AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But if I wasmeantto taste your blood, then why... it was too early, wasn’t it?” She’d put the pieces together beautifully, and I nodded, smiling at her.
“I was only supposed to give you my blood once you’d won the Trials and accessed the Ancient Magic. Now... I don’t know how you will defeat them. There are so many.”
“They’ve already killed me once,” she murmured, and my chest seized as she softly described her own death and descent into the mist.
“Impossible,” I breathed, and she gave a bitter little laugh.
“Apparently not.”
“I am sorry,” I said again, feeling every word of it deep in my soul. No matter what I’d been told to do, I should never have kept these secrets from her.
“How does it work? Your blood. If I take in more now, does it make me stronger or weaker?”
“Weaker, without the Ancient Magic to alchemize it. Gobbelin blood is indeed a poison for vampires in our world now, without your ancestral power. Think of it like a plant that is poisonous raw, but benign when cooked. I’ve poisoned you, Kana, and I’ll never forgive myself for that.”
“You didn’t know,” she said, turning the words up like a question. Hope grew a little higher in my chest, that she might forgive how I’d handled everything.
“I had no idea what poison ran in my veins. Only my mission.”
Her guard dropped even more as she smiled ruefully. “Then it’s not you who I blame, Rush. I’ve spent half my life placing blame at Luca’s feet for something he never understood, and I’m not going to make the same mistake with you. What can we do now?” she added, her voice crisp.
“Now... we must avoid sharing each other’s blood at all costs. You could enhance the poison in my blood if I drink from you - further awakening the darkness of the gobbelin blood in me. Drink from your other men. Your pureblood vampire and your ice wolf. Their magic will dilute mine.”
“Nicolas told me some of that, in his own way,” she admitted, her expression thoughtful.
“There is one more thing, love. If... if you do not win the Trials and the Ancient Magic, the gobbelin blood will fester. It will kill you, Kana.” I forced the words out, unable to forgive myself as easily as she had done.
“If I don’t win the Trials, we’re all dead anyway,” she pointed out, her eyes darkening like a storm at midnight. “Merden will ensure that. Though I guess this means she’s off the hook for the gobbelins. An ice wolf brought one to our final banquet and accused her of working with them, giving them theBook of Ice. But I saw you, in the darkness later. It felt like a vision, even though I’ve never had one before.”
“Saw me? Doing what?”
“It was like you were opening a door in the darkness, and the gobbelins spilled out into the world. I thought it was more literal at first. That the fae had conspired against us.”
I sighed. I wasn’t so sure Merden or the faewereoff the hook, but I had nothing yet to evidence my suspicions. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Queen Ignea had that in mind. She was the one who gave me the mission to get close to you, all those years ago. But I don’t think even she knew the full prophecy. I was simply a tool in one of her many plans to rule all of Haret.”
“Why me? What is it about my blood? Why couldn’t it be Merden?” she mused.
I grimaced, thankful I hadn’t been assigned to seduce that disgusting creature. “Merden was not Queen when Ignea gave me the mission - you were slated for that role. Beyond that, I don’t know. Perhaps your Grand-mère has the story.”
“I need to see her again,” Kana said, a note of sadness creeping into her voice.
“I will make sure of it,” I promised, reaching my hand toward her but stopping short of touch. I didn’t deserve to touch her again, or to ever gain magic through her desire.
But my heart swelled when she scooted forward, leaning into my chest and wrapping her arms around my waist.
I curled her into my body, holding her tightly as she shook with tears. Her sadness drained my energy, but she deserved whatever comfort I could give her.
Resting my lips on her forehead, I stroked her spine and whispered to her in my native fae language, making promises that I prayed to the Goddesses I would live long enough to keep.
