Chapter 33
Chapter
Thirty-Three
Selene
Shadows move like smoke over our skin as Tristen steps back into the protective cloud he made for us.
I ought to distance myself from Titus, but I lean closer to my mate.
It’s so natural, like a branch arching to feel the sun so it can be nourished, grow, and thrive.
But I can't flourish until I replant us, take us far away from this toxic soil, from Galen.
We have to wait, be like Everett was, and think of the future of everyone and not just ourselves.
“Time’s up.” Tristen’s eyes look at me accusingly before they turn to sorrow. He thinks I could have prevented this bond.
My eyes trace his shadows as they cling to him, curling around his limbs like cats purring in glee. I’ve only seen him use his shadows as a shield. I wonder how he uses them as weapons.
"We need to coordinate and plan the next step. Everything's moving too fast." Tristen rubs his neck. "All this crap—Sable leaving, Galen, and now this." He looks at Titus and me. "No offense, Selene," he pauses, "Actually, I'm glad to offend. Your brother's an asshole!"
“Tristen.” Titus’s grip on me tightens.
“He is. He was!” Tristen snaps as he corrects himself. “Why couldn’t we have gotten a heads up like oh, sparks are going to fly, oh, and everywhere you turn is a spy I planted! I’m gonna kick you down, shove your face in the dirt. But don’t worry because one of my spies will help you up!”
My ribs press into my lungs. Tristen speaks the truth. Everett’s path both feeds and slaps you as you chew.
I look down at my hands, grasping Titus. As soon as Tristen lowers his shadows, we must let go. It should be easy to step back from Titus, like a drop of water leaving a glass. I know there is more of him. I will be with him all day, as he is my guard.
But over time, drop after drop, it gets harder. Soon, nothing will be left. I won’t be able to let go of my mate.
“He’s right. I don’t know how long Galen will allow me to be here. I’m sure he suspects I’m in my room resting; when he hears I’m at my training field, he will force me back inside.”
Tristen saunters forward and sits next to Titus.
A cloud of his shadows remains, hugging his legs like a thin veil of protection.
“King Galen has his hands full for a while. All his soldiers think their morning blood was poisoned.” He glances at Titus, and if the shadows could growl in warning, his did.
“What?” My spine stiffens. Did Sable make her first attack against Galen?
Tristen juts his chin forward. “You gonna tell her or me?”
Titus scratches his sculpted jaw and replies, “I drank my morning blood, but… I accidentally spat it out.”
I hold his hand tightly. “Why?” Is it the time-weaving magic? He’s been doing well, finding ways to soothe it so it doesn’t overtake him.
Has he mastered it? No, but he’s getting better. We upped his blood intake to half the normal amount. We had been planning to start a new lesson this week. Instead of him soothing it, I wanted him to try to activate it. Learn to work alongside it.
“Because now that the mate bond is setting in, he can’t drink blood.” Tristen pushes his shadow towards me. Titus starts to wave them away, but I shock him when I reach a hand out, as one would toward a stray cat. Shadows curl around my fingers like velvet fur.
That’s it. Learn to trust me.
Just when I think things are going well, Tristen blinks, the shadows press in and suddenly feel like hands. How did he do that?
Titus grabs my hand and puts it on his thigh. The shadows slither back. As Titus holds my hand, warmth surges up my arm and into my chest. My mouth dries, but other parts of me react oppositely.
“I can drink,” Titus counters. “It’s just that the taste is awful. Don’t worry, I can get by. I’m not picky when it comes to food.” He nods, but doesn’t look me in the eye.
I glance at Tristen. “Is he telling me the truth?”
“Yes and no. Once mated, we can drink blood that isn’t our mate, but most vampires can’t swallow the taste. Why would they? Mated blood makes you much more powerful.”
“But I am fae.”
“Bonds change everything.” Titus reaches out and tucks my hair behind my ear, allowing his fingertip to trace the curve of my pointed ear. His face takes on a glow of pride that makes me feel too much. “You’re no longer toxic to me, Selene.”
I wish you were right. I fear I’m still a poison, just in a different form.
“So you’ll need to drink from me.” My thighs press tightly together. “I’ve never been bitten,” I whisper.
Titus’s magic roars and purrs, and flames engulf our joined hands.
I don’t flinch; my mind fully trusts my mate.
I am aroused by the notion of him biting me and feeding from me.
It’s like running down a hill at full speed.
Exhilarating, a little scary because one off-balance step and you’ll tumble down.
I don’t want him to drink human blood. I want him to drink from me! He’s mine. Mine.
Oh no… that chant will lock me in the holds of insanity until I give in.
I thrust my wrist out as if it were a tray of cookies. “Drink. We’re hidden. Now is your chance to charge your magic.”
Titus stares at my pulse, his pupils widening as his throat moves.
Tristen recoils. “Absolutely not!” He shoves my wrist away.
Titus bares his fangs at his brother. “Do not touch her.” His voice reaches deeper depths as he peers at my pulse.
“You need to drink,” I encourage.
“You’re playing with a fire that will burn you, Selene,” Tristen rumbles. “If he drinks from you, a mark will surely appear.”
Titus’s fangs sink into his lower lip. “He’s right.” He lowers my wrist, but this time, he places it on my lap.
I want your mark. I want your lips sucking my neck. I want you. “You need your magic in this den of vipers.” I shake my wrist like it’s a bone willing to risk the mark. Galen knows better than to try to seduce me now.
“Neither of you is thinking clearly. Stop touching!” Tristen moves quickly, trying to push us away from each other.
Clarity once again enters my mind. I lower my eyes in shame. Tristen is going to think I’m like my twin, ready to sleep around no matter the results. “It was the bond talking,” I admit.
A strong, tender hand lifts my chin. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of.
” Titus’s eyes follow his hand, filled with longing.
“I can drink the others’ blood until we are free from this palace.
” He drops his hand and keeps a small space between us so the bond doesn't take over. “Bonded mates are feared for a reason. Our magic will be enhanced, which means Everett’s magic will be stronger. I still need to understand it.”
More magic sounds like a good thing. Why didn’t Everett want us to be stronger at the start? Why must we wait until everything crumbles? What am I not seeing?
“I don’t want you to worry. I’ll tolerate the other blood for as long as I can. Then,” his eyes float from my lips, to my neck, down my chest till my nipples harden, my abs tighten and my core throbs. “I shall drink from you. I’ll make you mine.”
Darkness mixes with the lust in his eyes. Titus wouldn’t just sink his teeth into me; he’d spread me open wide, claim and mark every inch of me. I’d take it, wear it with pride, as one does a crown. I’d show the world my mate mark.
But I’m a fighter too. I’d claim a piece of him, and unlike an insecure man, Titus would let me take that piece and wear it proudly. No dress could hide the glow of having a mate. Galen would sense it right away.
My stomach plummets and then churns. Acid thickens my throat. I look at Tristen. “I know why Everett didn’t warn us about the bond.”
Tristan’s gaze intensifies, and his shadows grow darker.
Titus would have devised a way to get me out, and I would have fled to my mate. “I was never meant to leave Blackthorn,” I declare.
Titus’s jaw clenches, his face becoming rigid. I hold my palm to his cheek until he relaxes.
Now, it’s all clear to me. “Everett needed us to grow frustrated. He needed to turn you—a loyal warrior—against Galen. Scorned men flee, vengeful men plot. Everett said you’d be king because he needed you to steal Galen’s crown.
Drinking from me will make you strong enough to kill a king who has indulged in bloodlust. The only way to win the war for the runes is if we remove Galen from the picture. ”
Titus looks down, his gaze sweeping the floor, absorbing my words. He flips his palm over and studies his hand. He knows they will be soaked in blood again.
But there’s more. It’s not just about stealing a crown. “Everett’s helping you get an army, because we will need one to keep the runes safe. Oh gods, the humans, the farm. It’s all planned to give us an army bigger than my father’s. So Sable can’t win.” I cover my mouth.
“Hey, hey, slow down,” Titus grabs my shoulders and hugs me. The mate bond’s purr quiets all my fear.
“What humans and farms?” Tristen leans closer.
I take a deep breath, then I tell them about the farm I helped build this morning, a guise for building a human army. I tell them of Sable and her plan to kill my father, how Galen knew and is plotting with her.
Titus listens quietly, taking it all in.
Tristen suddenly slaps his thigh; his shadows swirl with excitement.
“That’s why Galen sent Ember, Ryker, Nero, and Cyrus to Lunestra!
Think about it, Titus. Galen knew Sable would have opposition when she takes over, so he planted half his army near the border so they’d be close enough to aid her, but far enough away not to cause concern until the perfect moment. ”
“Wait, back up.” I blink rapidly. “Who are Ember, Ryker, Nero, and Cyrus?”
“They are our family,” Tristen replies defensively.
Titus nods.
Why didn’t he tell me about his family? He didn’t trust me. He thought I’d hurt them. “I’d never use them against you,” I whisper.