Bound By Blood (47 page)

She was nervous that Dĩas was o
n this NORSŔAH kick. Did he figure out that
it was
where Samanthŕa sent St
a
phãyn and his woman? It was impossible and she was being paranoid. Still, if St
a
phãyn was caught in the
realm
of NORSŔAH, if he made it…she scolded her mind for even thinking of it.
             

             
“How well do you adore Dǒntáe?” He r
aised a
brow. Was he
teasing her because of what her sisters said
concerning that
just
now
,
or did he truly wish to know?

             
“Why, is
he
my Awakener?” She fought fire with fire.

             
“Would you wish him to be?” He threw gas on the flame.

             
“Do you wish me to wish him to be?” She threw flames in his face.

             
“Shall I g
o fetch him to see? Release my c
laim over you and hand you over t
o him?” He savored those flames. His energy revealed it.

             
“Yes, why don’t you run along and
do that
?
” She watched him
spontaneously combust.

             
He growled but in a wicked, amusing sort of way.
“So what you’re telling me is that you refuse information from me? The same thing you thought I was doing to you last night?” He attempted to be coy.

             
“Only because
you
said you would not keep anything from me. I, however, never made such a promise to
you
.” She grinned
,
quite pleased with herself
,
before her head began to spin again. She felt nause
ou
s
.
Hunger
tormented her.

             
Daŕ
ēus brought
her the
broth. He had to of sensed her unending starvation.
“
Drink this.”

             
“No.” She pushed it away. “I can’t keep it down.” The thought of it made her feel sicker.

             
“When was the last time you ate something?”
h
e asked.

             
She couldn’t remember. Every time she attempted to eat, she turned against it, if she wasn’t interrupted or some situation didn’t arise that needed her attention. Still, she had no stomach for it.
Again, s
he blamed his blood for that. Ever s
inc
e she
had
caught scent of it
and then was given it
… she shook the thoughts from her mind.
             

             
He took the broth and held it under his wrist. The same way he conjured his blood the night before, he did so again.

             
Her eyes became wide with fear. She held her breath before she
could inhale the
scent of it. She
even
tried to leap off of the bed
,
but he caught her arm and pulled her back. “It
’
s not much but enough so you can keep the broth down.
You need this
.
Do not fight me
.”

             
Her senses rose. The smell of his blood triggered her beast
;
the hairs on her skin stood straight up. Her eyes began to glow a faint golden tint and she felt her fangs p
ric
k.

             
Was she strong enough to resist? No. Without thinking she grabbed the broth and seemed to down it in one gulp. Her breath was heavy when she was done as she felt that little bit of blood move through her in waves. A rising heat built itself inside the pit of her stomach. Her mind simmered and she liked what she felt.
Dear
G
oddess,
she became aware.
She wanted more.

             
She reached up without thinking and grabbed his wrist. He pulled it away while her eyes glazed over with hunger and heat. Her weakness was finally having enough of her foolish fears. Her sleeping beast began to purr underneath her breath.

             
Without h
esitation, he bit himself and gave it to her
. Her fangs
were not mature enough to pierce his flesh. T
he essence of him filled her up inside. But just before she could relish the
rapture
of it, he pulled away. His actions shocked her
, including that
.

             
“Sleep.”
He moved his hand over her eyes, ordering her beast to go still.
“It nearly kills me to deny you your urges and know that I would not if things were different but you
,
my Priestess
,
have made it clear that you do not wish your Awakening. So with that being said, I must ration your nourishment
;
forgive me.”

             
S
he felt slightly embarrassed
and ashamed of herself. She also was wary now that she could lose control like that
--
though in the back of her mind she was thankful and had a new found trust of him
.
He
kept her agenda on his mind even when she could not
.
He could have easily given her all the essence she desired and whatever else her beast claimed, but he didn’t. Again, she felt shame.
He gave her no chance
,
though
,
to wallow in those unnatural emotions.

             
“I want you clear headed and strong tonight. You need to get ready.
Mu
ch has happened since the previous moons
.
” He told her
this
as if he was distancing himself from her.

             
“Why is that?” She wiped his blood from her m
outh and licked it from her fingers like a small feline
. Waste
not;
want not, something inside made her believe.

             
He went on
to explain what some of the Evil bloodlines did the night before
, h
ow they renounced evil.

             
She nearly fell over with shock. “You’re not serious. You don’t believe them
,
do you?”

             
“By the old l
aws, I have no other choice
,
since it was those laws they invoked
. We must accept those who are refugees
,
fleeing the grip of Evil
,
as it is the way of the Goddess
. It is part of who we are. For now, I must follow the law.” He explained
while
opening her wardrobe as if h
e had
every right to do so. He began flipping through her gowns.

             
“You’ve gone mad. How can you…” she started to say when he cut her off.

             
“
Keep your enemies close
…did your mother ever tell you that?”
H
e winked before turning back to her dresses. “We shall see how sincere they are
,
as we wil
l all gather tonight in Dĩas’s
Realm
for
a
ball of sorts. They shall
reveal
certain secrets of Evil, concerning the bloodlines if you will.
This is how it was done during a
ncient times, to show their new
allegiance and loyalty
to us. Let us go then and see what it is that they offer. Let us play the game for awhile, shall we?”

             
“I think you have gone mad.” She hissed.

             
“Your father has also admitted his wrongs against me; did you not hear of that? I was surprised that your sisters did not focus more on these things instead of everything else they spat towards you.”

             
She sighed. If only Dĩas was sincere. She hoped that he was. With losing St
a
phãyn, would it be naive of her to want to save her father?
“Do you believe him?” She prayed he would say yes.

             
“I believe I must hear them out. Dĩas is of my own blood. I would like nothing else but to save him from his own destruction.
Regardless
, as I said, by the old laws, I must hear them out.
We all must hear them out.
How am I to preserve and resurrect the old ways if I start breaking the laws myself
?
As High Priestess, you must do the same.” He made a sour face concerning he
r gowns. “None of these will do
,
as I feel they are beneath you. I will have something made
and
sent
up to you later. For now I want
you
to rest.”

             
“I do not want to go
,
”
s
he said bitterly.

             
“And why is that?” he asked.

             
She thought he was taking all this far too lightly. “Because if they are not sincere then I do not want to see my father destroyed.”

             
“Samanthŕa, I will not destroy your father
this night. What do you take me for?
A
monster who thrashes about
,
killing without thought
or remorse
?”

             
She thought of the T
avern, letting down her guard so he could see her thoughts. 

             
He grinned devilishly. “Surely you will not hold that against me?”

             
She didn’t say a word.

             
“Alright then, you do not have to go
,
but you will be missing out. One of the things your father will be an
nouncing is the name and identity of your Awakener
.” He tempted her.

             
“W
hat? Never in a million years…”
S
he raised
herself
from her bed.

             
“That’s right. The bloodlines of Evil will be revealing this curse
.
”
H
e paused
.
“
T
his has all been about a curse hasn’t it?”
B
efore she could respond he continued, “They will be revealing how you can be released from it. And your father will finally be doing what he should have done all along…standing by your side while what is natural comes naturally.” He started to walk towards the door when she jumped off
of
the bed and ran to
wards
him. She grabbed his arm
. She was t
rembling. Why was she trembling?

             
“What…what if I don’t want my Awakening? What if I am happy how I am? Can’t you keep your claim over me and we leave it at that? Believe me when I say I am quite
satisfied
with being High priestess and focusing only on that.”

             
He took her hand. His eyes reflected sympathy and concern. “What has you so worried? You should be overjoyed that all this will soon be over.”

             
“Just
let me be as I am. You’re the F
ather of the Blood. You have that power
,
don’t you? What
’
s the wors
t
that can happen? I will pester you or get in your way? Just let things stay as they are,
please.
” Her voice was shaking.
So was her body.

             
He led her to the bed with ease. He helped her l
ie
down.
“
Sleep
and regain strength. You must be at my side this night.”
 
He spoke inside her mind
:
“I will not hand my claim over until you ask it of me, I swear it. Rest and fear not the unknown.”