by Nicki Ruth
Davina stretched her arms wide, and energy surged around them. Brandr got to his feet, his blood sizzling beneath his skin as the energy around Davina caused his body to tremble. He gaped. The beast was struggling to move!
“Now! I can’t control it for long!” Davina shouted. Alexios placed the bundle on the floor and moved forward.
“No, he’s mine!” Brandr shouted.
He would repay the brute for his ribs. He charged forward, leaped onto the beast’s face, and sank his claws into its eyes. It howled and thrashed. Brandr sank his hands deeper into its sockets, blood coating him everywhere. Inside the beast’s skull, he reached upward until he felt what he hoped was brain matter and yanked. The beast toppled over unmoving.
Brandr licked his hands, satisfied with his kill. He turned toward his companions. Alexios chuckled, shaking his head, but Davina looked at him wide-eyed.
“Let’s leave this place,” Alexios said as he retrieved the bundle he'd carried.
They rounded the corner and encountered the warden in his hulking form. “So, you came for the priestess,” he snarled. “What would vampires want with a fae priestess? No matter. I cannot allow you to take her.”
The warden charged, but Davina raised her arms again, holding him in place. Brandr moved forward for the kill.
“No, leave him alive,” Alexios said. “Davina can you give him a new memory for tonight? We don't want to leave anyone with knowledge of who we are. Make it seem like it was an inside job.”
Brandr glanced at Alexios, confused. Could she do that? She was full of surprises, wasn't she? He was beginning to like the lass.
They left the warden where he stood, retrieved the fake papers from his office along with Brandr’s beloved battle axe, and stepped outside.
There, Jason was waiting with the ship. He laughed at Brandr’s blood-soaked appearance.
“Wow, Brandr. You got messy tonight. Had fun?”
“Jason my brother, there’s nothing like being bathed in the warmth of your enemies’ blood.”
Chapter 20
Davina held the hand of her sleeping friend. Alexios said Lexi needed to be close to nature to fully recover. Davina agreed, and so they had remained in the garden at Alexios’ manor for several days. Lexi was ghostly pale, and her hair was white—only a few streaks of pink remained. Her eyes were sunken into her head, and her once smooth skin was marred with lacerations and thick, gray-blue veins that crisscrossed her face. After cleaning the dirt and grime that covered her body, Davina had spent the first day crying at Lexi’s side, bemoaning her fate. She vowed to make those who had imprisoned her friend pay dearly.
Jason kept Davina company most days, often urging her to go up to the manor and get some rest, but she couldn't leave her friend. Alexios, too, came to sit with her sometimes, mostly unspeaking, but providing Davina much needed comfort. She looked forward to his visits, appreciating the soft comfort of his company. Davina whispered encouraging words to Lexi, who remained unchanged since their escape from the fae prison.
One morning Lexi gasped, her chest heaving rapidly. Her eyes were still closed, but her hands dug into the soil and she arched her back. To Davina’s surprise and relief, color crept into Lexi's cheeks, her gaunt face filling out a bit, and the thick veins slowly receded into her skin.
Davina urged her friend to open her eyes, but Lexi still did not wake. Davina was disappointed but glad that some positive change had occurred. There was no telling how long it would take for Lexi to regain consciousness or go back to how she used to be—if that were even possible. Alexios had warned Davina that fae deprived of nature’s energy became altered. Davina prayed Lexi would not be so affected, but it was a possibility.
“Davina, it’s been over a week. You need to rest.” Alexios said behind her. “Marius will stay by her side while you freshen up and feed. You can return once you’ve done so.”
She turned to see both Alexios and Marius standing in the garden. She frowned. “I’ve said before, I will not leave her alone. Suppose she wakes up and is scared because she is in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people?”
Alexios held up his hand to calm her. “I understand your concerns, but you need to feed, and you should at least shower. You haven’t done either for several days, and it’s beginning to affect Jason's sensibilities.”
Davina scowled, annoyed that Alexios would attempt to shame her so.
“There’s been no change in the priestess. I doubt she will wake in the half hour it would take for you to freshen up and feed.”
She sighed. It was true she hadn’t bathed in some time and was barely keeping her thirst at bay.
“Fine,” she grumbled, getting to her feet. “But Marius must promise to hold her hand so that she knows someone is there.”
Marius inclined his head. “Of course. I won’t leave her side until you return. You’re doing a good job tending to her.”
Davina allowed Alexios to guide her back to the manor where she took a much-needed shower. The water felt glorious against her skin, but then she felt guilty to enjoy this luxury while her friend could not. How had they ended up in such a predicament? Lexi had been imprisoned, for what exactly Davina didn’t know. Maybe once Lexi woke up they would be able to figure everything out together like they usually did.
Davina stepped out the shower and found Alexios waiting in her chamber, sitting on the bed. He smiled.
“Come. Drink. You need to practice controlling your thirst so that it doesn’t get away from you.”
He patted the space beside him, urging her forward. She went willingly, intent on feeding quickly and getting back to Lexi. Alexios was right. She needed to make sure she did not deprive herself in such a way that her thirst became unmanageable.
Grinning, she sunk her fangs into Alexios' neck, always delighted to take from him. This time, she did not feel overwhelmed like before. After a few moments, she tried to release her fangs from his flesh and succeeded—with some difficulty, but she did it.
She grinned up at him. Alexios gazed at her with red eyes, his fangs out and a pained expression on his face.
∞∞∞
Alexios grunted and moved her from his lap onto the bed. He stood and took a couple of steps from her. His body was tense as he battled to keep himself from sinking his fangs into her soft flesh, but he decided to heed Marius’ advice until they determined why Davina’s blood affected him as it did.
Davina tipped her head to the side and looked at him curiously. He strained against his instinct to take her, and from her, but there was much that he had put off because of the fae priestess.
“There are many things we need to discuss about your family and the gifts you possess. How are you able to control the movement of others?” he asked, hoping to get his mind off his more primal compulsion.
She shrugged. “I’ve many gifts, one of them being able to control blood.”
He frowned. “You can control the blood of others? In their bodies?”
She nodded. “The prison was the first time I had tried it on a person. I wasn’t sure it would work. But back in Zhar, I was able to control the flow of blood in and out of wounds. Sometimes I would assist our doctor with our most difficult cases—severed limbs, deep cuts, that sort of thing.”
He was astonished. He'd not heard about that ability in Zhar. As Marius had surmised, Davina was much more powerful than she knew. Or perhaps she knew and purposefully hid her strength.
Alexios cleared his throat, watching her closely. “I see. You can project thoughts into others and control blood. What other bloodgifts do you possess?”
“I came into my gifts early back in Zhar, but I haven’t really explored them. Sometimes I discover an ability completely by accident. I was supposed to begin training with mother after the Dāmming, but . . . we never got the chance.” Davina looked away, sadness descending over her.
“Davina,” Alexios said. “You were not born on Damurios and may not be familiar with her history and ancient fa
milies, but what do you know about your lineage?”
Davina raised her eyebrows, apparently contemplating his question. “I know my mother came from a royal line and that she was a princess of Zhar. I don’t know of her family here. It seems they no longer exist.” She shrugged. “She didn’t talk much about Damurios or the vampires here.”
“I see,” he said disappointed. Why hadn’t her mother spoken to her about her family? Probably because she never expected Davina to return to Damurios. He was about to ask Davina more when Jason burst into the room excitedly.
“She’s awake. The fae. She’s awake!”
∞∞∞
After Davina had gone, Marius sat next to the unconscious fae, holding her dirt-covered hand. She looked noticeably better than when he had first seen her in Alexios’ arms days ago. Some color had returned to her face, but she still looked pitiful. She would be quite beautiful once life returned to her. What she had done to end up in a fae prison? To be denied the very thing that sustained your life, yet not allowed to die, seemed cruel indeed.
He started brushing the dirt from her hand but then remembered she drew strength from the earth itself. A thought came to him. He pulled up the soil, covering her with the earth she lay on. He had covered her feet, legs, all the way to her torso when she stirred. He stroked her forehead and hummed a tune from his childhood—several lifetimes ago. He remembered fondly being tucked into a blanket as his mother sang it for him. He couldn’t remember the words, but he remembered the tune. He continued, moving earth and humming. He looked up into her face again and jumped. She looked back at him. She was awake!
“Hello, Lexi. How do you feel?” Marius asked.
Large, green eyes peered back at him. They were dull and sunken into her head, but life was there. He shifted closer and stroked her roughened hair. Her eyes followed his movement, but she didn’t speak.
“Your friend, Davina secured your release. You’re safe now and among friends. We’ll take care of you.”
Marius didn’t want to leave her to get Davina, so he stayed, taking her hand in his. Her eyes went to his hand, watching his movements.
They remained in silence until Marius sensed Jason’s return. “Jason, tell Alexios and Davina that she has woken.”
Jason stopped and peeked at the woman. Then he disappeared.
“Don’t worry. Davina will be with you shortly,” he said softly.
He felt a shift in energy around him and saw her lips trying to move. A tiny voice croaked out. “Who are you?”
∞∞∞
Davina saw Marius holding Lexi’s hand, her green eyes looking up at him. She let out a whimper of relief.
“Lexi! You’re awake.” She sank next to her friend and took her other hand. “Oh, thank the gods!”
Lexi’s eyes widened when she saw Davina. A smile crept across her face, causing her dry, cracked lips to bleed. Davina cried again.
Alexios came next to Davina and rubbed her back as sobs shook her shoulders. Lexi peered at him intently.
“Why don’t we take everyone inside where we can get more comfortable and give Lexi a room to recover in,” Alexios said. “Is that OK, Davina?”
She nodded, unable to speak.
Alexios scooped Lexi into his arms and began carrying her to the manor, but Lexi and Marius still held hands. Davina and Alexios gave Marius a questioning look.
He shrugged. “She won’t let go.”
With Marius walking alongside, Lexi’s hand still in his, they made it indoors and laid Lexi on a bed.
“I think she still needs to be surrounded by nature,” Davina said.
Alexios nodded and gestured to a glass door at the center of the wall. He opened it, revealing that the room was perched on the side of the forested mountain. Heavy, dark branches with red and blue leaves hung over a small balcony just outside the room. This would do, she supposed.
“She’ll be able to access the outdoors from this room. And there are stairs that go down into the mountainside,” Alexios said. “We can move her bed closer to the door, if you like.”
Davina went back to the bed where her friend lay, still clutching Marius’ hand.
“Lexi, do you want to let go of Marius so that he can go back to work?”
Lexi’s brow creased at Davina’s words, and she looked down at her hand holding on to Marius. To Marius’ credit, he smiled reassuringly. Lexi reluctantly released his hand and sighed, looking up at him.
“Lexi, I’m so glad you’re awake.” Davina stroked her friend’s cheek. “I’ll take care of you now. You’re safe.”
Lexi stared at her for a while then in a hoarse voice she said, “You? H. . .How?”
“We can talk about that and more when you have your strength back,” she replied. “Just rest.”
Alexios come to stand behind her. Lexi shifted her gaze up to him and stared. “So, it’s you. You’re the guardian.”
Chapter 21
Davina was satisfied that Lexi was recovering nicely. It had been several days. She had gained weight and color had returned to her face, but there was a sadness to her now that reminded Davina her friend might never be the same. She wanted to talk to Lexi about what had led to her imprisonment and what had happened in Zhar, but she hesitated each time she saw how sullen her friend was.
She had given the fae warden a memory that the breakout was an inside job and that fighting had broken out among the guards. Hopefully, that would be enough, but she worried the fae would come looking for Lexi. The best course was for her and Lexi to leave Damurios and settle elsewhere. She didn’t want to burden Alexios or his sirelings with taking care of them. Maybe Sandar could help them find somewhere to start their lives anew. He claimed to have done the same for her mother, after all. He was not what he seemed, and she worried if she could trust him, but she didn’t have many options.
Thinking about Sandar reminded Davina of the stone he had given her. She went to the bookcase and removed it from behind a stack of books where she had hidden it, unwrapping it from the loose cloth. It looked like an ordinary rock, smooth all around. Lexi would know what to do with it, he'd said.
What Sandar said about her guardian also replayed in her mind. Lexi had called Alexios the guardian. Alexios did try to protect her like a guardian would, and he’d helped her control her thirst; she hadn’t had an incident since the last time in his chamber. But how could he be her guardian when Sandar said the guardian was human?
She wanted to talk to Lexi about all of it, but she didn’t want to bombard her friend with questions. Soon, she and Lexi would leave and begin again. Davina smiled, thinking of the life they would have just as they had planned back in Zhar before everything went awry. A part of her felt guilty refusing the life her mother wanted for her—responsibility and duty—but her mother was dead, and that was a life she was no longer a part of. Now, for the first time since waking up in this strange time, Davina felt that she would finally be able to make a new life for herself on her own.
∞∞∞
Marius took another look at the list of parties and house calls designed to introduce Davina to Damurian society. Alexios was intent on seeing her restored to her royal house, though Marius didn’t care either way. The royal house was overseen by the steward—a shrewd, ancient man who served the previous king and now thought himself king. The previous king, a distant cousin of House Zharim, had succumbed to madness and was beheaded in a coup. The steward was installed until the next royal heir could be found, but that was centuries ago. Now, the noble houses schemed and plotted to establish themselves as a new monarchy.
Alexios’ plan was to have Davina charm these nobles to gain their support and loyalty. This meant having her attend as many high-society functions as possible. Marius made sure the list included the exclusive soirée of Minister Zlow, which was to happen in a few days. If Zlow was assisting Alexios’ sire, they needed to figure out how and why. The party would be an ideal time to do so. He already had Zlow’s mountain estate under surve
illance. Certain ministers and nobles had been frequenting the mansion of late; he now had them under surveillance as well. Soon, he would have a list of all potential conspirators.
Satisfied with the plans for Davina, Marius thought of the fae priestess. She had made considerable progress, but Marius sensed her emotions were in turmoil. She'd suffered terribly; Marius wanted to rip out the throats of those responsible. He often found himself peeking into her room to see how she was, something which didn’t go unnoticed by Alexios.
Marius had also tried to set up another meeting with Sandar, but the elusive vampire could not be found. If Sandar could divine where Alexios’ sire was, Alexios could finally confront him. Marius was glad Alexios was distracted by Davina. He had no desire to allow Alexios to run off and confront his sire alone. But every minute they remained on Damurios, they were in danger. Amelagar knew how to find them and was powerful enough to be a major threat to him and his brothers. Once they located the fiend, hopefully they could rid themselves of him once and for all.
∞∞∞
Alexios got off the phone with Councilor Morel Trakkian, who had called to let him know that several vampire nobles had requested visas to travel from Damurios to other imperial territories. This was not unusual by itself, but with the Dāmming approaching, Morel was curious why vampires would leave their home planet at such a vulnerable time. This information was intriguing. No doubt Amelagar’s presence on Damurios was the cause; the bastard had attacked vampires during the Dāmming before. But how did so many know of his presence on Damurios? Or was something else going on? That bastard.
Millennia ago, when Alexios had been a young man hunting game in a seaside village, a man approached him dressed in well-tailored finery and exuded an air of contemptuous superiority. Alexios’ had lowered his eyes and quickly answered the nobleman’s questions about his village, who he was, and what he was doing. He had been pleasant enough and had a dazzling smile, but Alexios tried to remain conspicuously respectful. His life and that of other peasants like him were nothing to men like this one, and any perceived slight could mean trouble for him and his family.