Chapter 5
Rhea.
Pain curled beneath my ribs, sharp and unexpected, like someone had carved their initials into my bones, and forcefully too. I pressed my palm to my stomach, doubling over slightly as another wave surged through me.
I hadn’t eaten, why? Because I'd refused every meal these damned vampires had offered me the moment I left my little interrogation. I hadn’t slept either, but this was something else. Something darker.
It moved through me like fire, licking at my insides, stealing my breath.
The walls of my gilded cell pulsed, not literally, but that was how it felt. As if the very air had changed, and grown thick with something old and unspoken. I gritted my teeth and steadied myself on the wall.
"Pull yourself together," I hissed to no one. “Fucking pull yourself together.”
But my body wasn’t listening. My skin itched, my heart stuttered. And somewhere behind all of this madness, I felt him.
His footsteps didn't come first, just his presence, and then the door creaked open.
Alaric walked in like he owned the realm, maybe because he probably did. He was dressed in black as always, his long coat brushing the floor behind him, silver rings glinting against gloved fingers. He didn’t speak at first, just looked at me and I didn't miss the shiver that raced down my spine.
"You feel it too," he finally said. His head tilted to the side, watching me like some kind of experiment. “Don't you?”
I wanted to deny it, wanted to spit in his face, but lying took effort, and right now I was struggling just to stay upright.
"Get out," I rasped.
“No.” He stepped forward. "We’re linked."
“You don't say.” I laughed, bitter and broken. "You think I don’t know that?"
"Then you understand why you’re burning.”
His eyes flicked down to where my hand still pressed against my stomach. “The bond is settling. Your body is adjusting."
"Adjust this," I snapped, flipping him off with the hand not currently trying to hold me together.
"I didn’t think it would affect you this fast." His smirk was brief, almost unwanted, but his expression sobered quickly.
“I was supposed to kill you!” My voice reeked of desperation, I knew, but there was no need hiding it now. “Not this.”
Alaric didn't say a word, his eyes never left my face either, and I hated how his gaze made my skin burn all the more, but in an entirely different way.
“Can you not hear me?!” I yelled. “I was supposed to kill you! I was supposed to drag a dagger down your throat and watch your miserable life flash before your eyes!”
My blood was boiling now, but with anger instead. I felt it threatening to burst through my skin, and I couldn't help but think if he was feeling it too. If I'd felt that cut, could he feel my anger too?
I honestly would have let it go, until something caught my eye, a smirk from the undead bastard. My instinct pushed faster than I could react or even think things through. One minute I was fighting for my life, and the next, I was darting towards him, my hand raised for a slap.
The next series of events that happened wasn't something I would have predicted even if I had the chance. One minute I was lunging at him, and the next, he'd intercepted me.
Alaric pressed me into the wall with a grace that made me fluster, and I hated the fact that my skin burned from where he held me down.
“Get off me!” I hissed. “Get the fuck off me!”
“Or what?” He leaned in close, close enough that his breath fanned my check. “You'll slap me? Need I remind you that my pain is yours? You really thought that would work?”
“I will kill you.” I let out slowly. “No matter what it takes.”
“And?” Alaric only chimed, like my threat was one in many millions that didn't mean shit to him.
"And what?” I hissed. “ You expected me to prepare a heartfelt apology?"
"No," he said. "I expected time to keep you alive."
Before I could answer, the door opened again. A woman swept in, tall, cloaked in violet, her eyes glowing faintly. From the crest on her chest, I could easily tell she was one of his mages. An advisor, maybe.
She held a twisted iron staff and moved with purpose.
"So it’s true," she murmured. "The bond took."
"I need it examined," Alaric said, not looking at me now. "Before the council intervenes again."
You understand what you carry now, girl?” The mage tilted her head, studying me like I was some fascinating beast. “
"I didn’t choose this." I shook my head, trying not to die from the stampede going on in my body.
"That doesn’t matter.” Her voice was cold, icy even. “Choices are irrelevant once magic like this takes root."
She didn't wait for me to reply, just stepped forward, muttering in a tongue I didn’t recognize. Symbols flared briefly around her, then around me, and heat raced up my spine.
"The bond is sealed," she said after a beat. "Not cursed, not broken, not fraying either. It's ancient and pure, possibly older than both your lives. And oh? The consequences are absolute."
"What kind of consequences?" Alaric’s jaw tensed. “Tell me it can't really be…”
“It is.” The mage looked between us. "One dies, the other follows."
Silence. An unhealthy amount of silence stretched between us all. It expanded in the cell, echoing off stone and the pulsing walls.
My breath caught, and across the room, Alaric didn’t even flinch, but something in his eyes shifted.
“What was that you said about killing me again?” Alaric chimed. He must have meant it as some kind of twisted joke, but only one thing rang in my ears.
It wasn’t a threat, neither was it a theory. It was a promise. One I wasn't sure I was going to survive.
Shit. I was screwed.