Bound By Blood (46 page)

             
“My feelings concerning the Awakening still stand. Don’t tell me you believe the
nonsense
my sisters are chattering about. Or is there a reason to believe?” She raised a coy brow.

             
“Are you asking me to confirm
it for you?” He played.

             
“I am asking for the truth of it. Right
now,
I am unsure of
what
to believe. If you’re trying to pick my thoughts th
r
ough
,
hoping to find me pining away for a lost brother, you are wrong. If I had feelings
like that
, the Phãegen he was with would have regretted being there.”
             

He smiled
, appeared oddly pleased
and nodded. “Then te
ll me of your brother
.”

             
“The two of you would have hit it off.” She laughed a bit before she coughed again.
Somehow,
he wasn’t convinced that this was a compliment
and she truly did not have it in her to explain
--
but both men loved to give her a hard time and be very difficult
.

             
"Where is his mother? Could he be with her?"

             
“
Staphãyn’s mother
was
Kal
ãe
Lampiŕ
. She suffered from madness
--
or that’s what
Dĩas claimed
.
I don’t remember much about it for I was away, preparing for the rituals to be High Priestess. What I was later
told is
th
at
she
was removed from our home and sent away.
Dĩas
said she was a danger to herself and others. Before she reached her destination
,
though, she was killed.
Staphãyn has
been at
Dĩas
’ throat ever since.”

             
“Because he blames
him
for her death
?”

             
“
Yes
;
the
night she was sent away and killed, Evil was attacking the
realm
s.
St
a
phãyn
knew it was dangerous to send her out to travel that way and then there was the whole wagon thing.”
Samanthŕa
rolled her eyes.
“
Normally they would have misted
or opened a portal
. He wouldn’t even allow
Staphãyn to
escort her.
He
believes
Dĩas was
behind his mother’s death. From that moment
on,
he began to see things in the bloodlines which weren’t supposed to be seen. He started drinking and kept to the villages. He preferred
Phãegens
over his own kind
,
but if you ask me it was simply because they were readable and predictable. Their thoughts are so easily heard
,
you see. With our kind, it is more difficult to know what to expect
.”

             
“Wait
.
”
Daŕ
ēus raised
himself
and leaned
forward. “What exactly
did
he see?”

             
Samanthŕa
sighed
. She had been down this road before
,
only with
Dĩas
and the Elders. She prepared herself to be scolded and then silenced. “The same things I began to see after I became High Priestess
.
Mãrquis
ŕa
who beat their servants
;
we now know why
,
don’t we?” She
snorted,
remembering how she learned the
Mãrquis
ŕa
were evil. The beating of the servants was bad enough
,
though. It was wrong and against even
Dĩas’
laws. “
Strygĩ
males would force younger Viis to be their blood slaves. O
r
be
like
Monéaklá
, psychically attacking anything that walked. The Elders started to distance themselves from those in their
own
bloodlines more and more.
We hardly know who they are anymore
,
to be honest.
More and more of our bloodlines began to separate themselves from the
Phãegen
realm
s. I could go on all night
but to make
this short, simply ask Kaléé
the Vlachŕa
,
for she and the other Lycãon clans separated themselves from us for much the same reasons
.”

             
“So you think
this
is why
St
a
phãyn
renounced his blood?”
Daŕ
ēus carried
on the conversation as if everything she said meant something to him. This surprised her greatly. It was something new, refreshing.

             
“
No.
Something worse pushed
Staphãyn over
the edge. Something which only he and
Dĩas know
about
,
since it was the last conversation
Staphãyn had
as an immortal. I didn’t think he was close to that edge either. If I had known I would not have…” She stopped herself.

             
“You would not have what?”
Daŕ
ēus pushed
.

             
Samanthŕa
swallowed hard. “I would not have put the idea into his head. I -I mean I didn’t tell him to do it nor was I serious. I merely made the comment when he said he was going to the
Phãegens
, the night
Dĩas
forb
ade
us to leave. I didn’t think he would find a way to
do--
”

             
“Do what? Renounce his blood?”
Daŕ
ēus
asked
.

             
“Yes. I was being sarcastic. I didn’t know he would take me seriously
,
which is why I felt so guilty when I found out. That’s when I went to find him, in the village. I had to find him before
Dĩas and
the others did. Regardless of what he renounced
,
Daŕ
ēus
, I love him. He is
still
my brother.
I do not love him because I ha
ve some secret desire that he may be
my
A
wakener either. I simply
love him
.
”

             
Darius stood up and threw another log on the fire. He seemed to like playing with fires
,
she thought. “So what did you find out while you were there?
What of this symbol Dĩas is claiming as his proof?
”

             
“
The symbol is not proof. It is common among Phãegens and NORS
ŔAH
,
if I know my history.
"

             
"So he said nothing to tweak your curious nature?"

             
"
He told me things were not always what they seemed to be. He kept repeating that, too. He told me to be wary of
Dĩas and
the Elders. He told me to stay close to
you
.”
Daŕ
ēus looked up suddenly and smiled
.
She knew he
’d
g
i
ve
n
her his blood
;
Chymeŕah said so. Samanthŕa felt guilty but she used
this
against him. She used his own power to block him from reading her mind. It was hard
,
but she was learning.

             
Samanthŕa
shook her head and s
a
t down the broth. She didn’t think she could keep it down. “It seems he was impressed that you had returned. His only regret was that he couldn’t watch you tear
Dĩas
to pieces.” She started to laugh again but choked some more. The choking led to more coughing.

             
“So if he was impressed by me, why did he not
come
to me?”
Daŕ
ēus rose
, checking her temperature. He
showed
concern.

             
She was to
o
tired and weak to move away from him. His hand brought comfort to her for some reason. She hated that. Her body also screamed for his heat. His hands were always so
warm
and healing
.
She blamed his blood for that
, too
. His blood was wre
a
king havoc on her entire existence.

             
“I don’t know.”
Samanthŕa
shook her head
with denial
. “Whatever happened must have been truly awful. Like I said before, something horrendous must have pushed him over the edge. I sent him away and that was it. I know nothing else.
If you’re thinking that there is
any truth to Dĩas’ accusations
though, you’re wrong. Staphãyn would
never
lead a war to destroy his Bloodlines. If he did, he would have begun with the Mãrquis
ŕa, I assure you.
”
Samanthŕa avoided describing the woman. She told him nearly everything else, but nothing concerning her. She was still unsure of whether or not she could trust Daŕ
ēus concerning the pregnancy.
Just in cas
e.

             
“Where did you send him?”
Daŕ
ēus asked
,
as
Samanthŕa
looked away.

             
“I forgot.”

             
“You forgot?” He started to laugh.
“
It amuse
s me
when women simply
forget
things, yet any other time
your gender
can
remember every mistake,
flaw,
or upset done a hundred years prior.
”
He acted as though he knew better
.
He cleared his throat while she threw him
vicious
looks
, but then
became serious.
“
Samanthŕa
, your brother is in danger. You have a choice; either
I
find him or those who hunt him. Which is it?”

             
Samanthŕa
stood up
,
carrying the pile of blankets with her. “Neither
,
”
s
he said coldly as she
mov
ed to the bed. “None of you will find him. You will not read my mind, search my
thoughts,
or use any power over me to know. I have guarded myself against that. None of you,” she e
mphasiz
ed, “will find him.”

             
He almost stopped her from hobbling away from him
;
she
whirl
ed back around and
adde
d
, “
As for the NORSŔAH
,
I do not know much about them
,
for they left for their own
realm
before I knew what
realm
s were. But I do know it doesn’t make sense that they would join with
Phãegens
in an attempt to destroy us. And even if they did,
Staphãyn is
not
with
them
,
nor would he harm the
Theŕéans
. He adore
d
Dǒntáe and
the others as much as I do. So you can wipe that out of your mind right now as well.” She spun back around and stretched out onto the bed.