The Night Children

Epilogue

"I always took this place for granted." I looked up to see Isaac watching me, his golden gaze remaining on mine steadily.

He nodded in response, however his attention remained on me. He said nothing as I tilted my head to look around. The snow had melted a few days ago, leaving the grassland dewy. They sparkled with the promise of spring, glistening in the sunlight that had only recently decided to show itself. Flowers had begun to unravel from their water deprived state, pointing their petals towards the sky as they soaked up the warm day.

I had sometimes been past the area of grassland on the east side of Brookefield, admiring how no human feet had yet trampled the multicoloured flowers. Now that I was sitting in the clearing, it was clear that its beauty was much more than I expected.

Hummingbirds danced across the sky, trailing after the lazy bees who collected pollen from every individual flower. Butterfly's fluttered across the cloudless sky, pausing to land on unoccupied buds. It was nice to see something so normal and vibrant with life.

Especially after the past nine months.

"Isaac?"

He blinked and titled his lips in response. "Yes?"

I turned to him, feeling my fingers slid into the long grass around me. He was looking particularly boyish today, his hair curling more dramatically in the summer breeze. His skin had a golden tinge to it, making his tricoloured eyes shine in the sunlight. The scratches and bruises on his face had healed, although the newly marked bruises on his neck were my doing.

I blushed with the thought but didn't revert my gaze. "What happened between you and Chelsea?" I asked carefully, ensuring my voice was one of causality, but Isaac saw right through it.

He rose an inquisitive eyebrow, a smile playing on his lips. "Is someone jealous?"

"No."

"Uh-huh." He mocked, his dimples flashing. I scowled at him in reply but it only made his smile widen into a grin. I reached out to swat him on the arm.

"Isaac please." I whined, hating myself for sounding like a small child.

He rolled his eyes. "She was just a distraction."

I eyed him off, trying to figure out if he was lying or not. But his gaze was sincere and his jaw didn't clench in agitation. "A distraction from what?"

He paused, his smile unmoving but his eyes darkened. "You."

My stomach did a flip and I felt the heat rise into my cheeks again. I stumbled for words but not before he leaned closer. A curl fell across his eyes, brushing his long eyelashes.

"Now it's my turn," he whispered, his soft breath ruffling the baby hairs near my ear. "What happened between you and Aaron?"

I stiffened at the sound of his name. Isaac sensed the movement and reached out a gentle hand to tangle his fingers into mine on the grass. I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding and closed my eyes. Every time I heard his name my heart would jump into the back of my throat. But not in a good way.

"We kissed." I said softly, opening my eyes to see Isaacs narrow. "But I know you probably already guessed that."

Isaac's smile slipped off his face, his eyebrows drawing together. He didn't look entirely angry, but instead he held an expression that was hard to read. His fingers entwined on mine had tightened ever so slightly but there was no other tell-tale that he was angry.

He moved his gaze back to mine, but I wasn't prepared to see the amount of darkness beneath his irises. His flecks had completely disappeared, obscured with a pure steel like look of bitterness.

I blinked in surprise. Jealously. It was written all over his face. In the way his frown deepened, his fingers tightened and his face lost some of its colour.

But instead of moving away, he leant forwards, pausing to brush his lips against my ear. "Well," he whispered, the movement of his mouth causing my nerves to skitter. "I guess I'll just have to mark what's mine."

My eyes widened at this but before I could say anything his lips were brushing my jawline. I stifled a gasp and instead bit my lips as my body automatically arched against his. He used his other hand to draw me closer, his fingers brushing the small of my back.

"Did he do this?" He whispered against my skin, moving to gently suck on my neck. I let out a low breath, fireworks bursting against my eyelids. Isaacs mouth moved upwards, pausing to kiss my cheek.

"Or this?"

He pulled me closer into his lap, ensuring our bodies were as close to each other as possible. I could feel his heart beat thrum through the material, matching the rhythm of my own heart.

His lips traced a pattern to my exposed collarbone, kissing along the jutted bone before pausing at my chest. My whole skin felt like it was on fire, the material of my clothes too much for my body to handle. But Isaac had other plans.

He pulled away to look at me, his eyes the darkest I had ever seen them. They reminded me of the way they had looked when he was in the fever, begging for me to come back to him. Only now this was reality, and the look he gave me was one of truth.

His eyes moved down to my parted lips and it took every ounce of me not to just lean in and kiss him. His hands still held me steady, his body reacting to mine.

"Or did he do this?" He said quietly, leaning forwards to crash his lips against mine. It was a fiery kiss, one filled with desire and lust. His lips moved like a lion, careful and graceful but powerful and dominant. He tasted of spring and mint, his breath hot against mine.

I reached up a hand to run it through his curls, feeling it slide through his hair to rest on the nape of his neck. He reacted by letting out a small rumble, the noise causing heat to flush through my body. His hands moved to cup my waist, his grip pulling up my dress so it rode up my thighs. He didn't seem to notice, his attention solely on the kiss.

I parted my lips against his, allowing him to explore further. He did with a soft moan, his fingers tightening, his body stiffening.

But then he pulled away, muttering a curse as he brought his fingers to his lips. I sucked in a breath, clearing the haze of my mind to see him inspect his finger. It was bleeding slightly, dribbling from a small wound that had pricked it.

"Your zipper." He muttered darkly, clearly annoyed that an object on my dress had distracted us. I didn't blame him, my heart still remained drumming against my chest from our kiss but his focus was entirely on his hand. I stared at him, watching as his smile fell, his face slackening in disbelief as he stared at it.

"Isaac?" I asked softly, moving to push his hand so I could inspect it. "What is it?"

Isaac's eyes had widened in shock, his entire face flushing of colour. His pupils had dilated to stare at his finger, his mouth opening but no words escaped them. I only watching him, a stab of fear prickling my heart.

Finally, he glanced up, his flecks dancing in his eyes as he searched my own. His frown began to waver, his lips inclining at the slightest out of disbelief. His curls covered his eyes but he paid no attention to that. His gaze only remained on me, his cheeks beginning to regain the colour they had lost.

Something clicked in his eyes, like a miracle had unravelled beneath his gaze and only now could he perform it. His face seemed to lighten up, like a torch had been placed behind his irises to blaze his tricoloured pupils into an array of bright colours.

He pulled me closer, forgetting his finger to press his forehead to mine. His words were so soft but were enough to knock the breath out of my lungs and force my heart to skip a beat.

"I'm human."