by Eden Winter
“It won’t stop Upír,” Veri sobbed. She stopped to collect herself. She was still weak.
“It has something to do with that elf king, doesn’t it?”
Veri looked up at her sister with eyes wide.
“I’m more intuitive than you realize Veri. You used to sneak off, and then suddenly you stopped. You had lost a playful spark in you when you did. And when the elf king came the other day, that was when you began to feel ill.”
Veri didn’t answer Upír. She didn’t know what to say. Veri wasn’t going to play the game of denying what it was her sister knew, but she couldn’t give herself away so easily either.
“I keep receiving his memories,” Veri sputtered, “and I don’t know how to make them stop.”
She closed her eyes tightly and tried her best to control her tears, but she couldn’t. Her sister moved closer to her and wrapped her arms around her.
“Are they hurting you?”
“No. Upír I think they’re killing me. He left me for a human. And now the human’s face is all I see. Whenever I see him, it feels like lightning inside of my head, and my heart breaks all over again. And I don’t know what to do,” Veri said.
“There, there.” Upír ran her hands through Veri’s straight hair. Veri was still trying to hold in her tears. She sobbed silently and bit down on her lip to prevent herself from completely crying.
“You are Queen Verilianne of the blood moon vampire clan. Your family blood is the oldest blood in all the realms. You are the supreme being, my love. And you are allowing the face of a human that you have never seen with your own eyes to cause you so much pain that it may jeopardize your position in this kingdom.”
Veri held her sister a bit tighter. She knew that Upír was not purposely trying to insult her. Upír always spoke the truth and did whatever she felt was best, no matter who it might hurt. Veri couldn’t help but feel that maybe her sister should have been queen. Upír was always thinking with a rational mind, and she knew the right words to say. It was possible that she would have been a better leader. But thinking these thoughts were the kind of weakness that Upír was referring to. There could always be doubt and worry, but she was still the queen.
“Maybe the way to rid yourself of the pain you are feeling is to rid yourself of whomever is causing it. You seem to know the cause of both your headaches and your heartache. So, do away with the source,” Upír said simply.
Veri raised her head and studied her sister’s red eyes. Her sister raised one corner of her mouth in a quick smile before it faded back into a serious expression. Veri knew what her sister was thinking, but she wasn’t going to say it.
There was no way she could win back the love of King Kainen; he belonged to someone else now. Or was there? Veri wasn’t sure if it was that he no longer loved her, or if he simply loved the human boy more. It could have been that the human was more a passing fixation because he was beautiful and in the king’s court. Kainen probably didn’t have to sneak away or hide when he was with this lover. Or it could have been that he had never loved her and that she had been a passing amusement.
Maybe there was no way for her to win Kainen back, but at the very least she could lessen her own pain. There would be no human that could reduce her to such a pathetic heap. It was embarrassing for a queen to being dying every time she saw the face of someone who had stolen her only love from her.
“No one should be able to test the patience or the love of a queen. The human boy means nothing, and so that is how he should be. As nothing,” Upír said. Veri raised a hand to silence her. She didn’t need any more convincing.
Of course.
“You’re right,” Veri said weakly. “I need to end this pain quickly, before it kills me.”
“But first,” Upír said. She held her sister’s face in both of her hands, her eyes dancing as she studied the entirety of Veri’s face.
“First?” Veri asked.
“First, you need to feed.”
Chapter Eight
The Bishop, The Pawn, and The King
“You have not left his side all week,” Guiden said. He appeared at the entranceway to the king’s chamber. He looked at Adam with a hint of pity in his old eyes. He hoped, for Adam’s sake that all would be well with the king in the end. It was one thing to lose a ruler, but to lose someone you loved was more pain than anyone deserved. He had thought of his own daughter over the last several days. He felt that she was still alive, but where and in what condition?
Guiden had spent most of his time watching the nurses as they soothed the king’s wounds. He had brought blue lava to build up his strength. Now Guiden could feel that it was time for his king to return to his people. He had disappeared to finally bring the mermaid’s scale and the powdered mermaid spine.
“He hasn’t woken up at all,” was all Adam could say when Guiden had come into the room. There were dark circles like sinister half-moons under his eyes. He had barely eaten or slept since the king had been brought back to the citadel. It was worse because he had not been sleeping well before then either. His constant worry for the king had left him so frail, and Guiden had been his only true company. The werewolves had stayed, but since the last moon was no longer full, they would spend some time as men and would take turns in their wolf forms in order to keep guard. No one else was allowed near this part of the citadel.
Every night, Adam could see that the people of the citadel had gathered in the main courtyard to light candles and say silent prayers for the king.
Yleinen had recovered and would frequently come to visit without saying much to Adam himself. Yleinen never knew how to speak to anyone who wasn’t a warrior. He never stayed long during his visits; he also had to keep the people of the kingdom informed. He sometimes asked for the werewolves to accompany him, to reassure the people and to promise that the wolf men were there to help. He never mentioned Dende or Siluman, but he had said that there was a way to save the king and that help would be on its way in the coming days.
It had taken almost a week for Guiden to remove most of the poison, and now it was time for the scale of the mermaid and the crushed bones to revive him. He would be awake, but there were still portions of his soul that were missing. If Guiden had tried to awaken him before his time, the king would have succumbed from his injuries.
“The king will be revived once he drinks this,” Guiden said in order to reassure Adam. He walked over to the king’s bed.
Kainen’s chamber was gray aside from the cloth that was spread on his bed and the people and wolves in the room around him. His sword still rested by his side, virtually untouched except when Adam stroked the metal softly when he spoke to the king.
Guiden placed a few pouches, a jar, and a goblet onto a small stone table by the king’s bed. The goblet contained a single scale. It was the main scale of any mermaid and was at least four times larger than the other scales that adorned the creature’s tail. Guiden pulled out a dark liquid from his robe and poured a single drop into it. The scale crackled, shriveled, and then became liquid in the goblet.
Guiden took one of the pouches on the table and gave it to Adam.
“These are the mermaid bones. You must pour exactly as much as I say, when I say.”
Adam nodded and watched Guiden intensely. The mermaid bones had been dried and pestled so that they now resembled powder. Adam squeezed the pouch very gently. It helped to ease his racing heart. Guiden was still creating his concoction. He added some herbs and crystals into the goblet. A light blue cloud appeared, and Guiden captured it in a small jar.
“Now is the time for the bones. Pour them into this glass,” he said. Adam poured it little by little, constantly eyeing Guiden to see when he should stop. He didn’t want to ruin any of this or for Guiden to have to start over. Adam was excited at the idea of the king finally being awakened, but that did not mean he was going to make a mess of things.
Guiden held up a hand to stop him. The creases in his face twitched momentarily, almost in
the form of a smile. He was one of the oldest elves in this kingdom. His hair was still thick and straight as the younger elves, but his hair had faded to a gray that looked like a magnificent silver. His pointed ears drooped slightly at the top, and he had wrinkles all over his face.
He always said that he had a wrinkle for each story he would share with his daughter, and that was what Dende loved about her father. Guiden wanted to teach her everything, and Dende wanted to learn. He paused to think of her and hoped that she was all right, but now he had to concentrate on helping the king.
The mermaid bones never touched the bottom or even the sides of the glass container. They swirled around the bright blue cloud. The cloud was now forming a light at the center of it as the powdered bones undulated around in the jar. Adam watched and was completely mesmerized by what he was seeing. No matter how many times that week he had seen Guiden recite an incantation or create a spell, he was always shocked and transfixed.
The mermaid bones dissolved into the blue cloud as the light grew larger and larger in the jar. The light kept growing bigger, filling up the insides of the jar. Adam shielded his eyes, but peeked through his fingers so he could still see what was happening. The jar was shaking, and the light and blue cloud swirled in the jar.
And then, just like that, the light in the jar disappeared. The cloud was gone as well. In its place was a pale blue liquid that looked almost like water.
“Now Adam, I will need you to lift the head of the king so that he can drink this.”
*****
Seeing Kainen awake was almost more excitement than Adam could bear. Kainen had barely adjusted to the light when Adam had flung himself on top of him. It was Adam’s scent that Kainen could recognize first. Adam always smelled like rosemary and wildflowers.
Kainen mustered enough strength to hold Adam in return and he laughed. Kainen was relieved.
“I’ve missed you,” Adam whispered into Kainen’s hair. He didn’t know how long he had been holding Kainen, but he knew now that he never wanted to let him go.
“I know you’ve been with me. I couldn’t speak, and I couldn’t see, but I always knew that you were here,” Kainen said.
Adam finally moved away from Kainen and looked around him. Everyone had left to allow them a private moment. Adam could see the dark brown fur of one of the wolf guards outside the king’s chamber, but he was grateful that this was the most alone that they had been since before Kainen had left to go and speak with the vampire queen.
Adam tapped Kainen’s shoulder to tell him to make room on his bed. Kainen laughed again and shifted as much as he could without being hurt by his sword. Adam fell into the bed beside Kainen. Now that Kainen was awake, it was like every bone in Adam’s body ached. He was so tired from watching him, but he was too excited to want to go to sleep any time soon.
“How long has it been?” Kainen asked. His eyes were closed now. Adam had an arm over Kainen’s chest, and he rested his head on Kainen’s shoulder.
“Days. Almost a week. Dende is…”
“Is she all right? What about Yleinen?” Kainen was already shifting in the bed. He was so prepared to rise and go about his duties as if he was not living with only a part of his soul.
“Rest. I’m not going to let you get out of this bed,” Adam said. “Yleinen is fine. Dende left to get you some help.”
“We don’t have much time, do we?”
“Dende’s dad said no more than three weeks left until the rest of your soul leaves you.”
“Dad?”
“That’s what we call fathers where I come from.”
“Oh,” Kainen said. Adam could already hear how tired he was becoming. He didn’t want him to sleep so soon, but he had no choice but to let Kainen recover.
“You should sleep. The more you rest, the longer you have with me. At least until Dende comes back,” Adam said.
“Wait. Lull me to sleep. Tell me about where you come from,” Kainen said. His words were coming out slowly, and he paused occasionally after each breath.
Adam wanted to say that he would tell him later, but he had no way of knowing if later would even come. Kainen had already halfway drifted off. He probably wouldn’t be awake long enough to hear all that Adam could possibly tell him.
“The place I’m from is very different from here. I don’t even know where to begin. The first thing I can say is that there’s no one like you there.”
“Do you miss it?” Kainen whispered. He was definitely on the verge of sleep now.
“Sometimes I do. But then I found this place; then I found you. And I’m torn between…”
Adam didn’t have a chance to finish. Kainen was already sleeping soundly beside him. His chest heaved longer when he breathed, and he was letting out a soft snore.
“Later,” Adam said. He kissed Kainen on the cheek, and as carefully as he could rested beside him and drifted off as well.
He had finally found some peace because he had spoken to Kainen. He had seen Kainen wide awake and had held him in his arms. His lack of sleep had been worth it. But he had more than made up for it now.
Adam woke up the next day, and he knew that it wasn’t the morning because the sun wasn’t shining through the window facing to the east. That meant half of the day had gone. He couldn’t believe he had managed to sleep so long or so soundly.
Kainen was fast asleep. Adam didn’t know if the concoction he drank was meant to keep him awake indefinitely or if he needed to drink more each time they wanted to wake him from his deep slumber. Adam wasn’t going to disturb him in order to find out. Kainen was still very weak. Now that Adam wasn’t completely worn out, he was going to take his leave.
He got up from the bed, being extra careful not to wake up Kainen, and moved towards the entrance. He ran his hands through his hair so that his blonde curls were out of his face. He felt renewed. It was the perfect time for him to go.
“Please don’t leave his side,” Adam told one of the guards. He left the king’s side after what had felt like an eternity in that room. It had depressed him so much sitting in silence and just waiting. He needed to be out in the open and in the fresh air. There was something that he needed to do for himself.
‘It will only take three days,’ he thought to himself. ‘Maybe Dende and that werewolf will be back before then.’
He hated to leave Kainen’s side, but time was going, and he still hadn’t moved from his spot by the entrance. The more he thought it over, the longer it would take for him to return.
“If the king asks where I am, you can tell him not to worry about me. Tell him I’ll be back soon. I just need for him to get as much rest as he can.”
“I will do as you have asked,” the werewolf growled in response.
Adam descended the stairs, and he didn’t turn to look back at where he had just come from. If he turned around now, he would not be able to leave Kainen.
He trotted down the winding staircases and throughout the different narrow streets of the citadel. He needed to go to the stables. For where he wanted to go, he would need a horse… and an invisibility cloak.
Chapter Nine
The Queen and The Pawn
The queen had not put much thought into her plan. It wasn’t until she left her castle and put her people in her sister’s hands that she even stopped to consider everything. Upír was probably currently in the process of telling the members of the queen’s court that she was ill. Veri told her to be honest without giving everything away. They could know that she was ill, but they would need to know that the reason she was leaving was to find a cure. It wasn’t a lie. Veri just knew that her sister needed to leave some things out of the story.
“There are positives and negatives to this,” she said to herself. She was riding her horse, Luci, who had a mane as white and as straight as Veri’s own. Luci was a vampire’s horse, and that meant that she had long powerful legs and an intelligence that surpassed many of the other horses in this realm.
It would normally
be a long journey from her kingdom to the elf citadel where King Kainen resided, but Veri knew of another path. It was how she and Kainen were able to meet in secret for such a long time. This would cut her journey by more than half. It would take her to their open field by the south entrance to the forest. She laughed to herself; it was not their field anymore. He had taken his lover there.
“The positives,” she spoke to herself to keep from losing her grip on this reality. She wanted to be as alert as possible in case any of the strange visions occurred while she was riding.
“This may sever my ties with the human so that I may no longer get headaches from seeing his face. The human will be dead, and I will have the upper hand when it comes to my emotions and being able to rule my people again. And…” she stopped herself for a moment, but then shook her head and continued, “and King Kainen will suffer greatly for this loss.”
Veri puffed out her chest, as if someone might be watching her. She wanted everyone to admire her strength as a queen.
“The negative now,” she went on, “is that it is possible that a war may break out, but that is only if the human is found. I can have the sirens by the sea do away with him. There is also the chance that these head pains are coming from Kainen and not the human, and so I may not get the relief that I seek. And… King Kainen will suffer greatly for this loss.”
No matter where her thoughts took her, whether they urged her to continue on this path of vengeance or return home to endure her anguish in silence, they always brought her back to Kainen. She was torn between feeling so betrayed by him and wanting him to pay, and loving him irrevocably and wanting him all to herself.
If the king ever found out that she had had a hand in his lover’s demise, then he would surely never forgive her. The feud between elf and vampire would be renewed and signed with the blood of an innocent. This could lead to centuries of bitterness—or until one or both of them had found love again. And what kind of life would that be… for either of them?