Lord Talon
‘Becky, it’s healed,’ I say as I enter the room.
She is brewing something in a small cauldron, and it smells horrendous.
‘What’s healed?’ she asks, walking around the table and toward me.
I unbutton my shirt and watch her jaw drop. ‘What did you do?’ she asks.
‘I didn’t do anything,’ I tell her.
‘Something must have happened? Tell me everything you did from last night up till now.’
‘I was sitting on the window ledge watching the lake until I heard Lylah yelling and crying in her sleep. I raced in there and held her in my arms, and I spent over an hour comforting her until she fell asleep on me. I did notice the pain from the wounds had gone by then but didn’t think much of it as I was too worried about Lylah. I woke up with Lylah sleeping against me. We spoke, and she told me Micah is her mate who she thinks I killed, and I bolted out of there freaking out she had a mate, then ran into Soren and told him. My chest itched from the stitches, so I ran my hand over it, and they all fell out, and I saw it was completely healed. Not even a scar, so I came straight here.’
Becky walks away, walks around the room in thought, and then approaches me again.
‘Do you have that dagger of hers on you?’ she asks.
I nod, withdraw it from the back of my belt, and hand it to her.
She takes her own small knife she uses for chopping up herbs.
‘Hold your hands out,’ she says.
‘Why?’
‘I want to see if you have somehow become immune to the moonstone, which is unheard of, or if some magic has been used on you.’
‘How can you find out?’
‘Well, I will show you if you hold your hands out,’ she replies.
I hold the palms of my hands out. Becky makes a cut across one palm with Lylah’s dagger and then another cut with the other knife on the other palm.
‘Now we watch and wait,’ she says.
We watch the wound Becky cut with her knife slowly heal over a minute, but the cut from Lylah’s dagger remains unhealed.
‘You are not immune to moonstone. You have been healed by magic,’ she says.
‘But how?’
And then it dawns on me, and we both say in unison, ‘Lylah!’
‘Lylah said she couldn’t cast magic, though? She even tried to use spells on me, and nothing happened.’
‘Lylah is either lying and knows she can use magic and is trying to fool us, or it could be starting to awaken? Nadia is the one shadowing her, isn’t she?’
‘Yes, she is.’
‘Maybe ask if Nadia has seen any signs of Lylah using magic and keep observing her. If her magic is only beginning to awaken now, she might not be able to control it. Her emotions will play a big part in controlling it, and I think she may struggle with that. As you just mentioned, she already had a mate who has died, and now she is here in this castle away from her loved ones and with the one she thinks killed her mate.’
‘Wands! This is not good. Maybe we should tell her then that she healed me? Maybe if she isn’t lying and it’s awakening, she can be more aware of it and perhaps more in control of it?’ I suggest.
‘I have to meet this new Lady of the coven who has stolen your heart, well not stole it per se but trying to stab it,’ Becky laughs.
I roll my eyes at her.
‘So let's have her join us for our morning feed. I’m sure she will be hungry. Besides, I’m hungry for my bloody breakfast anyway,’ she laughs. ‘Get it bloody, breakfast?’ she elbows me.
I ignore Becky’s lame joke. ‘Let’s get Lylah from my chambers then.’
Before I walk up the second set of stairs, I find Soren and Nadia frantically dashing from one room to another. Something is wrong. Within a flash, I appear before them and hold Soren and Nadie by their throats.
‘Nadia, why aren’t you outside my chambers guarding Lylah?’ I ask through gritted teeth.
‘She didn’t want to stay in there. So I-I followed her for a while, and she asked where the kitchen was. I was taking her there, and then she just… disappeared. She has escaped, Lord Talon. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to let her out of my sight.’
‘Escaped!? It’s impossible for her to escape if she thinks the labyrinth is confusing, this castle has just as many rooms, hallways and passageways. What were you doing when she disappeared?’
‘I’m sorry, Lord Talon. I couldn’t help myself and had to kiss my Blood Flame, if only for a moment. Then we realised she had fled. Most likely to find her way out of here,’ Soren confesses.
‘Damn it!’ I say, letting them go. ‘Find her now!’ I shout at them.
They nod and continue to dash throughout the castle, looking for Lylah.
Half the coven is now looking for her. I help search for Lylah as well. I triple-check each room I enter. I’m incredibly worried and trying to keep my emotions at bay. I don’t want my coven to see how much she has affected me in so little time. I hold my forehead feeling woozy from not being able to feed from Lylah and not having a feed in general.
‘Lord Talon. Let’s go to the kitchens and get you some blood to drink,’ Becky says.
I nod and let her hold my arm to keep me upright.
As we enter the kitchen, my jaw drops at the most beautiful site I have ever seen. Lylah sits at the large wooden island with loaves of bread, cheeses, butter, grapes and other foods. Her hair is the neatest I’ve seen, and she is wearing a dress! God’s help me. She is more stunningly beautiful than I could have ever imagined. I take in the sight and lower my eyes to her chest. The dress shows off her very fine, delectable goods. My fangs elongate in need of a taste of her. Lylah plucks a grape from a stem and pops it into her mouth. She closes her eyes, and I watch the look of pleasure on her face. The vein on her neck moves as she chews the grape, and my eyes zone in as my fangs are now fully elongated.
Lylah swallows the grape and realises she is being watched. She looks toward us, but her eyes focus on Becky’s hands wrapped around my arm. She then looks up, making eye contact with Becky and gives her a deathly glare. Only to then jump up off the seat when she looks at me. My eyes are black, my breathing is heavy, and my fangs are fully extended. She knows I’m becoming blood-crazed.
‘Oh!’ Becky says, now looking at me. She runs towards a small room and returns with a jug of blood and a cup. She pours the blood and hands it to me. I scull it down within a second. So, she pours me another. I drink it but more slowly as the blood craze dissipates and my energy increases just enough to stop the wooziness. Finally, my fangs retract, and my eyes are blue again.
I hand Becky the cup, march over to Lylah and stand in front of her. Lylah steps back in fear. She gasps as I grab her, pull her into my chest, and wrap my arms around her tightly.
‘I was so worried when I couldn’t find you. I thought you had escaped?’
Lylah angrily pushes me away and steps back.
‘As if I would try and escape on an empty stomach. It could take me days or weeks to get out of this horrible place. I’m smart enough to at least fill myself up with food before attempting to flee so I at least I won’t die from starvation along the way,’ she says.
‘Why did you run away from Nadia then?’ I ask her.
‘Are you kidding? Do you expect me to wait around watching Nadia and her lover boy make out in a corridor all darn day while I waste away with hunger? Besides, they were practically eating each other's faces. I thought you vampires had decorum, but clearly, it’s the other way around. You might have to put them in etiquette classes as those two have no shame at all,’ she says and sits back at the table and continues to eat. ‘At least your food here isn’t too bad,’ she munches and then makes eye contact as I sit opposite her at the table. ‘Why were you going all blood-crazed before? I haven’t got any new cuts or scratches, so it couldn’t be me that triggered it?’
Becky approaches and takes a seat next to me. I watch Lylah’s eyes become a darker blue as she glares at Becky.
‘Lord Talon, here, hasn’t been feeding on his Blood Flame like he should be. So, it weakens him. The blood I served him before will only be able to sustain him for so long. But once he regularly drinks from his Blood Flame, he will be as good as new. Won’t you, Master?’ Becky says, now holding my arm again and smiling at me.
A growl, much resembling an angry wolf, is heard. Becky and I stare at Lylah.
‘And who in the wands are you!?’ Lylah growls.