Freya was woken up by the strong patting on her cheeks. After opening her eyes, her vision was blurred, and she felt a strong press on her belly, pinning her to the ground. She blinked.
"Don't die on me, woman." A familiar voice, so deep and husky, echoed around her. "Stay with me, Frey."
Once again, she tried with the blinking. After a moment, she could spot a dark-haired figure kneeling beside her, reviving her and keeping pressure on the wound located on her stomach.
"Leander." Her voice came up raspy. "I'm so cold."
She focused on his face, filled with visible worry and panic. He was glancing from her calm face to her belly and back, panic at its full strength, indeed.
Leander came there as soon as they realized Freya was missing for longer than usual. He was looking for her in the woods, and when he caught her scent, there were moments before he reached that lake.
Spotting these monsters and the running woman, he couldn't feel more fearful. He turned into action quickly, but even so, he was too late. And now she was bleeding out on his hands, leaving him panicked and not knowing what to do, how to save her. She was looking enormously fragile—so very mortal with her pale skin and trembling hands. And watching her eyes, previously filled with so much life and determination, fading away... It left his heart in pieces.
He then realized that without the knowledge of human ways of saving lives and that dread situation progressing, he had no other choice than to do the last thing he had wanted to do. The inevitable.
"Freya, look at me," he said firmly and after ensuring the woman was indeed focusing on him, he continued, "I'm going to feed you my blood. It will stop the bleeding and help you recover quickly. Try to hold on drinking until I take my wrist away, will you?"
She gave him a puzzled look, but nodded after what felt like hours later.
Not wasting any more time, he bared his fangs and bit into his wrist, placing it into the mouth of the fading woman. Her look indicated her confusion, but luckily, she decided to trust him. Good girl.
It was not common for the vampires to give their blood to others. It was the most intimate thing they could do, so usually, they exchanged blood with their partners, and only if they were in a truly close relationship. If anyone ever got to know about this moment between them, they would both be in much trouble. But Leander knew that was the only thing he could do to save her life. And it came pretty obvious to him already that he would do everything to make it happen. If meeting Cassius' wrath in the future was a part of it, so be it.
As for Freya, the first moment Leander told her what he was planning to do, she felt panicked and scared. The action seemed so unreal and odd that her first reaction was to refuse. But sensing his worry at her dying figure, she knew there wasn't that much of a choice.
She dived into his wounded wrist, taking the first gulp of the crimson liquid.
Freya anticipated it to taste terrible, just like humans'—a metallic taste only vampires could appreciate. But as surprising as it was, Leander's blood tasted like sunshine. The sweetness mangled with a little touch of bitterness, made her take the next gulp willingly. But once she tasted it, there was no coming back. She would remember it for the rest of her days. It was like drinking mead—she could get drunk with it easily. Maybe she was getting drunk at that moment, in fact.
She moaned when she felt her body awakening. With the obvious strength that she welcomed with open arms, the desire and a very strong hotness followed. She could feel her wound closing, itching a little. She wondered, though—was it normal to feel so hot all of a sudden?
The scraps on her back were healing softly as well. She felt the need to scratch, but she wasn't able to break the contact with the Prince's blood. It was now fully up to him to pull her away because she didn't have any will over her body. She didn't want to have one.
Suddenly, she was met with a strange feeling, like her soul was leaving the body. It wasn't truly happening—somehow she could grasp that—but she had no contact with the rest of her limbs and her surroundings.
She closed her eyes, and then the visions came like a blur.
She was looking at the same Leander she knew by now, sitting at the piano playing and singing a calm, but at the same time—very sad song. The melody was something else entirely. She could envision herself falling in love with it after only a few notes. Just a few steps further, she caught a movement, and surprisingly, she was now looking at herself. Only that the other Freya looked different—even if the general picture matched, she noticed her empty gaze, enormous shadows under the eyes, and much, much thinner body. That Freya was a wreck of a person and, for observing Freya, the image came with a huge package of emotions. The singing stopped, and the Prince turned, spotting the other Freya's thin figure. His eyes told the silently observing the scene Freya a lot. He was looking at the woman before him with so much sadness and worry—but also... Longing, perhaps?
As she took the first step to watch more carefully what followed, it was like a tornado whirled her to the next scenery. The room lit by the candles came into view, and at the center of it—the biggest bed she had ever seen. The thing occupied her attention so strongly that Freya caught the movement after a while. She turned toward the window, where in a tight embrace two people stood, kissing greedily, the woman moaning the man's name.
Leander.
And that woman kissing him was her, Freya, now looking much, much better. Not as good and healthy as she should be, but better. Freya suddenly felt hot. She wanted to look and didn't want to look at the same time. It was them. Her lips were kissing and licking the perfect shape of his body. Her hands were removing his clothes with a quick eagerness. He wasn't waiting long to pull her nightgown's ties, baring her breasts just so his lips could immediately catch them.
Freya couldn't breathe watching this, but as fast as she started suffocating, she was swirled around to the next scene.
The circumstances were different; it was obvious at first sight. She was met with a dark, eerie forest. The air was misty, and the sounds of angry ravens were hard to ignore. Freya saw her other self's figure in the woods again, but this time utterly alone. Crying and holding her big belly. The blood on her hands. Her face was spasming with the pain. At one moment she screamed so loud that the birds took off from the surrounding trees and the leaves had fallen, circling her. That was it. That was her labor. Why was she there, though?
With a whoosh of a sound, the next vision came.
Shouting people. A big commotion on the other side of the door. The room was small and dusty, although big enough to accommodate two people whispering things to themselves.
"I love you, Frey. Don't you ever forget that. I love you, darling... I love you,"—was the last thing she heard when the visions ended.
And she knew that voice very well.
It was Leander's.
When she opened her eyes, the wrist was no longer in her mouth. She pulled a hand over her face just to spot the wetness all over it, probably her tears. With a heavy breath, she looked at the man beside her and could spot a lot of emotions, but the strongest were confusion and worry.
"What happened?" She asked.
"You tell me. Everything was fine until you blacked out."
Freya frowned. "Doesn't this usually happen?"
Leander shook his head. "No."
"Oh," was all she could say at the moment. She was still sore but felt no more like her soul was eager to leave her body.
"How are you feeling?" Leander's voice was soft and calming at her sharp nerves.
Freya quirked while trying to sit up. Leander took her hand to help her, and when their hands met, it was like the visions returned. She met his eye, spotting his dark irises analyzing her every movement. Spotting his frown when she didn't answer—stuck in observing his handsome face. Those lips, the other Freya was kissing, this mouth telling her he loved her. These visions...
"Frey?"
These visions were absurd. Probably her mind created those scenes just to give her some relief in the last moments. Creating some sort of alternative timeline, where she could be with him, instead of his brother. The labor one, though...
"Freya, what is happening to you?"
Her eyes watered, but she forced herself to manage a rasp. "I'm okay."
Leander frowned like he didn't fully believe her. He asked, "Can you stand up? We have to move, Princess."
"What were these creatures?" She asked, holding his hands for stability while standing up.
Leander quickly checked her whole figure up and down for any signs of other wounds. Satisfied with the fact that his blood did its job, he brushed her arms from the sand.
"Wendigos," he answered deadpanned. "You shouldn't have left the camp, Frey. All the more informing none of us. You could be dead by now."
A silent reminder of her fate, if not for him finding her so quickly. Freya understood. She scolded herself by now for that too. She should have not left her company. The realization that her legs carried her that far without spotting the dangerous territory was absolutely frightening. But at that moment, she didn't think about the consequences. She felt that she had to be alone. She had to let go of these emotions, otherwise, she risked suffocating.
"I know. I'm sorry," she said truthfully. "I wasn't thinking clearly, stuck in a need to be alone... I think I needed to mourn what is lost..."
Freya was nervous, which she showed by biting her lip. The need to confine her concerns was there, but she still felt a sour taste of betrayal. Whatever her mind showed her in these visions, Freya wasn't sure if Leander's closeness was what she wanted right now.
Leander sighed gently. "Look, I know the last thing you probably want to do right now is to be in my company. I know I messed up. And I can assure you that I'll try everything to gain your trust back..." Taking control over his unsteady feet, he continued, "But you cannot leave us like that again, Frey. You saw them. I probably should tell you about them sooner as well... Fuck my stupid brain, for that I'm also sorry. I'll tell and explain more once we're at the court."
"Why wait till then?" Freya frowned.
"Because our friendship, if you decide to still consider me as your friend, has to stay out of the public eye, Frey." The vampire tried hard to hide his anxiety, but nothing could escape Freya's eyes. Leander had never mentioned before that their friendship was such a sensitive topic.
"What about Qadir?" She asked with a slightly raised eyebrow, as if challenging him.
"Well, I don't trust him, and judging by your interactions, you either. Have to say he isn't the most perceptive person... Nevertheless, we should be careful. He's my brother's adviser, he has to be cunning in a way for that position to be maintained."
"I have an impression you don't trust your brother, either." That was a feeling accompanying her for some time now. He mentioned that his brother was complicated and they weren't always on the same side, but he never openly admitted that there was such a big distance between them. That was new.
"Because I don't. And neither should you, even if you're marrying him," he answered through his teeth.
Freya blinked, surprised by his reaction. "That's big coming from you, Leander. And why should I trust you? Just for you to lie to me again or hide even more things?"
"I never lied to you, Frey. I didn't mention things, but I never lied," he defended himself.
"There's not a vast difference."
"You see... It is, in my eyes. I didn't tell you about the pregnancy danger because I fucking care for you! I didn't want you to know until I investigated further and came up with a solution." His eyes blazed with anger. Freya couldn't be sure if directed at her or whomsoever. Badly for the vampire, that also triggered anger of her own.
"I don't care, Leander! I had a right to know! It's my life we're talking about. It's my health, my future, but also my own child probably growing up without a mother! I had a right to know!"
She will not cry now.
She refused to show vulnerability.
They were standing there in a true contest of gazes. That was the first time they were both equally angry. Only the silent whispers of a breeze coming from the lake reached their ears. The eerie air intensified the sensation of a silent battle.
"You think I didn't know that?" Leander retorted, breaking the silence. "Yes, Freya, you had a right to know—"
"Finally, we're getting somewhere..." Freya broke in.
"But do you know what I see when I'm looking at you?" Every breath he took was audible. "I see a woman who had her life turned upside down within a moment. I see a woman who took everything fate thrown at her and decided to bear it with a chin held upright. I see a woman who needed time until the next log was to be thrown at her... Because I see when you're thinking I'm not watching. I see every emotion in your eyes. And your eyes are the ones betraying you, because they were the ones who told me that you were not ready."
He kept her stare. Those dark eyes, impenetrable in their depth, stared intensely at her and analyzed every little movement. Those eyes she immediately spotted on that fateful day when they met. Those eyes, she chose to put her trust into, even when the man before her, as a whole, was one hell of a terrifying-looking person. She never thought about it, but now, she couldn't explain why she hadn't been scared from the beginning. What was that between them, that from the very first day, she wasn't wary of him as she should be? And looking into those dark eyes, she saw the truth. That he indeed saw everything. And call her a coward, but it actually terrified her. She felt even more naked than at the lake when he physically saw all of her.
"Tell yourself whatever it is you need to hear. I had a right to know and now, I think we should better get going back to the camp. The sun is rising," she rasped without confidence, and turned her back to him, fighting with herself not to show him even more of what a mess of a woman she had become.
Maybe he was right. Maybe she needed time, considering how she reacted after hearing the news. But she would have more time to think about what she had to do to come from this situation alive. And even if Leander was doing that for some time, she couldn't shake the feeling that the only right way of doing it was by doing it together—not separately. And the mere thought that he hid it only to care for her without her knowing left a deep shade in her heart. She thought they were a team. Guess she was wrong about that one as well, just as about a lot of other things lately.
Leander didn't respond. He took a few steps ahead and led her toward the camp in utter silence.