Consume. Melissa Darnell

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      CHAPTER 3

      SAVANNAH

      Tristan staggered, and I reached out for him. But he turned away, a choking tidal wave of shock and horror swamping him as memory after memory slammed into him from every direction, each one tied to and triggering the next, each one robbing his lungs of air or the ability to draw another breath.

      “Tristan!” I took a step after him. He was getting his memories back, but they were returning too fast. No one should be hit with seventeen years’ worth of memories all at once.

      “Dad, the memories...they’re all coming back.” What should I do? Should I try to hold him, let him feel me there beside him so he would know he wasn’t alone?

      I reached out for Tristan again, but he brushed my hand away and stumbled toward the nearby ledge where he liked to go sometimes to sit and watch the sun set. My heart missed a beat. He was getting too close to the edge. He would survive the fall, according to Dad. But I still didn’t want to see him hurt.

      “Let him go. He will need some time and space to work through them on his own.”

      I held my breath until Tristan found the large stone he usually sat on. His hands fumbled over its surface, guiding him as he sank down onto the rock.

      “Are you sure he should be alone right now?”

      “Yes, I am sure. Some things you cannot save him from.”

      I hated the idea of Tristan having to deal with the return of his memories alone. Especially the memory of his father’s death, which had happened just a week before Tristan had nearly died and I’d had to turn him in order to keep him alive.

      But I followed Dad’s suggestion, staying when I wanted to follow, watching when I wanted to actively help in some way. After a moment of silence, I realized Dad was actually smiling.

      “You can’t possibly be happy about this,” I snapped. “Tristan’s hurting. I know you’re not that callous.”

      “I do not enjoy his mental pain, no. But the return of his memories means he will quickly regain all his former self-control and discipline. The one advantage of his being who he was within the Clann is that he should have had plenty of previous training in these areas. Otherwise he never would have been able to keep his infamous Coleman Clann abilities contained in public. And if he could contain those abilities...”

      “Then he can control his vamp instincts, too,” I finished for him without looking away from the slump of Tristan’s shoulders. He’d always had the best posture, holding his shoulders back, unashamed that his six-foot-plus height made him taller than most.

      “Correct. Which means our days of training here on this mountain are at an end, and we must prepare to take him back to Jacksonville.”

      “Jacksonville?” I hissed, finally able to look at my dad. “Are you crazy? We can’t go back there!”

      “We must. The council demands it.”

      “The council...” I sputtered. “You’ve got to be kidding. They can’t possibly want us to go back into Clann territory.”

      “But they do. They know you and Tristan can read the descendants’ thoughts.”

      And then it sank in. I groaned. “No. No way. Tristan and I are not going to spy for the council.”

      Dad stared at me, his silver eyes darkening to a slate-gray. “You must. The council demands it.”

      I stared back at him with one eyebrow raised. We both knew how much I loved being told what to do by the council.

      He sighed. “Let me rephrase. Caravass and the other council members would greatly appreciate it if you two would consider going back to Jacksonville and keeping us apprised of any alarming developments within the Clann. They only wish to maintain peace with the Clann, nothing more.”

      I leaned in closer. “Tristan is just now getting his memories back, including the ones about his family. And now the council wants him to go spy on them?”

      “They cast him out of the Clann.”

      “Because they had to! He’s a vampire now. They couldn’t let a vamp be a member.” Wasn’t it in the Clann laws or something? They sure seemed to have some rule about descendants and vamps dating, considering they’d cast out my mother for marrying my father, and then cast out my grandmother for failing to stop that union.

      “I repeat, the council only seeks any information that will help them maintain the peace treaty with the Clann. Nothing more.”

      I searched his thoughts. He was telling the truth.

      The anger seeped out of me, leaving a horrible sinking feeling behind. “I really don’t want to go back there.” I tried to control my voice, but a slight tremble snuck into it anyway. “You of all people have got to understand what it’s like...finally getting to be with the person you love, facing all that hatred and judgment. The descendants are going to want to kill me for turning Tristan! In fact, they probably won’t even want us back there.”

      It was Dad’s turn to stare at me with one eyebrow arched. “Do not think I have not read Emily’s messages requesting Tristan’s return to Jacksonville. I am well aware that his mother and the rest of the Clann seek reassurance that he is no longer a danger.”

      I turned away and crossed my arms.

      “Savannah, do try to be mature about this. We must return to Jacksonville. It is the only way to reassure the Clann that you and Tristan are no longer a threat to them. And the council is relying upon us to provide them with accurate warnings only the two of you can provide. Think of the good that you can do, the lives that you can save, by helping to prevent another war.”

      Great. Dad must have picked up a few of my mother’s guilt trip methods. He was doing a really great job of making me feel like a selfish child.

      I hung my head and closed my eyes. I had gone through so much for years now because of the stupid hate and fear between the vamps and the Clann...I’d given up my dreams of being a dancer on my high school dance team so I wouldn’t reveal my vamp abilities to the world. I’d risked everything, even losing my Nanna, by breaking the rules to date Tristan. I’d even given up being with Tristan for months just to make the vampire council and the Clann happy.

      And now, when it finally seemed that Tristan and I could safely be together at last without breaking any rules, without having to sneak around...now when his memory had finally returned and I could have my Tristan back again...the council had the nerve to make yet another demand.

      I was so tired of it all...of the hate and the fear and the whispers and judging stares, of having to do what everyone else wanted. When would it matter what I wanted? Or what Tristan wanted? Even now, after everything we’d gone through, we still weren’t free.

      Dad tried to rest a hand on my shoulder, but I took a step forward so his hand fell away.

      He sighed. “Do you not miss your friends and your dance team?”

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