didn't leave a note or anything. Things just got out of hand and I lost track of time." That wasn't entirely untrue. Things had gotten out of hand. Majorly.

She shook her head and she drew closer, her anger morphing into sadness as she swept me into a hug. I immediately felt guilty for not even leaving a message for my worried mother. She may work the majority of the time at the hospital, but she was still my mother. We were all the other had in terms of family. I wasn't sure what it would do to her if anything ever happened to me.

"I'm sorry for worrying you." I held onto her tightly. "I really am. I should have called or something."

"I was worried sick. I tried calling your phone but it went straight to voicemail." She sighed, nearly crushing my bones as she held me tightly. "I know you're all grown up now, but you'll always be my little girl."

"I know, and I'm sorry." I pulled back, offering an apologetic smile. "I wasn't thinking."

"Maybe I was being a little paranoid. You did live away from home for four years. You can take care of yourself. Shreveport is just so different from Yale, Savannah. Times have changed so much." She shook her head sadly. "I hardly recognize our world anymore."

"It's not so bad." I thought about Eric and Godric. Sure, they were vampires, and sure, they were once bloodthirsty, vengeful monsters. But who exactly was I to judge anyone? I was a necromancer. I dealt with the dead, and a whole slew of the undead. I wasn't much better than the monsters, now was I?

"Just promise me you'll be careful. I've been worried about you since you've come back." She brushed a strand of hair back behind my ear. "You've seemed so lost since...what is that?"

My blood ran cold. I caught her gaze staring at my neck where my hair was just barely covering my fang wounds from the previous night. I tried to mask my emotions; I tried to calm my racing heart down, to seem neutral as my mother raised her hand to brush my hair off of my shoulder. I couldn't think of a word to say. I couldn't think of a single excuse to blurt out the moment she saw those wounds. Because I just knew what her reaction was going to be, and it frightened me.

It was as if the gods were playing nice with me, because the sound of her pager going off saved the day. I let out a heavy sigh of relief as my mother sighed herself and glanced down at the pager.

"I have to go." She shot me a pointed look. "But we'll continue this conversation tomorrow."

I could only nod as she hurried passed me and down the stairs. The moment I heard the front door open and close, I quickly made my way into my room, closing the door behind me. I leaned against the door, relieved that my mother was gone. That had been too close. If she had pressed any further, if she had moved my hair back just a touch, she would have known instantly that I had been lying, that I had indeed been bitten by a vampire. I was thanking the heavens that for once, something had gone my way. Because my mother ever finding out about Eric and Godric was the last thing I needed. I knew eventually I wouldn't be able to keep up this charade and either I would slip up, or she would catch me in a lie. But with everything that's happened lately, with all of this new information to process, I wasn't so sure I was ready for anymore change in my life. I was perfectly happy with how things were at the moment.

There's no reason to fix something that isn't broken, right?

Sighing, I pushed myself away from the door and moved towards the bed. I still felt exhausted, and could do with a nice little nap before the sun set and I was sure to be hassled by Eric and Godric. Not that I would complain about that. I wouldn't mind being hassled by them every single night for the rest of my life. I never thought I would ever say that about Eric. But somehow, things had gone a complete 180 since I had first met him, since I had first ran from the tall blonde vampire. So much had changed since then, and I couldn't regret any of it. Because it had all led me to this point, to falling madly in love with two of the greatest men possible. Sure, Eric was a little rough around the edges, and I had nearly lost Godric not that long ago. But we all had our faults. Hell, I could communicate with the dead. I think that was one hell of a big fault on my part. I loved Eric and Godric, and I doubt that would change anytime soon.

I couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my lips as I thought about my vampires, my lovers. I couldn't wait until I would be able to lay my eyes on them again, and hoped that by taking a nap, time would move quickly. I was just stepping into the middle of the room, kicking off my shoes and reaching for the zipper of my dress when I suddenly felt a chill in the room. I frowned as I looked towards the window, expecting it to be open. But it was closed firmly, and even if it hadn't of been, it was the middle of the summer and Louisiana; there was no such thing as a cool breeze anywhere near this state this time of year. I strained to hear the hum of the air conditioning, but I couldn't hear a single thing. I exhaled slowly, rubbing my hands up and down my arms, and I was surprised to find that I could see my own breath.

"What the..." I breathed out before my eyes grew wide.

The window began to frost, as if it were the middle of winter, as if it was freezing outside with a foot of snow on the ground and not burning hot in the middle of summer. What in the world was going on? I went to move towards the window to stick my head out, hoping that a surprise cold front had swept across northern Louisiana. But I found the moment I took a step forward, the whole world began to shift in one big circle. I swayed on the spot, throwing my hands out to try and steady myself. My vision began to blur, and I could feel my stomach drop. I couldn't make sense of it at all. What the hell was going on?

I tried to reach out through the bonds I now shared with my vampires, hoping to god this wasn't a consequence to something happening to either of them. That's when the funniest thing happened. I couldn't feel them. That nice warm and fuzzy feeling I was beginning to feel, that comfort that was there, knowing I could always feel Eric and Godric, knowing that their essences were flowing inside of me, it had just vanished. I felt icy cold now, but more importantly, I felt empty. It was just myself and my inner beast, alone once again. It hadn't even been a complete 48 hours since this triumvirate had been formed, and already I had begun to grow attached. And now, just like that, they were gone. It was as if the walls that had bound us together in captivity were now being ripped away, brick by brick. And it was the most awful feeling in the world.

"What the hell?" I questioned, trying to clear my head, trying to comprehend what was going on.

But before I could, I felt a claw of unknown power swipe at my magic. I gasped in pain, my eyes growing wide, my mouth falling open as my chest began to hurt. The aching began in my heart before spreading to the rest of my body. It felt like razor sharp claws were ripping at my flesh from the inside out. I couldn't help the screams of agony as they slipped from my lips, one after another. I fell to my knees then, unable to hold myself up as I stumbled to the ground. I braced myself on all fours, my arm wrapping itself around my waist as if it would aid the excruciating pain. I squeezed my eyes shut as I called on my power, as I willed my magic forward. But my own magic was being muddled by this mysterious invading power. It was clawing its way through me, clawing at my inner beast, trying to reach what lay deep inside of me, as if there was a hidden gem to be found. And maybe there was. I may have known what I was, but that didn't exactly help me when I didn't know at all what I was doing. I couldn't even control my own powers to battle this enemy, to defeat this unknown source of magic.

And that's when it hit me.

This magic wasn't so mysterious. This enemy wasn't so unknown.

I had felt it before.

The darkness that was beginning to sweep through me. the horrible dark matter that I could feel filling me up, wrapping itself around my lungs, around my heart, and squeezing painfully, it wasn't so unfamiliar, not in the very least.

I tried my best to fight back. I tried everything in my power, my teeth gritting together, to battle the darkness, the evil that was playing tug of war with my magic, with my very own essence. I could feel it being pulled right from my being. It felt as if my body was being pulled inside out. I began shaking as I curled up on the floor, silently praying that by miracle, the pain would stop, that the darkness would disappear. But I feared for that moment. Because I wasn't so sure I would be left alive when that happened.

"Eric..." I gasped out, tears streaming down my cheeks as I tried to claw at the ground, searching for a hope that I knew didn't exist. At least not within reaching distance. "Godric..."

They would come for me, I knew that. But the sun was still lounging in the sky, enjoying the early evening. There were still hours before the sun would dip below the horizon and my two knights in shining armours could come and rescue me. But for now, I was trapped, I was being held hostage by this darkness. And all I could do was just lie there, praying that this wouldn't be the end. Because I wasn't so sure I would be the only victim. There were two others to think about now, two others that depended on my beating heart.

It was for that reason that I began fighting back harder, that I began pushing and pushing until I was able to push back at the darkness, at the evil that had curled it's hand around my magic that had been slowly ripping it from me. I fought with every ounce of strength I could muster. Part of me knew it wouldn't be enough, but I couldn't just lie down and let this enemy win. I couldn't just let myself be stripped of my magic. It would have made everything so much easier, to just be normal again. It was all I had wanted these past few months. But now, everything was so different. I couldn't just turn back now, not without dire consequences. I was a necromancer, that couldn't be helped. And I wasn't so sure I wanted to be anything other than that, because it had brought me Eric and Godric, and for that I would always be grateful. But soon, I may have no other choice. The darkness grew denser, the familiar magic stabbing at me like a hundred hot knives. I let out one last ear piercing scream as what felt like the largest knife of them all went straight for my heart. It felt like a thousand vampires were draining my body, their fangs locked onto every available inch of flesh. Black dots began to invade my vision as I felt that familiar tug on my consciousness.

I felt helpless as my once racing heart, my once pounding organ, ached worse than anything I had ever felt in my life. I cried out in pain, in pure agony. It was unbearable. It was the worse pain imaginable. And I just wanted it to stop. I almost welcomed the unconsciousness, the darkness, the unknown as it swept over me, holding me prisoner.

"Help me...please." I whispered before everything fell still.