Chapter Twenty-Three
Mila’s legs feel heavy as stone with each step that she takes away from the portal. Her gait sluggish, as she approaches the castle. She’s filled with dread that she has to face her father and his mates. Dark clouds gather as she walks through the main gates, as they always do. Mila yearns for the warm sun on her face and is wilting without it.
“Mila, I’m so glad you’re home. We’ve been worried sick.” Silan rushes to Mila’s side. Mila’s thankful that she’s the first one she’s greeted by. Silan has always been kind to her and her favorite of her father’s mates.
“I don’t want to see my father.” Mila says struggling to get up the few steps, “I want to rest.”
“Okay, I’ll take you to your room, and I’ll stall your father, but you’re going to have to face him sometime.” She warns.
“I know, but I’d like to have the strength to let him know, he has some things to face as well.” Mila pins Silan with a serious look.
“I know, we can wrestle that beast after you get some rest. Do you need to feed?” She asks.
The thought of feeding piques the memory of Grey’s blood flowing through her. She has no desire to feed, only a desire to taste him again. “No, I’m quite sated.” She smiles.
“Are you sure?” Concern flashes in Silan’s eyes. “You look very tired.”
“I am tired.” Mila continues down the dark hallway. The walls shimmer iridescent, Mila always loved the way the stone shines. She searches for the things she loves about home to quell the pain of being so far from Grey. But things she once revelled in, seem pale in comparison to her love for him.
They reach her room, and Silan pushes the door open. “Your father is very pleased that you’re home.”
The room is filled with all of Mila’s favorite crystal flowers that only grow in the underworld. The room glows in the myriad of color and light from the flowers. “I can see that.”
“You know he loves you very much.” Silan smiles kindly.
“I wish he loved me enough to let me go,” Mila says quietly.
“You know he can’t do that.” Silan lowers her head slightly, “You are the first and the daughter of Genevieve. If you are allowed to break tradition then what of the other daughters?”
Mila rolls her eyes, “Yes, what of the other daughters? Wouldn’t it be terrible if we all lived happily ever after?”
“What do you mean? Everyone’s happy here with our way of life.” Silan challenges her.
“Are you truly happy?” Mila searches Silan’s eyes for the answer.
“I am.” She hesitates.
Mila shakes her head, “Silan, I think you’re as close to content as you can be. You’ve always been a good mate to my father and wonderful friend to me. You’re the closest I’ve had to a mother and appreciate and love you. But I know there is more to life that you want.” She takes Silan’s hands, “You always told me to strive for what I wanted, but you’ve never taken your own advice.”
“I have what I want.” Silan’s movements away from Mila contradict her tone.
“Do you? Do you have passionate love that will transcend time and dimension?” Mila’s thoughts return to Grey. Somewhere in her heart, she knows that he will find his way to her.
“Nobody has that.” Silan says with a smile, “That’s something we have in the flash-bang beginning of things.”
“I don’t have that flash-bang with Elomere. He disgusts me and my father wants me to be Elomere’s primary mate. I don’t want that. I don’t want to be near him.” Mila stands looking out the window at the rolling hills beyond the castle.
“Sometimes being the first daughter means you have to make sacrifices for your people,” Silan explains. “You’ll find your flash-bang with Elomere or possibly another mate, but this is something you have to do for now.”
“Silan, you can’t have it both ways. You want me to be happy, but I have to make sacrifices. It’s one or the other.”
“You can find happiness in the sacrifice. You just have to look for it.” Silan explains.
“And what if Elomere is dead?” Mila thinks of how she left him. She doesn’t know what happened if what she did killed him.
Silan stops in her tracks, “What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said, if Elomere is dead we certainly can’t be mated.” Mila shrugs.
“What have you done?” Silan’s cautionary tone darkens the room.
“I-I-don’t really know,” Mila says worrying her cuticles. “I felt threatened, and something happened. I don’t know what it was, but he…”
“He what?” Silan takes Mila by the shoulders.
“He turned to glass,” Mila admits.
“Glass?” Silan whispers releasing Mila to pace the room. “Then what happened?”
“I got away.” Mila begins to plead, “He did terrible things up there. He murdered people, drained them dry and tried to blame it on me.”
“Oh Mila, this is very bad.” She warns.
“How? He was going to hurt me.” Mila’s voice raises an octave, “I don’t see how you’re okay with this.”
“I’m not okay with this. Your father wouldn’t necessarily be okay with this, but no one is going to be okay with you killing a prince.” Silan goes to the door and peeks out checking the hallway. “You do not breathe a word of this to anyone else. If anyone asks you about Elomere you tell them you don’t know where he is. Do you hear me?”
“Yes,” Mila says with wide eyes. She sits on the end of the bed and asks quietly, “Would my father really be okay with me mating to someone that would hurt me?”
“Honestly, I don’t know, but we’ve got bigger problems to solve right now, like how to make sure that no one finds out about this.” Her voice quivers with fear.
“He may not be dead.” Mila points out.
“No, but if it is discovered that you turned him to glass, you may be.” Silan kneels down in front of Mila. “Have you ever wondered why your mother didn’t stay in the Underworld?”
“Not really, I figured it’s because my father is a tyrant and she wanted to live among the truly living.” Mila answers.
“It’s because it wasn’t safe for her here. If it is found out that you possess her power, it won’t be safe for you either.” Silan takes her hands, “We have to keep you safe.”
Mila stops for a moment thinking about what she did to Elomere, “That was my mother’s power?”
“Yes, your mother was a crystal fairy. Your father kept that hidden for a very long time. It is still only a whisper of a rumor, what she was.” Silan’s brow wrinkles with concern.
“Silan, I’m going to ask you a serious question, and I want the truth.” Mila awaits her reply.
Silan nods hesitantly.
“Is my mother dead?” Mila raises her brow in challenge.
“I don’t know,” Silan answers confidently.
“You don’t know...that’s it?”
“Yes, the last I saw or heard of your mother is that she had gone through a portal to the top. That’s it.” She rights herself heading for the door. “But what happened to her when she got there is still a mystery.”
“So there’s a chance I can find her, and a chance I can live up top,” Mila says with hope.
“Your mother isn’t a blood fairy. Her kind are not forbidden, we are.” With that, she opens the door to leave.
A searing pain tears through Mila, her cries of agony fill the room. Silan closes the door rushing back to Mila. “What’s wrong? What’s happened?”
Silan searches Mila’s body for an injury.
“I don’t know.” Mila eeks out, “Pain, terrible pain.”
“I’ll fetch the healer and bring some food.” Silan gets up to leave.
“No, don’t leave me alone.” The panic in Mila’s voice stills Silan.
“I’m just going to the door. I’ll call down the hallway for help.” Silan rushes to the door and screams down the hallway.
Mila
curls up into a ball trying to staunch the pain, her howls echo through the halls of the castle until the pain drags her under into a deeper darkness.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Clarence vacillates between excitement and dread. The event of a vampire finding his Bloodmate is so rare and beautiful that it is usually celebrated. But whether Magno will be pleased that Grey’s Bloodmate is a blood fairy remains to be seen. The implications of keeping a vampire from his Bloodmate are deadly, to say the least. But what of the law? Will Magno make an exception to the treaty and allow a blood fairy to live here?
Clarence laments Grey’s lack of discretion. If perhaps Mila’s lineage had been kept a secret there would be a chance.
He picks up his phone and dials, “Jana, how is the most beautiful shifter I know.”
“I’m not in the mood Clarence. We’ve all heard you have a blood fairy problem. I’m packing now.” Jana says in a straightforward tone.
“Before you come, there are a few things I think you need to be aware of.” Clarence is back to all business.
“I think we know everything. I’ve spoken to Vash, he’s the one that requested I come.” She says with the sound of a zipper being zipped in the background.
“Vash isn’t aware of everything.” Clarence rolls his eyes thinking of Vash’s lack of competence.
“Then fill me in, I’m on the way to the airport.” She says huffing a breath.
“This blood fairy is Bloodmate to Grey Hart.” Clarence lays it out for her.
“Grey Hart?” Jana questions.
“Yes.”
“Oh dammit, Grey.” She says with disappointment in her tone. “What do we know about the situation, what information can we use to help him?”
“He’s a very old, very well-behaved vampire,” Clarence says. “He’s been solitary for a very long time, one of Charles’ creations.”
“That may work in his favor, but I’m not sure Magno will be pleased.” She’s silent for a moment. “We have to illustrate that Grey is an asset to the community. Remind Magno that he’s helped The Directive on many occasions and has only had one infraction.” Clarence tries to think of any angle that will help.
“Really? What, did we bust him for jaywalking?” She laughs.
“No, he went on a rampage during World War Two,” Clarence remembers the time all too well.
“Battlefield?”
“Yes and villages.” Clarence doesn’t want to revisit this incident but wants to convey to Jana and Magno that Grey is not a bad vampire.
“I remember that.” Jana says, “That’s when I first met him. We let him off though.”
“Yes, the circumstances were...drastic.” Clarence hesitates. “A young man, whom Grey had taken under his wing was killed in battle. They were very close, Rupert was his name.” Clarence remembers. “Had just become a father.”
“Yes, I remember how distraught Grey was, he lost his mind,” Jana recalls.
“To this day, he still gives to a trust fund that Rupert’s grandchildren benefit from. Never will any person descended from that man want for anything.”
“Sometimes, Grey is too soft-hearted.” Jana smiles, “I just wonder if this is one of those cases.”
“It’s not, this is different.” Clarence argues, “We have to consider that she’s his Bloodmate and the fact that there haven’t been any issues since the war. He’s a good guy and he needs our help.”
“That’s not what we do,” Jana says quickly.
“We keep the peace and the secrets. If we want to continue to do that, Grey needs our help.”
“Contain him, I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Jana says wanting to get off the phone.
“That could prove problematic.”
“How so? You’re a strong ancient vampire…”
“Yes, but so is he. I’ve never had to go head to head with him, but I’m not sure if I can handle him alone.” Clarence hates to admit that. “That’s why there have been some things he’s helped The Directive with, we needed his power.”
“We’ll do what we can. I’ll speak with Magno before my flight. Perhaps he can provide some direction.” Jana unceremoniously hangs up.
Clarence studies the phone for a moment. He ponders the thought of a vampire as ancient as Grey finally finding a Bloodmate. All of his centuries spent alone and to finally find true love to have rules stand in the way of him being with her. Clarence would never admit it that he has a soft side, but wants to be careful in how he wields it. He has to maintain control of this situation, but also help Grey.
He pauses in front of Grey’s home. How he’s going to make all of this work is beyond him, but he doesn’t believe they will be able to manipulate an entire treaty based on the love of one vampire. But he has hope.
Clarence walks up the steps to the home and rings the bell. Penny answers the door, “Well hello Mr. Collins, we weren’t expecting you.”
“You should have.” Clarence looks past her into the house.
“Professor Hart is not receiving guests at this time.” Penny stiffens momentarily. “But I’ll be happy to deliver a message.”
“I need to see him now,” Clarence tries to take a step through the door, but is halted by some sort of forcefield.
Penny smiles. “That won’t be possible.”
Clarence huffs a laugh, “I’m here to help him. I can get inside the house, your barrier won’t keep me out for long.”
“My barrier will hold up nicely, thank you.” Penny lays on the thick southern accent.
“Penny, let him in,” Charles calls from the parlor.
“Mr. Collins, it would seem Mr. Borne will be receiving you in the parlor.” Penny stands aside and removes the magic barrier from the doorway.
Clarence does nothing to hide his aggravation as he enters the parlor. “I know every vampire likes to have a revenant, but did you have to pick Jenny Greenteeth?”
Grey leans up on the couch covered in sweat with dark circles under his eyes, “Penny is not my revenant, she’s my housekeeper.”
“Holy hell, Grey you look like....” Clarence can’t meter his shock at Grey’s appearance.
“Death?” Grey finishes for him and wipes the sweat from his brow. “It wasn’t this bad the first time I died.”
“What happened?” Clarence takes a seat and acknowledges Charles.
“Mila, you sent her back to the underworld,” Grey says with a forced smile . “I do believe that this is akin to my Bloodmate dying and therefore I will be soon to follow.”
“We’re working on it, Grey.” Clarence makes the realization that they’d better work faster.
Grey reaching into his pocket and taking out his watch, he flips it open and studies it for a moment before putting it away, “We’re running out of time.”
Clarence huffs a laugh, “For a man who’s lived many centuries, I find it very pedestrian of you to always be so concerned about time. Patience, Grey.”
“For centuries, time is all I’ve had.” Grey starts, his expression pinches with pain. He glances down at the watch again. “But time has a way of showing us what really matters.”
Clarence and Charles both still in silent contemplation. Charles shifts uncomfortably in his seat before getting up, “What matters is getting you better.”
“What matters is being with Mila.” Grey snaps the pocket watch closed. “We’re running out of time.”
“Jana’s on her way, and we’re going to speak with Magno, to see if he can make an exception to the treaty.” Clarence offers Grey hope.
“I’m not sure what I’m going to do if an exception can’t be made, other than join her in the underworld.” Grey shrugs having grown used to the idea, he huffs out, “The problem is, even if an exception is made, her father may not let her come back. He has full dominion over her.”
Clarence considers what Grey’s saying and exchanges a knowing look with Charles. It is very well-known that vampires are not allowed among the blood fairies in the underworld, t
hey hold a grudge against vampires for Magno not allowing them to feed here. Grey will be a ghost with no home. “We’re not going to let that happen.”
“Thank you.” Grey remains as stoic as possible.
Penny enters the room with a tray of wine glasses filled with blood, “Gentlemen, refreshments?”
Clarence takes a glass, “Thank you.”
Charles also takes a glass and drinks it down instead of sipping it politely.
Grey declines the offer, “No thank you.”
“I tell you, it’s those eggs making you sick.” Penny’s mouth twists with concern.
“Eggs?” Clarence asks.
“Yes, I drank the eggs from Vivienne to find Mila,” Grey says.
“You have an unhealthy trust of witches, old friend,” Clarence says eyeing Penny.
Penny leaves the room glaring over her shoulder at Clarence.
Charles sits with the men crossing one leg over the other. “We have an angle.”
Clarence inhales a breath, Charles always has an angle, it’s rarely feasible and never legal, “What is it?”
“Mila’s mother,” Grey says.
“How can that help?” Clarence squints his eyes.
“It is believed that she is here, and has been living among us for at least a century without any incident at all. I don’t think there’s a vampire alive that can say they’ve never had an incident.” Charles offers.
Clarence studies a silent exchange between Grey and Charles. He interrupts their thoughts, “So if we are able to find the mother, there’s a risk that she could also be sent back. We can’t have them running all over the place. It’s bad enough we’ve got one made of glass in New Orleans.”
“That’s the other thing,” Grey perks up briefly, “We need to kill him.”
“Grey, let’s not get too hasty,” Clarence warns. “We don’t even know who he is.”
“I do. He’s Mila’s betrothed. He’s cruel to her, and she does not want to be mated with him. Even if I die and can’t be with her. I don’t want her to have to spend an eternity with him.”
Penny stands in the doorway, “I don’t mean to be the harbinger of doom, however, doesn’t it stand to reason that if you are experiencing this illness due to separation from your Bloodmate, she would be weakened?”
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