The Queen's Slave (Book 1)

Forty Six: A Love Lost

"I think perhaps I will always hold a candle for you – even until it burns my hand.
And when the light has long since gone .... I will be there in the darkness holding what remains, quite simply because I cannot let go."

-Ranata Suzuki

I woke with a smile on my face as I stretched into the luxurious sheets, the cold chill slithering across my well-loved skin. I winced as I discovered a particularly sore spot, smothering it with a rosy blush as I recalled how I'd earned that soreness. Elizabeth had woken me early in the morning, hell bent on declaring her love for me over and over until we were both spent and falling into blissful sleep. My memories of last night were magical, nothing that threatened the future could take them away. Blinking the last of the sleep from my eyes, I immediately frowned as I looked over and found the recently occupied spot beside me empty. The bond pulsed as I grew anxious, slipping onto the cold hardwood floors while wrapping the sheet around my naked form.

"In here, my love." I immediately relaxed, a smile ghosting across my lips as her voice reached me. I found her in the kitchen, the smell of freshly cooked bacon wafting in the air.

"Smells good." I greeted, padding over to her. She paused to give me a quick kiss and to apparently admire my less-than-clothed body. I flashed her a wink as I slid onto a bar stool opposite of the counter and her. I must've winced again because her eyes immediately flashed to mine, full of concern. "Did I hurt you?" Our strengthened bond betrayed her feelings as a flash of fear fled through my mind.

"Not in a way I didn't want." I assured her with a sly smile, though her eyes were still drawn to the groove of my neck and shoulder where a particularly nasty bruise had spread. I glanced down at it, unhealthily admiring the way the blue and purple blended together in a mirage of color around the puncture marks. It didn't hurt, a little tender maybe, but nothing otherwise. Besides, I was proud of it, proud of this mark she had created in our moments of passion and love. It was a mark that stated "I belong to you" but it also marked a very big step for our relationship. It proved that my blood, if given freely, could nourish her. That was what is most important to me. Although, my father had cautioned me about the after-effects our blood could posses. It was unknown how a vampire would react to it, therefore I was curious.

"Bites from a vampire of higher...power, take longer to heal. But with more of my blood it should fade in the next few weeks." I waved off her concern, my mouth watering as she set a plate piled high with eggs, bacon and toast in front of me.

"I'm fine, Elizabeth. I am proud of it." She smiled at me as she cleaned up the dishes and wiped the counter free of debris from her cooking. As always, it was sort of surreal to see her partaking in such a human act. Here was this ruler, rumored to be ruthless and dangerous, cleaning up the kitchen in a "kiss the cook" apron. I smiled my amusement around a bite of bacon, content to watch her work.

"What about you? Feel any different?" I studiously asked, wiping my mouth with a napkin and pushing the now empty plate away from me. She eyed me as she sprayed it off, setting it atop the clean pile when it was shiny again.

"What do you mean?"

I chewed my lip in thought. For a while now I'd wondered what my blood would do to her. Would it enhance her already enhanced strength, speed, and durability? Or on a more frightening note, would it turn her human? "My blood is the cure to vampirism, Elizabeth. You can't tell me that you didn't worry what it would do to you once you fed from me with my consent."