Chapter 44: THE END

Mia felt like she was floating. Her mind was imprisoned in a cage of darkness while her body was unconscious. She lost consciousness seconds after the bite. Yet she felt lighter than a feather and her mind was devoid of fear. Something had echoed deep within her soul when Ethan's fangs sank into her flesh. The emotions that flooded her were more powerful than any drug. She felt like she was getting lost in an ocean of cotton and silk.

When her eyes opened, an unparalleled vitality animated her body. Mia was not weak, but she had never felt such energy and such strength when she woke up. She felt reborn. Her senses were in turmoil. Her hearing could distinguish the characteristic sound of drops of water falling repeatedly against something metallic, her sense of smell picked up scents of earth and burning, and her eyes distinctly discerned each film of dust illuminated weakly by a few rays of sunlight. The light pierced through small holes in the natural rock which constituted the ceiling of the room. Amazed, she carefully observed these particles falling gracefully. They discreetly covered the single bed in which she was and the small dark wooden nightstand to her right.

Something had changed in her when Ethan bit her. Some of his power had been infused into the young human, making her more powerful. She felt her new strength in every cell of her body and every one of her senses.

Her gaze then wandered to the middle of the room to discover a metal chair. It was dimly lit, but she could easily make out the outlines of a seated, unconscious figure that she quickly recognized as Ethan's. With a bound, she rushed to meet the Vila and lowered herself to his level, quickly forgetting the discovery of her new senses. She rested the palm of her hand against her soulmate's cheek to exert a slight pressure in the hope of waking him up.

"Ethan," she begged in a whisper, preferring discretion in a place she didn't recognize. "Please wake up."

"Mia?" he stuttered as he slowly emerged from unconsciousness.

He initially attempted to move his arms, only for the couple to notice that his wrists were immobilized, clinging tightly to the chair with large iron handcuffs. Mia ignored that fact, far too relieved that he was alive, to throw herself around his neck and wrap her arms around it and hold him tightly to her chest. Closing her eyes, she could easily feel and hear the Vila's heart beating rapidly in response to her embrace.

A metallic noise forced them to separate to find out where it came from. After all, they weren't sure they were safe yet, the handcuffs were more proof to the contrary. Now was not the time to relax their vigilance.

The door to their left quickly revealed two familiar faces: Vassili and the woman who led the first division. Ethan tried to get up, his face stern and his gaze murderous, but his body just couldn't move from the chair. Vassili entered the room with a sigh, visibly ready for the confrontation that awaited him. Mia, surprised, stood back behind the Vila. It didn't bode well. The professor stopped two meters from Ethan as the woman simply leaned against the dial of the metal door.

"You promised me you'd leave us alone," Ethan growled, clenching his fists and wiggling his wrists, "What the fuck is this?"

Promise? What is happening? Mia wondered, confused.

"I lied. It was simpler that way," explained Vassili, withdrawn. "I'm sorry, Ethan..."

"Damn it, stop with your shitty excuses! And to say that I trusted you," sneered the Vila furiously, "I should have ripped your head off when I had the chance. Friend of the family, my ass..."

"Ethan," Mia cut in firmly, placing her hand on his forearm.

Insulting Vassili would not help the situation. For the moment, it was not to their advantage. They didn't even know what they were doing here. Or, at least, Mia didn't know. With the little information that Andrei had given her, plus some elements that she had managed to glean between her two moments of unconsciousness in the arena, she still could not really understand what was going on here.

"Welcome to the resistance," the woman exclaimed loudly as she walked toward the couple and planted herself firmly on both feet. "My name is Ellana Drovar, but it will be General for you. I oversee all operations and run this town. I hope you will prove to be valuable assets to the human cause, as Vassili assured me."

The human cause? Valuable assets? Mia repeated inwardly, stunned. Half stunned by all the events, she didn't dare to speak and preferred to let Ethan speak since he seemed more aware of the situation.

"Vassili..." grated Ethan furiously, glaring at the concerned man.

"Fine, I'll let you settle your affairs," she finished, giving the professor a pointed look and leaving the room immediately afterward.

"Since when?" Ethan asked simply in a voice filled with venom.

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me Ethan," Vassili informed with a sigh. "I joined the resistance a few years after the genocide."

"Why? It was around this time that you started getting close to my mother... Was it to spy on our family?" Ethan fumed. "Decades of lies? Why ?"

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"My wife... the love of my life... was human. She perished during the genocide when she wasn't even fighting," Vassili explained, clenching his fists, his face torn with pain and hatred.

Ethan's fury leveled off somewhat upon hearing the vampire's words. Mia herself had to admit that the professor's motive overwhelmed her with compassion. Now that she had accepted Ethan's mark, she couldn't imagine living without him. Were Vasily's actions forgivable though?

"Everything that happened at the school was you, wasn't it?" Ethan asked.

"With Andrei's help, yes. Look, I don't expect you to forgive me. I know you're not like your mother, and I'm sincerely sorry to have involved you in this, but we need you. I can't let you go... And even if I wanted to, the General won't let you go either. Mia," he called out to her, gazing at the blonde, "even if you don't come from our world, they are your fellows. They need you as much as you need them. Do you think our enemies will leave you alone, even if you don't actively participate in the war? Do you think Ethan's mother will let you live in peace?"

Mia's head was racing to analyze the situation. Confusion reigned supreme in her heart. On the one hand, she had no desire to take part in the conflict, even if it affected her fellow human beings. After all, it wasn't her world and she didn't know them. On the other hand, human issues affected her directly too because of Ethan's mother, making her future uncertain. And then... She didn't know how to fight. She had nothing to bring them.

It's not my birth world, sure... but it's mine now.

Her gaze slid to Ethan.

"We don't have to," Ethan implored, seeing that the blonde was considering the option. "We don't know these people... Do you think we can trust them after what they did to us? They'll betray us as soon as we're no longer of any use to them!"

"I... I don't know..." stammered the blonde.

My past may not be here, but my present and my future... My future is with Ethan. If we can't avoid taking part in this war... If they seek to crush the humans if his mother is determined to separate us... I don't know what to do...

"Look, you don't have to decide now. Spend a few days discovering the city and its inhabitants, and changing your mind a bit. You will give us your answer later."

Mia was relieved that she didn't have to decide right away, but that didn't ease the tension she felt. Something in the vampire's gaze told her that she had no interest in refusing his proposal, that she simply had no choice.

"Okay," she said simply to the professor, who began to smile.

"Very well!" Vassili exclaimed, clapping his hands enthusiastically. "Come on, we'll show you around town."

"But... and Ethan?" Mia questioned, starting to panic as the professor hurried her out, pushing her with one hand behind her back.

"Vassili!" roared the Vila for the first time when he saw him almost force his soulmate away. He couldn't do anything with the bonds that kept him glued to the chair. They weren't simple handcuffs, they contained a spell that prevented him from using his magic. He was rendered as harmless as a human.

"Don't worry, he'll join us soon," the vampire concluded, closing the heavy metal door behind them, leaving the Vila all alone.

"Mia!" Ethan yelled again, but no response came from her.

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Aaaaand we're done with book one! I know, it's one hell of a cliffhanger. I'm currently writing book two (should complete it in three weeks max I guess) and I want to finish it in french before translating it in English. I guess what I'm trying to say is for those who liked Ethan and Mia's adventures, book two should come out in a month! 

Thank you all for reading my story, I really hope you enjoyed it and had a great time discovering my universe!

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