Page 55 of Guardians for the Vamp
My heart beats a little faster. Layla puts her palm over my chest while Thorne caresses our arms with his palms.
We all sigh at the same time.
Fuck.
I’m in love with these two.
Idon’t remember falling asleep, but I wake still wrapped in Thorne’s wings and arms. Layla is beside me, staring at me with a smile.
“You look peaceful when you sleep,” she says.
My eyes widen, causing her smile to falter.
“What is it?”
Thorne must have been listening to our conversation, hearing Layla’s concern, because he releases us from his hold. I sit up and rub my hands over my face.
“How long was I out?”
Layla glances at her phone. “About three hours.”
“What is it, Vara? You can tell us.” Thorne says, his deep voice calming the panic swirling inside my chest.
I sigh. “Sleep doesn’t come easily for me. I toss and turn while trying to shut off my brain and by the time I finally fall asleep, I’m awakened by a nightmare. I typically only get a few hours of sleep per night.”
I stand and walk into the kitchen for a glass of water. Thorne and Layla follow.
“Your hands are shaking,” Layla whispers, watching me gulp downthe water.
When I set the empty glass on the marble countertop, she takes my hand. Thorne is beside her, his eyebrows pinched.
“It’s the first time in hundreds of years since I’ve slept so peacefully. No dreams, no nightmares. I’m rested and happy, but I’m also freaking out just a little bit.”
Layla laughs. Shelaughs.
“Sorry,” she says, covering her mouth with her free hand, which Thorne immediately pulls down. “I’ve never seen you...”
She waves a hand up and down my body.
“Panicked. Vulnerable.”
I scoff.
She buries her face into both of her hands this time, shaking her head.
“Ugh, I’m not explaining myself well. I just mean that it’s okay to be vulnerable and weak sometimes. You don’t always have to be defiant and strong, Vara.” She steps to me and reaches up to cradle my face. “Tell us why you’re freaking out about this. Because I bet it has something to do with you always relying on yourself and never having anyone to watch over you.”
Shit.
She’s right.
Thorne grabs my empty glass and refills it, and I take a sip of the water when he hands it back to me.
“I’m old; 2,056 years on this Earth. The first couple hundred years were wonderful. I had a family: parents, siblings. I was to wed the son of a prominent sphinx couple and have a litter of kits. I was happy for the most part. My family were guardians for temples in the southern region of Egypt. We took pride in that job. Until humans discovered us. They found one of our golden feathers. My parents were killed first, then my sisters. I was the youngest, the fastest, so I fled. Like a fucking coward, I let them die. I didn’t save them.”
My eyes find Thorne’s, and I realize our stories are eerily similar. Both of our lives have been ruined by human hunters, our families murdered because of their greed. I think that’s why I’m so passionate about this unveiling plan. It will offer protections for us. At least, that’s the hope.
“I hid away in a cave for hundreds of years and when I emerged, my species had been slaughtered. The sphinx I was set to marry, gone. The temples I was destined to protect, looted and destroyed. I had failed on so many levels. A lot of innocent humans also died, all because of the greedy men who murdered everyone I knew and loved for golden feathers.”
