The Consort's Will 《COMPLETE》

Chapter 17

Chapter 17 - Kelly

Red hair spills over my chest, covering my skin with a feminine, gentle reassurance. I lean forward and breathe her in, until it's branded to memory. Her strawberry shampoo tickles my nose and mixes with the natural scent of her blood - a subtle sweetness that even my subconscious knows by the back of its hand. Warm breath slips past her lips and caresses my bare skin. I stare at the ceiling and try to remember what it felt like to hold this woman and love her without craving her blood.

It's normal to forget everything after turning. When a human changes, a portion of their brain (the one that holds memories) is wiped clean to start anew. The emptiness I carry in me is anything but normal. What's worse? I know should feel lonely, but it's as if my receptors to feel are being blocked from the inside out. All I know is that so much is missing.

And this woman, Fiona, is the only way to bridge the gap.

Bogdan claims my subconscious can't remember her. It's not possible. So why is it I crave this woman, and this woman alone, without bonding to her blood first? I don't remember a single experience with her from my former, human life. Yet there's something inside of me that continually seeks her out. Being around her doesn't bring back the memories, but the emptiness isn't so profound.

Fiona stirs in her sleep and mutters under her breath. Her closed eyes squeeze tighter, and my fingers hesitate at the small of her back. The action is foreign as an immortal vampire. Somewhere there's a whisper inside me, though, silently reminding me it's second nature. This is what human Kelly did with her.

I rub my thumb across the slender slope of her hip. She tenses to my touch. The coldness of my skin covers her warmth like a blanket of snow. I should stop, but I can't find the will to pull away. I never can.

When I arrived at Mark's camp, Fiona turned her back on me. She stood back while they shackled me. Beat me. Took enough of my blood to nearly drain me. Starved me. When I was weak enough to no longer pose a threat, I was thrown into isolation...

...where I am now.

Slivers of light manage to seep through the small cracks of the overhead floorboards throughout the day and night. It's my only indication of time in this small room. I realize the hard way that Bogdan's words of warning were true. Following Fiona here made me a prisoner of war.

Muted moonlight spills into the room. Fiona adjusts herself in bed, and the thin sheet slides down her swollen belly. I remind myself that the child isn't mine - neither from this lifetime or the last. It's the spawn of the man keeping me trapped in here. That information alone should be enough to finally sever whatever tie I have with her.

A frown creases my brow, and I tighten my hold around the fragile woman in my arms. I'm sleeping with the enemy, and so is she. For reasons unknown to me, she risks it all by sneaking into my room almost every night. She risks it all to seek comfort in my touch. And I find it impossible to resist her - even now, after all of this.

"Fiona," I whisper into the stillness of the night. "What spell have you cast on me, dark angel?"

The hazy memory slips further and further from my mental grasp. In its place, blackness surrounds my thoughts and a blooming ache envelops my chest. Pain threads into my joints. Everything is heavy, even the air circulating in and out of my lungs. Masculine voices register in the distance. They sound familiar. A hand holds on to mine. Male. Warm. Human.

"We're here, Kelly. We're here."

It's a gentle voice, one filled with soft love and kindness. It's a voice I remember, both as a human and as a vampire. Without opening my eyes, I respond to my best friend.