Blood & Honey #1

Chapter Twenty-Nine

* All right, it's time to strap in again so fasten those safety belts and enjoy the good, the bad, and the ugly ; ) 

It's amazing how much time has gone by, thousands of years, and here I find myself in the exact same place. I used to come to this spring that lies just beyond Valderanna's castle grounds every day after helping my father train the warriors. It was the only place I felt a sense of peace.

Watching the sun's light fade over the calm waters of the spring, I heave a heavy sigh before pushing to my feet. Everyone has been commanded to attend supper.

Wishing I didn't have to, I make my way back toward the castle. There are too many memories held within the castles stone walls. Most of them secrets, most of them involving Kinley.

The past clings to me like vines of thorns tangling around my stilled heart, lungs, and every other organ in me. The thorns dig into me so deep that, with every move I make, they drive further into me as if they are trying to reach the part of me only Kinley has ever touched. It's a pain that makes me want to rip my soul from my body to end this misery.

My life would be much easier if it could just let her go. Instead, my soul holds onto every blush, every stolen glance, every part of her that it grew to love without realizing what was happening.

To love and lose is not better. Not when you are an immortal.

"Where did you run off to?" Serena asks, she and the others waiting outside the royal dining room as it is almost time for supper.

"Fresh air," I answer curtly, my gaze scanning the gathered body of vampires for Kinley.

The Dark Prince ordered her to rest in her chambers upon our arrival. I don't know if she will be joining us. I hope she doesn't because her fear of my kind will only climb if she witnesses what it is like to dine in the company of the Prince.

When the royal dining room doors open, the aromatic scent of human blood burns in my throat and down into my lungs. As we all file in, myrus stand beside each chair, their slit open wrist positioned over the cup they have been charged with filling.

Two young girls stand by the Dark Prince's seat at the head of the table. They aren't just human. They are two of the Prince's other massarra. He has four total. Five if you count Kinley. They keep their heads bowed and hands clasped together in front of them.

The Dark Prince didn't waste any time fetching them. Why would he when their blood will help him regain his strength the quickest?

I stand behind the chair next to Thron. These are the same seats we took long ago.

"I see everyone is here and on time. This pleases me greatly. Have a seat." The Dark Prince enters the room, signaling the blood slaves to leave with a flick of his wrist.

Wrapping their cut wrists with rags they carry to ensure they do not accidentally spill blood on the white linen cloth, the myrus leave.

The massarra to his right offers her wrist to the Prince. Her face scrunches in pain as he bites into it, spilling her crimson over the cup the bears his crest.

The richness of the massarra's free-flowing blood turns the whites of everyone who is gathered around the table black. Her blood smells like honeydew melon. It's sweet by human standards but nowhere near as potent as Kinley's.

Dragging his tongue slowly over the bite mark once his cup is filled, the Dark Prince takes his time healing the wound he inflicted. He wouldn't dare let a drop of one of his massarra's blood be wasted.

Once he has her wound completely healed over, the two massarra take their seats at the two chairs in the corner of the room. They are not permitted to leave the dining room as long as the Dark Prince is here. They must always be present to satisfy his ravenous thirst.