Chapter 20
Severin
I had heard Dina running towards the room, but I was too interested in the conversation to bother with it. I knew Dina would yell for me if it was urgent, so when she told us with panting breath that a Giro was awake, it seemed more urgent than I had thought.
“Who?” Felix asked for both of us.
“The young witch Peter found,” Dina explained, still out of breath. “He’s angry.”
I had no idea why we had to bring him back with us, but Peter had seemed protective over him, so I would do my best to protect Giro, too.
“Lead the way,” I said, tugging Felix with me as we followed Dina to the wing that Peter had taken for himself. Of course he had taken Giro with him to his rooms.
I could hear yelling and it did not sound good. “You had no right!” a male voice, likely Giro’s snapped. “You promised me she would be safe!”
“And she was,” Brent’s calm voice replied. So, Giro and Brent were arguing over a woman?
“Bullshit!” Giro yelled.
“Language!” Brent snapped, no longer sounding calm.
A bitter laugh came then, and it sounded like it was Giro’s.
“You don’t get to scold me for how I speak.
Not when you’re the reason she got taken in the first place.
I trusted you.” The anger was gone, replaced by anguish and hurt instead.
We were close enough now that Dina and Felix could hear them, too.
Dina stopped just outside the door and gestured for us to go in. I did not waste time on knocking, just opened the door and stepped inside with Felix’s hand still firmly clasped with mine.
Brent was sitting on a couch, looking a decade older than he had looked last time I saw him. Giro was pacing the floor, agitated and hurt. And to no one’s surprise, Peter was resting against the wall, arms crossed over his chest as he glared at Brent.
“Hello,” I greeted them, unable to know what else to say. The room was filled with tension and I desperately wanted to fix whatever it was.
Giro blushed when he saw us, then promptly began to cry as he kneeled on the floor. “Forgive me. I didn’t know what to do, or how to fix it. Please, forgive me.”
I eyed Peter, then Felix. “Forgive what, exactly?” I asked when no one seemed interested in explaining.
Giro choked out a sob, then admitted with a low voice, “I was the one Astrea was supposed to marry. I should’ve fought them harder. Should’ve—” his words broke off as he winced from what looked to be pain?
The softest, “Why?” was spoken next to me. Felix’s eyes were glassy and he looked both confused and hurt.
“Because,” Giro started, eyeing his clothed arm. “My grandfather told me to trust him.”
Peter and I both shot Brent a glare. There was no question as to who his grandfather was.
“Why,” Peter demanded, stalking away from the wall and over to stand in front of Brent, his form intimidating and strong.
Brent sighed. “Because, I was selfish.” Peter growled, making Brent continue.
“I saw the future. So many innocent lives lost to battle. Power fought over like it could be stolen. And then, I saw another possibility, a future with balance, with peace. And I saw the road to get there. But I also saw Giro.”
“Go on,” I demanded, walking over to stand next to Peter.
Brent took in a deep breath before continuing, meeting our hard gazes as he did so. “You already know what he is, or rather who he is to you.” He said the last part while looking directly at Peter.
Peter glared at him, but answered, “Yes. What has that got to do with the future?”
“Everything,” Brent calmly stated.
“Will someone please explain this to me?” Giro demanded, having left the floor and joined us next to Brent. Felix stood by my side, watching on with confusion and interest.
Brent looked at his grandson with remorse. “I saw that the only way to win this war would be to bring the species together to fight our coven.”
“Fight it?!” Giro gasped. I had no idea if his reaction was out of loyalty or fear.
“Meeting your fated ensured more allies in the fight,” Brent continued, ignoring his question about the fight.
“Peter is your fated, Giro.” Giro choked on air as he eyed my brother with interest, but Brent kept going.
“And I knew the only way of bringing you together was for Astrea to get cursed and taken.”
I looked at Peter, finally understanding his reaction to this young witch. He had found his fated, too.
“How can you be sure they are fated?” I asked Brent. “As far as I know, Peter has yet to taste his blood.” Peter winced at that, which made Brent smile knowingly.
It was Peter who answered my question. “Giro had a cut on his wrist when I found him. I was unable to stop myself from…”
Felix gasped alongside Giro, but it was the latter who spoke with indignation, “You licked me?!”
A wounded sound escaped Peter’s throat before he nodded with shame. “I could not control myself.”
“Damn,” Felix murmured. He sounded more in awe than disgusted by it, so I gave him a curious look. He just shrugged unapologetically.
“You find that hot?!” Giro accused Felix, clearly figuring out what I could not about my fated’s reaction.
Felix shrugged again. “I’m not ashamed to admit that I find blood licking erotic. I am, after all, fated to a vampire myself.”
I blushed at that, while simultaneously grinning with pride.
I had the most perfect fated. But it was words like that, that made this whole waiting to bond thing harder to endure.
His scent this morning had been even better than before, stronger, yet sweeter.
Funny how one potion could alter his blood and scent like that.
Giro spoke then to Brent directly, “Say I believe everything you’ve just said, that still doesn’t excuse why you had me cursed, too. Why not just tell me the truth? Why pull me under and force me asleep?”
Brent sighed. “Because you would not leave willingly, even with how awful they treated you. Their brand would ensure you stayed.”
Peter was glaring at Brent. “Explain.”
“Giro wouldn’t marry a woman. He wanted a man. Our coven needs more witches to be born, so he was denied this. I knew Astrea would be tied to you, Peter, so I told the coven a lie.”
Clearly ignoring the whole branding thing, Felix demanded, “What lie?”
“I told them she would be powerful, that we simply needed her in our coven. So, they reacted like I knew they would, drooling over the possibility of taking another powerful witch and forcing her to submit.”
“That still doesn’t explain the coma curse!” Giro snapped at Brent.
“I cursed her to buy us time,” Brent admitted. “They would force her to join and you know once you join you cannot leave the coven.”
“You did what?!” Felix growled, and it was the first time I had ever seen him this livid. Here was this old man sitting on our couch and admitting that he was the reason Astrea got cursed in the first place.
“One curse on her saved thousands,” was all Brent replied before closing his eyes and…
“Did he just die?!” Giro gasped, rushing over to the now slumped man on the couch. Brent had fallen to his left side, lying perfectly still, not one sign of life left in him.
Felix looked at me, his eyes wide and I nodded. Brent was dead.
Witches do not just die, but even after several witches had looked Brent over, they all concluded that, yes, he was indeed dead.
It also seemed to be of old age and not some kind of curse put upon him.
From guessing, I placed him to be around ninety, which was normal for witches as they had the same lifespan as humans.
Had he known he would die today? Was that why he was so resigned? So… detached?
Leading Felix back to our room, we went past a crying Giro and a consoling Peter.
They had to talk things out and needed privacy to do so.
I could only hope Giro would welcome Peter as his fated.
Perhaps then Peter and I would once again have a real family.
It really was not just the two of us anymore, and as weird as that sounded, it also felt right.
Like all those centuries where we met and lost friends and lovers, there was finally a reason for it.
Felix and Giro were that reason. We just had to wait for them to be born.
Felix seemed at a loss for words as I closed our bedroom door behind us. It had been one hell of a week, and I felt like I had somehow failed Felix. I should have protected him, but he had been hit by the crystal. I should have been the one in pain. Not him.
“I can’t believe Astrea is awake,” Felix said, his voice quiet and disbelieving as he sat on our bed, staring at nothing.
I sat down next to him and gently placed a hand on his thigh. “I was pleased to meet her. I have longed for a bigger family ever since Peter and I lost our own. It is nice to have a sister again.”
That broke Felix. He started crying softly, but before I could begin to fear I had somehow said something wrong, he jumped into my lap, hugging his arms around my neck and just let me comfort him.
I sighed contentedly and stroked his back; glad he found safety in my arms. Even if I had failed to protect him from pain.
“Bite me,” he whispered. “Please, Sev.” Oh, that nickname. That plea. I wanted nothing else than to finally claim him as mine.
“Are you sure?” I asked, not knowing if I could stop once I had started. Neither of us knew if the potion was out of his system or not, so I had to guess he felt the pull towards me, like I did with him, and simply needed my touch. Like I was starving for his.
“I’ve never been more certain in my life. This week has been so full of surprises, both good and bad, but my biggest regret in life would be to die without truly being yours.”
I held him tighter, growling a bit as I demanded, “You will not die. I simply do not allow it.”
He laughed, it was soft, broken, and oh, so bloody real.
I leaned my head back and met his gaze. His green eyes were red rimmed and puffy, his cheeks reddened from crying, but still he was beautiful.
Trailing my gaze down to his pink lips, I finally let myself close the distance.
Leaning in, he closed his eyes, surrendering himself to me, to this bond between us.
I met his warm lips with my cooler ones, sighing as they connected, his warmth was a comfort, a soothing caress.
He moaned into my mouth as soon as I opened up for him, fisting my hair as he started grinding on my lap. His hard dick met my own and I hissed from the mix of relief and burn from the fabric’s friction.
Hissing was a mistake.
My fangs had come out to play and Felix’s eager tongue met one of them, piercing a line through it, making him flinch. Before I could retract, his blood flooded my senses. I groaned, then growled, holding him tighter against me. His blood…
Without breaking apart, I turned us so he was on the bed with me on top, sucking and licking his tongue like he was my favorite dessert, which now, he definitely was. There was no doubt now, the potion was out of his blood and I could no longer stop myself.
My instincts took over, turning the world the loveliest shade of red.