Ari said little on the drive home. When we arrived, he got out and went straight inside. After a moment's hesitation, I followed.

I heard the shower running, and then his voice, asking me to join him. It was an unusual thing for him to want, but I obliged. 

We stood beneath the steaming spray, and I held him gently, washing away with soap the imagined stain of another's touch. He didn't seem upset, but he was quiet.

Afterward, he sat on the bed dressed in his nightclothes and looked up at me.

"Soren, let's do it now. Let's complete the bond tonight."

I searched his dark eyes. His expression was calm and assured, but something bad had happened this evening, and I didn't know how much, if anything, it had to do with his sudden wish.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," I said carefully. "I think we should wait."

"No." He spoke with assurance. "I don't want to wait any longer. I want you to make me yours, and I want to make you mine."

I still hesitated, but he seemed very sure. "All right," I said. "We'll do it now."

I went to the dresser and retrieved the box with the rings. I hadn't shown them to him yet, and I hoped he'd be pleased. I also took a razor from his shaving kit.

"It's not complicated," I said, sitting beside him. "It's almost like a wedding, really. We each take a vow and place rings on one another. Then I'll cut myself, and you'll drink, as I drink from you."

He nodded, looking at the box. "Can I see?"

I lifted the lid. Inside, the matching ouroboros rings gleamed. The eyes of one snake were blue, the other's black. Siobhan had enchanted them to fit whoever wore them.

"They're beautiful," he said, examining them carefully. He looked up at me, and his eyes were dark with determination. "Let's go outside. It's a full moon."

"Sure, if that's what you'd like."

"It is," he nodded, and stood. I followed him outside, and we walked to the edge of the cliff, beneath an ancient Cyprus tree. The full moon floated high behind the black and tangled branches, and the sea looked silver in its light.

We stood side by side for several minutes, breathing the night air and listening to the whisper of waves on the rocky beach below us. Finally, I turned towards him.

"Are you ready?" I asked.

"Yes."

I took a deep breath and held his hands in mine. "Aristotle Lorenfield, do you accept me as your life-bonded, your one and only, now and forever?"

"Yes," he said, softly. He took the ring with the black-eyed snake and slid it onto the third finger of my left hand. He gazed at it a moment, then looked back up to meet my eyes.

His voice was slightly hoarse when he spoke.

"Soren Volkirsson, do you take me as your life-bonded, your leof, now and forever?"

"I do," I smiled, and placed the matching ring on his hand.

"Now, the last," I said. 

I slid the razor across my wrist, and he brought the wound to his lips without hesitation. I saw his eyes widen in surprise in the moonlight. I hadn't told him that vampire blood tasted different from human. It would carry the hints of whatever he most loved.

I turned him so he faced away from me and kissed the side of his neck. Then I let my fangs extend, and I bit him. His blood flowed down my throat, and I felt him shudder, but he didn't pull away. Instead, he took a hard drag on my arm. Then he let go of my wrist and gasped.

I felt something change. He threw his head back against me and held his hands outstretched. The symbols on both of his palms glowed bright, as I hadn't seen since the great spell had possessed him. Power flowed through him and into me, and the taste of his blood grew sharp and irresistibly intense. I drank, but as fast as I drained him he was renewed. When I could take no more, I released him. He turned slowly, and the sight of his face was startling.

The star on his forehead shone silver, and his eyes were lit with green fire.

"Ari?" I touched the side of his face. "Are you okay?"

He pressed himself to me and spoke against my ear, his voice soft and low. "Take me inside, Soren. Make me yours."

The blood we now shared told me I didn't have to ask, but I did anyway. "Ari--are you certain?"

"Yes. Maybe just tonight. Maybe just this once. But I'm sure."

I nodded and took his hand, and we went inside.

~

To me, it didn't seem like much more than we'd done before: just hands, and lips, and skin on skin; but I knew that for him it was different, and it meant something more.

When it was over, he fell into a deep sleep, but for once I didn't worry. His skin glowed with power and life, and the bite wounds on his neck were already healing. Something had happened to him when we bonded; some power had woken up, or been unlocked.

I lay beside him for a long time, feeling the potency of his blood in me, and gazing at the star that still shone faintly on his forehead.

Sleep claimed me without my noticing, and when I opened my eyes again it was already light.

Ari still slept, but something was catching at my attention. A car in the drive, tires on the rough asphalt, and the slam of a door.

I stood and went to the front room to look out the window. A police sedan was parked outside, and two uniformed officers approached the house. I went to the door and opened it.

"Good morning," I greeted them.

"Mornin'," said the taller of the two. 

His partner touched her hat. "Does an Ari Lorenfield live here?"

"Yes. What is this about?"

"Professor Emery Taylor," said the woman. "You know him?"

I felt my jaw clench. "Yes, though we haven't met. Did someone else file a complaint?"

"Complaint? No. He's dead."

I stared at them. "He committed suicide?" He must have known Ari wouldn't stay silent, and couldn't face the possibility of his impending ruin.

The police shared a glance. "No. Not suicide. Murder."

"When?" I asked automatically. "How?"

"Last night from what we can tell," said the man. "As for how... Normally we wouldn't say, but as it's all over the internet already..." 

"He was exsanguinated," said his partner, with somewhat too much enthusiasm. "Drained of blood."

I gripped the doorframe. "And why are you looking for Ari?" I asked.

"Because he was at the Professor's house last night, and according to another witness, he might be the last one to have seen him alive."

"Is he here?" the woman asked.

Remembering that Ari's car was still parked near Taylor's house, I lied. "No. He's already out."

Again, they shared a look, but the man only handed me his card. "If you see him, tell him to give us a call. We need to ask him some questions."

"Yes, I will," I promised.

They wished me a good day and left.

I closed the door, feeling ill at ease. Exsanguination didn't necessarily mean vampire, but this wouldn't look good for me if word reached Tlalli that someone had died in such a manner so close to my home. If there was a rogue out there, I needed to prove it wasn't me.

I stood for a moment in thought. When I turned, I saw Ari watching me from the bedroom doorway. The symbols on his hands and brow were blazing with pale light, and his eyes had that strange green cast again.

He walked towards me with a look that was pure seduction, and I knew something was wrong.

"Ari--what are you doing?" 

He approached and ran his hands over my chest and up the back of my neck to grip my hair, pulling me down into a heated kiss.

I broke away and stepped back, searching his dark eyes, now lit with green fire. "Ari?"

He smirked, and when he spoke his voice was not his own. "Ari? No, not at the moment. You can call me Hecate," he said.