“Yes, absolutely yes,” Isaac chirped. His smile, he was sure, reached straight down to his soul. He couldn’t help it. He was the luckiest man on Earth.
“Follow me.” Elijah led the way silently, and his shoulders dropped in resignation.
For once, Isaac didn’t argue.
***
Sabrina lay awake, thoughts of Isaac running through her head. She couldn’t get him off her mind. Even as pain wracked through her body, she thought only of him.
Where was he? What was he thinking? Feeling?
In the thirty minutes since Elijah had left, she’d discovered she could move her hands. She wasn’t certain what this meant, since she was supposed to die, and heal afterwards.
She strained her ears when she heard footsteps approach the hut, and calculated the direction from which they approached. From the east, and there were two sets of them, so it couldn’t be Elijah. And, unfortunately, no mere mortal ran so fast. Her heart quickened, and she tensed upon the bed. She couldn’t even jump up to defend herself. She tightened her fists, her only line of defense against intruders.
The door swung inward, and her eyes focused upon the occupants who moved into the small room. She sighed in relief as her eyes focused first on Elijah, and quickly skimmed to the shadow standing behind him. She gasped and whispered, “Isaac.”
Isaac rushed to her side, rudely pushing past Elijah in the process. Elijah glared at Isaac’s back and left the hut. The door closed behind him as he left; she knew he had no desire to watch this reunion. Isaac knelt at her hips and cupped her face inside his hands. He kissed her, and happiness exuded from his eyes.
“Sabrina, what are you doing to me, lass?”
Sabrina forced a wan smile to her face and responded, “I’m sorry, Isaac. I never wished for us to be enemies. I—” She was prepared to tell him to leave, to save himself, but was cut off by his finger pressing against her mouth.
He grabbed her hand in his and stared into her eyes warmly. “I love you, Sabrina. We would never be, and could never be, enemies. I know now what love really is. I thought I had loved before, but I was wrong. You are my first, and, only love. You’d never be my enemy,” he vowed.
“I love you, too, Isaac.” She squeezed his hand, and he looked down in surprise at her hand, beaming at her.
“I’m going to get you out of here, to somewhere safe,” he said. “There is much to do.”
“I can’t let you do that, Isaac. You spoke earlier of love. Of being ready to do anything for the love of your life. Well, I feel the same. I will give you up, for your safety. I don’t do it lightly, but I must insist. I won’t leave with you. Not because I don’t love you, but because I love you too much.” She was amazed she had managed to finish her speech without crying.
“Oh, Sabrina, I love when you’re all fired up. Truly, I do. But in this case, you’re getting all worked up for nothing.”
“Excuse me, I don’t think so—” she argued. If he thought he could just carry her out of here and ignore her wishes, he’d soon see how wrong he was. Even if she could only move her hands. She could do a lot with hands. Punch, scrape, and gouge out eyes….
“Yes, you are. You see, you’re one of us.” Sitting by her side, he allowed her to absorb his meaning. When she gaped at him, her mouth ajar, he nodded at her unasked question. “Yes, you’re among the chosen…the elite….”
“The Enforcers,” she whispered in awe. “Oh my God, you’ve got to be kidding me. God couldn’t be so kind.”
“No, I wouldn’t kid about this, my love. You’re one of my kind—you belong with me, in every way now,” he assured her, squeezing her hand. She returned his squeeze, all the happiness bubbling inside her. He winced as she gripped him, laughing as he protested, “Ouch, watch it there….”
“Oh, sorry,” she murmured. She looked at their joined hands in surprise. She had hurt him?
He kissed her nose and stared into her eyes before declaring, “I would’ve run away with you, regardless of your species.”
“I would have told me no, regardless of your desires,” she quipped.
They stared at each other, neither backing down in their stance. Finally, they both broke out in laughter.
“What about Elijah?” she questioned.
“What about him?” He raised an eyebrow and shrugged.
“Will he still be our enemy? Do I have to kill him?”
“He’s our enemy, yes. But we can avoid each other. I’ve been doing it for over one hundred years.”
“But, we can’t. He’s family.”
“Look, we can worry about this another time. Really, Sabrina, you’re killing my ego here,” he teased. “I just told you that you can live with me forever, and you worry about Elijah?”
She blushed. “I’m sorry. I know you still love him. I hate to see you upset.”
“We have an eternity to figure out my feelings. All you need to know now is I love you.” He beamed at her, love shining in his eyes.
“And I love you, Isaac. Forever,” she vowed, amazed to know she had forever to spend by his side, loving him. Suddenly, forever took on a new meaning, and she smiled as he kissed her nose once more.
“Forever,” he promised.
On the other hand, perhaps forever was not long enough….