Training went well for the next month, Daniil said I was growing stronger and evermore determined every day. It was true, I could genuinely feel myself growing, my abilities as well as my body heightened thanks to the vigorous training regime and the blood that I ingested. My body was battered and bruised yet my spirit remained strong.
That morning I paced my bedroom floor, I felt so on edge today… but why? The air felt colder than usual and smelt of smoke, or was it all my imagination? Shaking my head I refused to let the thought that I was becoming crazy consume me. It must have been the fact that I was consuming blood on a daily basis, it helped me to become strong but it also heightened every sense to the point where it must have been driving me mad. Slumping down on my bed, I began to twiddle my thumbs. I had no one to explain to me about the side effects of drinking blood over a pro longed time when you have never ingested it before… I wasn’t exactly craving it, but I was on the verge of doing just so. Whenever I tried to explain it to Aurora, she always insisted that she was too busy or that I should be continuing with that damned training.
Hours later I finally decided that I needed some fresh air, glancing at my wrist I smiled once I saw the bracelet she gave me. It twinkled in the dim light of my room and empowered me with some sort of miniscule hope. There was just under five months left until it was time to fight… I would have to do so alone as the prophecy had stated, yet I don’t think it took into the circumstances of my allegiance with my twin… my twin, such an odd statement to make after a lifetime of solitude. Making my way to the front door I was stopped by Aurora’s echoing call of my name
“What?” I grunted at her
“Calm down misery, I just wondering where you were heading?”
“I was off for a walk to clear my head” seeing her smile and make her way toward me I held up my hand “Alone if you don’t mind” she nodded solemnly and made her way back to wherever she had emerged from.
The cold air hit me like a thousand knives. So sharp and piercing yet cleansing all the same. With my new senses I smelt the air around me and smiled, the smell of pine, ice and dirt wafted their way down my air waves. So welcomed that I took another breath and twirled on the spot, I had never felt so happy to be outdoors in my entire life… the past month had been brutal to me both mentally and physically, no matter how hard Daniil tried to get me to supress the love I felt for Dante and change into something that could be used as a weapon, it was no use… the more I thought of him, the more I wanted to see him so… the more I ended up becoming depressed. Eventually he stopped mentioning him altogether. It helped whilst I fought, but once left alone… I thought of him again and once more I spiralled into depression.
I reached the gate of the castle and clasped my hands around its cold, steel bars. Nature always looked so peaceful in whatever state it was in, it left me feeling a little more than envious. Taking a deep breath and sighing I let my head fall onto the bars with a clang, I just wanted to break free, to stride away from this place, if only for a short while. Gripping the bars tighter and grunting I didn’t sense the presence behind me, so feeling a hand on my shoulder I instinctively grabbed it, twisted it and turned to face the ass that attempted to frighten me, hearing a familiar voice grunt and curse at me, my face broke out into a beaming smile.
“Ahh, let go, let go!” he pleaded. Those familiar Jade like eyes shone at me brighter than diamonds. That musky smell so inviting… so needy that it broke me into a thousand pieces. Realising that I still had a firm grip on his hand I quickly released and broke into a scarlet tinged blush that filled my face.
I stared at him for a while, unsure if he was real or a projection of my mind which would really add to the crazy factor that I thought I was experiencing these days. He clasped his hand and shook it wildly, had I really grown that strong? Was I really that powerful now?
“Nice to see you too Vicki” he sniggered with that familiar smirk that plastered his face. Not wasting a moment I darted at him, wrapping my arms around his waist and sinking my head into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me, cooed and soothed me “I’ve missed you” He whispered in my ear
“And I you. How are you here? How did you get here? How did they let you in? How are you?” I burst, my voice crumbling and shaking with such emotion that he tightened his grip on me to settle me.
“Easy” he cooed “I’m not going to lie, I’ve been a wreck without you. I can’t think straight. I’ve drank from mortals. I had enough, so I decided to get on the first plane out of there. My parents disapproved greatly and informed me that the prophecy was yours and yours alone, yet the prophecy was meant so that the Key would lead you through it. But those bastards slayed him, so I guesse that the prophecy was written to be altered and perceived differently… anyway, it took some convincing from the king to let me stay but he said that you were miserable without me” without even looking at him I knew he was smirking.
I stayed locked in his embrace for a while before breaking free to ask a few more questions. Roman knew he wanted to see me, yet failed to inform me. I needed to know why.
“What do you mean that it took a while to convince the king? Were you inside? How long? How come I couldn’t see you?”
“No, I wasn’t here per say… I was in a hotel in town, you do remember about speaking with minds right?” truth is I had totally forgotten, but instead of admitting to it I simply nodded
“I was worried” I gushed
“About?”
“That the longer I stayed here, the sooner you would forget me and want to be with someone else” I tried to turn away to look back at the scenery past the gates but instead he turned my head back so that I would face him before lowering his lips to mine. A touch that was overly waited for that I immediately crumbled beneath it. He pulled me closer to him so that our kisses could intensify. A bubble rose from my stomach until it surrounded my still beating heart.
His tongue swept my lower lip before slipping inside. Our tongues twirled around in each other’s mouths, my cheeks burned and his scent grew muskier. It was far too long from one another, the time spent away from him only made my love grow. He broke our embrace and our foreheads met, each of us panting yet urging for more.
“Does that answer your question?”
“Not really, although it was nice” I chuckled half-heartedly “Surely you must have been tempted?”
“Not once. I shut myself away from everyone, tried to drink myself senseless at some point… I wasn’t myself, you have to understand that” I took a step back to fully take in his appearance. He looked different now, less alluring than he had been yet still as handsome as ever. Drinking the blood altered my perception of him. The spell that dark beings normally held over humans was gone; I could see every aspect of him through cleared eyes. He looked more tired than I remembered yet seemingly more handsome too. “Something wrong?” he asked me, his face masked with worry.
“Not at all, I was just taking your appearance in after this long time. Are you sure there isn’t anyone else? I would prefer to know now rather than later”
“No” he breathed as he took a step closer, taking me into his arms “There can never be anyone else. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that you are my mate. In the realm of the dark beings that means forever. I don’t think that I can ever love another as much I love you, I just hope that it is the same in return”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and drew him even more so against me which caused us to stumble back and fall into the steel bars which resulted in us both grunting. Hearing him grunt filled me with a lust that needed to be fulfilled… but there was plenty of time for that. I drew his lips closer to mine until they were once more locked together. I ran a hand through his smooth and silk like hair as his hand reached under the hem of my top. Love conquers all huh? Maybe with him closer to me things would be so much easier. Maybe with him closer to me I could finally relax during the nights when I didn’t pay Tatiana a visit. Breaking the embrace I stared into his jade eyes which reflecting countless amounts of love toward me, it made me feel so warm inside.
“I love you Dante. I think I loved you the moment I set eyes on you. You’re a sadist pig back then… but I still loved you, which was why I couldn’t stay away no matter how hard I tried. You drew me in, I wasn’t sure if it was something to do with the allure that the Vamp… I mean dark beings are meant to possess. The more I got to know you and your family the more I began to understand you. Know I love you ok?” he leaned down and tenderly kissed me on the lips before turning me around to face the castle. With him closer to me it might actually feel welcoming and even… a home.
We walked side by side until we approached the front door of the castle where he stopped and stared at the door,
“What’s wrong?” I asked him
“I’m not sure I should enter” I turned and grabbed his hand
“Why not?” I pleaded
“This is the royal’s home. I am not a royal”
“Neither am I by any standards, but I love you and I cannot bear to be away from you anymore” he didn’t answer my plea but continued to stare at the door. After a few minutes of trying to convince him to enter he reluctantly agreed, took my hand and we marched indoors with smiles planted on each other’s faces.