My Summer Girl

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Vera

Waiting For Never – Post Malone

Another day passes, and my anxieties for their well-being is making me nervous. “They should’ve been here already.”

I don’t mean to speak it out loud, but the way my stomach clenches with nerves tells me it’s not something I can hold close to my vest.

“Why wouldn’t they be?” Vex asks, coming toward me. Their concern mirrors mine, somber and apparent. “Do you think they’re hurt?”

Of course their mind settles where mine has been, to the worst case scenario. I close my eyes, knowing Raevar was a fighter before being my hand. He knows how to protect and kill if need be.

“I’ll send more scouts,” I answer, not wanting to think of them hurt. I’ve yet to meet this Dulce and yet there’s a tug in my chest drawing me to her. It craves her, and this weird sensation to her mate too. It’s home-like, similar to this fondness growing in my chest for this purple stranger.

Vael comes in as if reading my mind. “My queen.”

“Send a team to search for Raevar and Dulce. If they’re hurt, I want them to be safe. That’s the utmost priority.”

He nods, calling other guards over. Turning to Vex, a thought comes to mind.

“If you’re bonded, can’t you feel her here? I know you spoke of being in the other realm and how it isn’t the same since it’s a new bond, but surely, it’s grown?”

Vex nods but then shakes their head right after. “She’s here, I can tell, but our bond isn’t solidified. It has to be solidified through frequent blood exchange and a bonding ceremony.”

“Does this make either of you sick?”

“Not exactly. Bonds in our culture grow stronger with time spent together, but when it’s newer, as a Saephyn, I can feel agitated and very hungry.” They pause and bite their lip. “With consummation, it eases the hunger. It’s necessary with new bonds.”

Heat hits my face as I imagine Vex taking blood from Dulce. The imagery is quite erotic, and knowing they do it to seal a bond with sex too? Solera have mercy.

“But since we’ve not nurtured our bond, I can’t tell where she is. I can feel her—little wisps of emotions and tugs—but never something as detailed as if we had time to truly solidify it.”

“It’s really beautiful how that works for you,” I say, wishing I had a connection like that. “We, the Solerans, don’t have a bond like that. Ours is a simple word ritual with a mating. No feelings or emotions. We don’t get the fated mate things.”

“It’s different from a fated mate,” they correct. “The Fates give fated mates by tying their destinies, whereas with me, as a Saephyn, it’s a blood bond. It goes deep, but not soul deep. Then there are other types of mates with each kind of creature. I’ve heard even Orukna get mates.”

“So, essentially, she could mate with others?”

Their face scrunches, not in disgust or displeasure, but more in mild curiosity. “Yes. I could in theory form more than one bond.”

“How do Orukna find mates?” I ask, coming back to the little comment they made. I’m sure it was with Raevar in mind.

“I’ve heard through friends that they know when they touch their mate, they’re fated. Not always, but usually when their skin touches, they know. If both parties accept the bond and nurture it, they’ll eventually have mate marks.”

“Mate marks?” I gasp, thinking of how no Orukna I’ve ever known had markings. Sure, some have flower ink put into their skin for cultural purposes, but not markings. “I’ve never witnessed this.” They rub at their forehead, seemingly growing weary. A new type of concern ripples through me.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen one with them, but I believe it...” They pause, their cheeks darkening a smidgen. “...appears on their cocks.”

A cackle escapes me as I imagine Raevar suddenly having marks on his cock. He’d definitely wonder if he somehow did something wrong. I clutch my mouth, trying to muffle the giggles that seem to only grow as Raevar’s face fills me with joy.

Their eyes dilate and their skin seems to be a bit paler than when they arrived. “Are you... hungry?” I ask, noting their pallor.

They forcefully nod, as if they don’t want to show their weakness but know it’s inevitable at the same time. “I haven’t fed since our bond.”

“Oh, wow,” I murmur, worry lacing my tone. There’s a newfound fear crawling its way through me, knowing they’re hungry. “Can I help?”

Their eyes darken as they swallow. Their jaw ticks, the little muscle on the side beating rapidly. “I don’t drink directly from people.”

“You just said—”

“Except Dulce,” they quickly respond, fidgeting with the rings on their fingers.

“You can drink from me,” I say, offering my wrist. “I don’t let those in my kingdom starve or die, Vex. It’s not in me to allow such a thing.”

Their eyes narrow, but the clench of their jaw isn’t lost on me. Starvation has to be one of the worst ways to go.

“Dulce may not like it,” they argue, but it’s futile. They’ve already taken several steps toward me.

“Would she want you to die?” I question, wondering if their mate would be so cruel.

As if thinking of her reaction, they shake their head immediately. “She’d hate me for it.”

“Then take what you need and we’ll explain to her what has happened.”

With a swift nod, they frown, before bringing my wrist to their mouth anyway. It only pinches for a moment as their incisors slice into me.

The sensations that hit my mind have me gasping. There’s so much intention there. Everything they’re concerned about floods through me. Fear, lust, worry, anger, and a bit of curiosity.

As soon as it starts, it’s over and they’re licking my wound. No wonder they don’t feed from anyone. It’s very intimate, even for me. Their tether to blood is similar to mine through Solera. Almost a joining that’s shared between the giver and receiver.

“Wow,” I mutter, at a loss for what to say. They lick their lips, their face not as pale as it was before. I note their unease and touch their shoulder. “I’m glad to be able to offer you sustenance.”

Their eyes darken, causing my heart rate to pick up. “Don’t be scared, precious. I won’t hurt you.”

“I’m not scared,” I argue, but note a wave of apprehension in me. “My body just acknowledges you’re a predator.” They smirk at that, showing their two incisors.

“Your body is smart,” they compliment. Uncharacteristically from what they’ve offered thus far. They bring my now sealed wrist to their mouth, leaving a slow but chaste kiss to the veins there.

Before I have a chance to respond, a mourning dove flies through the atrium and toward me. Once its little beak hits my forehead, it communicates Raevar’s intentions.

I’m so sorry.

Why did he relay that? Itchiness overtakes my skin, and the need to distract myself overwhelms me. Without saying a word, I head outside, knowing I’ve been neglecting my duties for Solera too much as of late.

Between being worried about Raevar and slacking on preparations for the solstice, I’ve now been given three simple words that only worry me more.

Is he leaving me?

Did he get hurt?

My mind travels to every possible scenario where the words I’m so sorry would be necessary to send me.

“Verano.” Vex’s posh accent infiltrates my ears. It’s gentle, cumbersome in the reality of things. “You’re rushing to nowhere.”

“I’m working,” I hesitantly fib, wondering if them taking my blood forms some type of power over my ability to lie. Grabbing my axe, I also take my brace so I don’t overexert my shoulder. Some fire modules are my last grab, so I can start a fire and burn away my stress.

My ancestors used the flames to ward off unwanted creatures and to let go of all that didn’t suit them. That’s what I need, and to bleed and feed Solera. I’ve not spent time with my realm recently. Hopefully giving them my blood won’t make me too woozy after my apt donation to Vex.

There’s an order of things that needs to happen, and I’ve missed them all.

A strangling grip holds my wrist and subconsciously, my thorns spike out, reacting to the intrusion. Vex yelps and they drop my wrist immediately.

“Bloody hell,” they harshly complain. When they turn their hand, it’s bleeding, changing color. My body releases a type of toxin into the skin as a protectant. Unlike with Mira and Raevar, they’re not accustomed to Vex, and after taking my blood, they’d see them as a threat.

Without thinking better of it, I bring Vex’s hand to my mouth to remove the reactants that won’t affect me, and before my lips can touch their skin, they yank it back swiftly.

“I have to suck out the toxins,” I respond, reaching for them again.

“No, that’ll create a blood bond,” they whisper, both fear and pain etching across their features as I try to understand.

“You want to suffer?” I question, wondering where the complexity of this being came from. Why would they rather suffer than do something that’s so... normal.

“I’ve only ever bonded to Dulce,” they explain, their forehead scrunched with something akin to dismay. “Bonding to you would make you connected to me forever, it’s not something to do so lightly.”

I shake my head, not wanting them to suffer. They flinch as if my thoughts brought on the pain of the toxins. “It’s okay, I don’t mind.”

“I do,” they hiss, closing their eyes. “You won’t want to be tied to me. I’m not an easy mind to latch on to.”

I come closer to them, feeling so many different emotions, but the most prevalent is care. They’re in my kingdom, they were hurt by my thorns, and they shouldn’t have to be in pain because of me.

“We have many rules here, to keep order, but I have personal ones as well. I don’t let those around me suffer, I don’t take without giving back, and I’m as sure as Solera is green that I won’t let you go on with this kind of pain without healing you. No matter the cost.”

“It’s not a good idea,” they nearly plead with me. “I’ve been in pain tons of times over. This won’t be too bad.”

I scan them from head to toe, noting sweat dotting their brow, the blotchiness to their skin, and the way they’re trying to hide the pain they’re feeling.

This time I don’t ask. I reach forward, grabbing their hand. With absolute conviction, I bring their palm to my lips and suck. The wounds are nearly healed and the sucking power I have to use is far more straining than it would be if this three minute dispute didn’t happen.

“Fuck,” they rasp, their other hand dressed in rings holding my head. It sparks something both inside my chest and between my thighs. I’m not entirely sure where it stems from, but Solera, it feels electric.

The poison goes through me, tinting my cheeks with warmth, but I don’t stop. Not even when I know all of it is gone. Their blood tastes like pure sugar, like I’m drinking from the sweetest possible fruit.

“Verano,” they warmly murmur, sounding like sex and warmth.

I hum, wanting to take more. I’ve never drank blood. It’s not in any of my histories as a normal sharing practice. We don’t have Saephyns in Solera, usually.

Until now.

“You’ve got to stop, precious,” they tenderly urge, brushing their fingers through my hair. Similar to my bond and connection to this realm, something snaps tight in my mind, connecting to my heart and throughout my body. With this, I can somehow feel Dulce.

She’s... lovely.

My chest warms as I tug on the little strings that now tie me to her.

Popping off the wound on their wrist, I breathe out, pleasure unlike anything I’ve ever felt before filling me. “I feel her.”

Their face sharpens, the softness disappears. They cup my jaw, calculating, but the touch is gentle enough to feel caring.

“We’re irrevocably tied now.”

I can’t stop the whimper from escaping my lips. “I’m tied to all here,” I respond, feigning disinterest, knowing this goes so much deeper. It’s a blood bond, bound to the beating organ in my chest.

But then this ping of awareness nestles in my chest. It’s deep, like new roots taking place where none have ventured before. This is entirely different, and there’s no denying the feeling sprouting its little wings inside me.

Fear takes over and before I know what to do, my feet take me in the opposite direction. I thank Solera for not allowing them to chase after me.