Violet
I was speechless when those words escaped my daughter. Asher's heartbeat pounded against mine. I let out a silent breath and struggled to say something.
"Oh really, sweetheart? Did he say anything else? Did you see him?" Ash urged on. He was growing anxious and I knew where that was coming from, but I eyed him carefully to not scare Alexia. If she got scared, then she wouldn't confront us with any information. He understood what ran through my mind immediately then backed down with a slightly bowed head.
"I-I don't know." She mumbled with her eyebrows furrowed. She appeared to be in deep concentration and I wanted to look into her mind to see exactly what she was thinking. "I can't remember now. I can't remember anything." She whispered with her eyes glazed with unshed tears. I sighed then pulled her closer.
"It is alright, my dear. Don't be sad." I took my available hand then pushed her lips into a smile. She giggled then squished my cheeks together.
"You are beautiful." Her soft voice brushed against my face. Those exact simple words whispered by Ash earlier made me blush to a bright red.
While the two of us were distracted with each other's faces, Ash walked silently up to us, grabbed Alexia out of my arms then held my hand to walk the three of us to the kitchen for breakfast.
The room was all empty unlike late last night. I rolled up the sleeves of my robe to prepare a breakfast for Alexia. Asher grabbed the remade pancake mix from the fridge then handed it to me as he went to grab a couple glasses for us. Alexia reached for her small cup of blood then began sipping with a content smile.
The single pancake wasn't large, but that's exactly how Alexia liked it. A grin stretched across her face when she gandered longingly at the flat thing on the plate. She consumed the pancake within seconds with a wash of blood.
"Bye mommy. Bye daddy!" She bounded off in the direction of a hallway. I assumed she was going after Aidan, so I turned around with a smirk on my face.
Asher's lustful eyes were already on me. My lips parted at his piercing dark orbs. You do not even know the number of things I plan on doing to you right now. He teased with a mocking smirk. I sighed and shook my head then turned back around towards the door.
He chuckled; I've teased him way too many times for him to fall for my trap again. He grabbed hold of my forearm with a gentle tug in attempt for me to face him.
"Don't you have something else better to do, love?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. I knew what I was going to do, but I didn't quite plan on letting him know. He sighed then released his hold on me with a slight nod. I pulled him closer for a hug with my arms around his waist then rested my head on his shoulder.
"Don't be down, okay? I will see you tonight when all the lights are out." I whispered against his ear then traced my lips down along his neck. He groaned and pressed his pelvic bone up against my belly button. "You drive me crazy, but you're going to drive yourself crazier if you're just going to stand here doing nothing for the rest of the day."
"I can live with that as long as you're by my side." He retaliated. My heart skipped a beat.
"Be a good boy while I'm not around." I kissed his cheek then strolled out the kitchen without another glance behind me. The silk robe flowed in waves to my rushed walking. I just needed to change out quickly into skinny jeans and a long sleeved shirt before proceeding with my plan.
I played with a sleeve that was balled within the palm of my hand as I cruised through the guards' chamber. It was eerily silent and I grew anxious but nothing gave me the impression that something was off.
I reached the game room of the guards and there were a couple men who were busy speaking of tactics but when they spotted me, they bowed their heads respectfully. I waved to their gestures. I then passed a couch where Alexia's back was turned to me but she was playing 20 questions with Aidan, while he trailed his eyes on me in silence. I placed a finger against my lip so Alexia wouldn't turn around. He nodded slightly with his eyebrows knit together.
I thought about searching from room to room to find Cameron, but he saved me the time by stepping out his room with Derek beside him. I approached them with a smile. They both bowed their heads so I rolled my eyes.
"What must I owe this splendid honor of meeting with the vampire queen?" Cam mocked me with a thick accent. I squinted at him and shook my head.
"I know, I know, I've been busy but I just need your guys' help today." I stated quietly in fear of someone else eavesdropping. Cameron was frowning at my smaller form but hinted for me to continue with the clueless expression written on his face.
"I don't think Caleb would be needing us today. What can we do for you?" Derek asked with concern. I cleared my throat and stared at my black leather riding boots.
"Accompany me into the woods." Enough words were whispered for them to understand exactly what I meant. Their shoulders sagged and Cameron seemed to fight the temptation of wrapping his arms around me.
"Honey, finding Zayden in the middle of the woods would be a very slim to no chance. I don't think he's out there right now and even if he was, what about the Shadows? We know exactly what they're capable of and I'm not looking forward to having my death this soon." Cameron explained quickly. I kept my gaze down. I knew that was the truth.
"I know." I mumbled back to his correct statements. "But Alexia saw him in her dreams last night and I just have that gut feeling that he's some place nearby. I just can't give up and have the same reports come back to me at the end of each day." I paused to look up and glare at the two. "Do you know how hard it is to have something that is rightfully yours be taken away, especially someone you birthed and knew that you would love unconditionally no matter what?"
My eyes glossed over with tears. I shuddered when a sudden chill traveled down my spine. My breathing shook and I knew that another breakdown was coming. Arms wrapped around me, but they weren't from Cameron or Derek. They were from behind and when I turned around to face the muscular being, I knew the person instantly from their presence.
"I'm sorry." My whisper ended up muffled against his chest. I just wanted to be wrapped within his secure shell for eternity and freeze time.
"We'll go together." His words rumbled against the side of my face. "Don't be so down, love. I understand that you want to go on with this alone, but we're a team now and we will do things together whether you like it or not."
I pulled back then nodded while wiping my tears away with the back of my hand. Cameron and Derek looked prepared to join us on this trip to the woods. I smiled at the three of them for the amazing support.
"We have three minutes before the alarm gets armed again, so we better hustle." Asher instructed. I marched toward the gate with Cam and Derek following closely behind. "If we stay together, then that would be best for defense."
As soon as we leapt over the castle boundary walls, the change in atmosphere was almost polar opposites. The sounds of humming and clicking were overwhelming but I mentally blocked that from my mind and charged forward in the north direction with the other three men behind.
The hair on the back of my neck stood straight and refused to go down when I felt eyes continuously on our small group, but wherever I looked, there weren't any red eyes or the same pungent smell- that had paralyzed me from before.
We had been walking for some time now until some leaves rustled about thirty meters from where we stood. I glanced back and the castle walls were no where in sight, but it was clear that the men heard the rustling as well.
The clicking intensified with a buzzing added to the humming. My ears itched and I was irritated, but stayed focused as that was all part of the plan, to distract us and use any source of weakness against the victims.
"Violet..." Asher began but trailed off when a Shadow stepped forth as the source of the rustling of dry leaves.
I rubbed my fingertips together to protect us from any threats. The energy flowed to my fingertips through the clouded sky. The Shadow stopped when it was about twenty meters away. I tried so hard to resist from destroying the ash form on the spot.
Whispers echoed off the forest trees and it felt as if the Shadow was messing with the dimension as the ground below us shifted. I grunted against the twisting magic acting upon nature.
"Violet!" Asher shouted but I drained him out. I blocked him as well as the other two so I could deal with the Shadow alone. The wall of tree roots and branches knitted together to form a disconnected privacy between the being and I.
"Answer me." I paused to stare intensely at the Shadow, who now had its head tilted 45 degrees. "Where is my son? Answer me and I will spare you." Silence was my only response. My patience was running thin and I knew Asher was going to reach me soon because of his powers fighting against mine.
"Your son is somewhere you will never know to look. He is somewhere well kept in the deep memories that haunt your past." The Shadow hissed and as it spat out words, fog traveled from its mouth.
I did not believe a word that this Shadow was saying. I opened my mouth to refute something, but all the excess noise stopped. It seemed as if the world halted to a stop.
"You did not answer my question. Where is my son?" I grew angry and the energy inside me surged. So much power inside me that it had enough to ignite a volcano.
"Your stubbornness causes you to overlook the simplicity of the answer to your question." The voice hushed. I grew tired of its constant games, so I thrust my hands in its direction and watched as everything before me played out in slow motion.