Read Online Eternal War Rising to the South: The Beynok Vampire Series by Erika Bradshaw - Free Book Online Page A

known how long you’d be gone, I would have sent Yuri and Nadia looking for you.”
    “Well, I’m back. I’m sorry I left the way I did. I don’t know what you want me to say. I’ve never looked at you the way you’re looking at me now. You’re my elder, my leader. I’m not supposed to have feelings for you. I can’t say I have ever had feelings for anyone like that … love.” Sorin’s face flashed in my head. No, I can’t love a damn vampire, either. I don’t know anything about him. Except for the fact he might be stalking me, and he has the most gorgeous eyes I’ve ever seen. Stop thinking thoughts like that. I looked away in confusion.
    “Anya, what are you thinking about?” Vladimir tried to pull me in, but I resisted.
    “Vladimir, I’m going to need time. For now, we need to remain elder and student.” I was sounding like the elder, and he was looking at me like a student. What the hell? Why is everything the opposite of what it should be? “I need a shower, and I’ll meet everyone down in the sparring room, if that’s okay with you.”
    “That’s fine. Everyone’s eager to see you, and they’re all going along with our story about your disappearance.” Vladimir was still holding my hands, and his eyes were focusing hard on mine. “Anya, we’re supposed to be together. It’s the way the script is written. The sooner you realize this, the sooner we can get on with our lives, and I promise you’ll be happy. You’ll be happier with me than if you choose the other path that is in front of you. Choose the right path, Anya.”
    I pulled my hands away abruptly and said, “How do you know what paths are before me? If someone would be straightforward instead of cryptic, it might be easier. I’ll do my best, as I always do.” I walked upstairs to clean up and wondered, Why is everyone talking in riddles? Why can’t anyone just say what needs to be said? Vladimir says words like choices, love, and scripts, while Sorin asks me to remember. Remember what? To be honest, I didn’t like giving the vampire a name, but it made it easier to stomach when I talked it over in my head. What did I have to remember? I got in the shower, took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and let the hot water run over my sore body. I know you stand in showers, but today, I wanted to sit and let the shower be like a hot sauna, so I sat. A fast shower was just not an option.
    What if I had a partner in my first rise? Beynoks don’t talk about their past. We live for the future. I’ve been told when we pass and rise again, we rise knowing if we did or didn’t find our partner during our past rise. Looking at it now, I wasn’t sure if I had. I’d always been certain I’d had no love, and I was sure the connection I had with Vladimir was not the connection I’d have with my partner. Don’t ask me how I know, I just do. There was something there, though, but I couldn’t put my finger on it, and of course, he was gorgeous, which didn’t help. It wasn’t possible for Vladimir to be my partner, anyway. He was full-spirited and had a partner once. Why was Vladimir insisting I love him? The feelings I’d had with Sorin were unbelievably strong, and I’d blamed him for his emotions erupting in me, causing all this confusion. Besides, it was wrong for me to feel that way about a vampire. I figured, once everything calmed down, I should set out to kill him just to prove he meant nothing to me.
    My feet and fingers became wrinkled from sitting in the shower so long. I needed to hurry to get downstairs. I had no idea how much time had passed, and I didn’t want to bring any more attention to myself than I had already. I dried off and applied some lotion to my body. Sleeping outside had dried my skin out. I put on some stretch pants, a clean workout bra, and a T-shirt. I brushed my hair and teeth, put on socks and sneakers, and walked downstairs.
    When I walked into the sparring room, Nickolai and Yuri were finally having