Just One Drop

Chapter 20- The Cuts

Braith's POV

By the time I'd finished the story, Imogen was snoozing softly, her head resting on my shoulder. I pushed it off carefully, then stood up. Quietly, I pulled a blanket over her, put the book back in its place, and left the room.

Running a hand through my hair, I sighed and smiled to myself. Then my expression turned sour. Morina. I'd forgotten about her.

Feeling lazy, I used vampire speed to get back to my room. I could sense Morina's aura in there. She was pacing back and forth, seeming troubled. Not that I was surprised.

I took a deep breath. Was I ready? Yes, I decided. Yes, I was ready.

Felicia's POV

That night I lay awake in my bed, contemplating. Comtemplating my life. It had been terrible most of the time. Abuse and death had played huge roles so far. Before I was kidnapped, I was abused by my father. Afterwards, it had been Master.

I wanted to run away. Run, run, never come back. That's what I had wanted to do for years. But, of course, there had been an obstacle. Before it had been school. I needed my education; I couldn't run away before it was complete. Here... Well, here it was the fact that I was a slave. I wasn't here by choice.

And so, I was stuck.

I tried to think positively. After all, I had friends here. Maddie and Tristan. They cared about me, and I cared about them. Of course I couldn't leave them behind.

But it made no matter. Despite all of the good things here, the bad were just so... Bad. I wanted- no, needed to leave.

But it could never happen. I was a mere slave, a mere human.

I felt the tears running down my cheeks slowly, and a sob began to build up in my throat. Trying to force it down, I gulped, but it was no use. It came out, rasping, gut-wrenching. I covered my mouth with my hand, muffling the sound, but only by a little.

I didn't want to. But in a way, I had to. I'd stopped a long time ago; almost two years. Yet the thoughts had always remained, lurking in the background. And now they had pushed free.

I threw my cover to the side and tip-toed quietly to the bathroom so as not to wake anyone else. Closing the door and turning off the lights, I took a deep breath. There was no turning back now.

For a second, I panicked. What if the unthinkable happened? Just a little to the side, and- No. No, it wouldn't happen. I knew what I was doing.

I calmed my nerves and took a deep breath. It was now or never. The razor blade shone in the light for just a second. Then I struck. It didn't even hurt.

Braith's POV

Morina looked up as I entered the room.

"I'm ready," she said quietly.

And then her mind opened up for me. I moved quickly, delving deep. I knew what I needed to see. Now I just had to find it. It was easier than you'd think. I thought of something and her mind would show me threads relating to my thought. She had so much knowledge, so much useful information. But for now all I was interested in was the threads concerning Felicia and I.

I discarded the things I already knew. Her background story I pushed to the side, as well as her friendships and such. Continuing this way, I discarded many threads before finding something.

"Jackpot," I murmured to myself.

The thread concerned Felicia's aura, her humanity or lack thereof, as well as many other things. I opened the thread and dove in.

'Felicia Winters- Silver aura. Of unclear race, however is most likely human. First human to ever have such a powerful aura. Has displayed telepathic abilites, the ability to push others out of her mind, extreme pain tolerance and fast healing. Aura scent: Unknown, but she normally smells of cinnamon and moss. Mate: Braith Avencrest.'

"What?!?" I exclaimed. "I can't be the mate of a... Human!"

Morina chuckled. "Oh, Braith, blind as always. I figured it out long ago. I thought you would too, but... Perhaps I overestimated you."

"I'm a vampire. My mate is also supposed to be a vampire. And I would know if she were my mate. I would feel it!" I said, but as the words came out of my mouth I knew them to be a lie.

For I did feel... I felt... Something. Something that I just couldn't describe. Morina looked at me skeptically.

"I-" I began, but I had no words.

Suddenly, something pinched inside me. Something was ringing like a bell, cutting through me forcefully, shaking my very core. I gasped, pain spreading through my body.

Morina looked on worriedly but didn't try to stop me when I ran out the door as fast as I could.

I charged through the door to the slave quarters, probably waking at least half of the girls up. I found Felicia's bed quickly; her cinnamon and moss scent clung to the bed. But she wasn't there. Following the trail of her scent, I made my way to the bathroom. She was in there, I could smell her. Her and blood.

I opened the door. Felicia looked up, clearly startled, eyes wide in distress like a deer in headlights. She was sitting on the bathroom floor holding a razor blade. The blade was covered in blood, and so were her wrists.

She cowered back, seeming confused at my presence. "W-why are you here?"

"To stop you from doing stupid things like this," I responded.

I leaned forward and she began shaking. She seemed surprised when all I did was pluck the razor blade from her hand and put it in the sink. I supposed she thought I was going to hit her.

Taking her hands into mine tenderly, I spoke softly. "We need to take you to the hospital wing."

When she didn't respond, I picked her up into my arms and carried her out at vampire speed. I ran to the hospital wing and checked her in. They put her down on a bed, and drew the curtains. Part of me wanted to stay and watch over her, but I just couldn't.

I left the room in silence, brooding. What was I supposed to do now?