The Moon Garden #2
“There were five.” His smooth delivery told me he hadn’t expected this number to be mind-altering news.
“Five?!” My hand flew to my lips. My disbelief only compounded when I considered the size of Rhazien’s realm. Even if the others were half the size…vampires very well could have outnumbered humans in Atoris twice over.
Had the Illica Crown known and withheld this from their residents? Maybe they thought it was better to think of the vampires as a collective rather than separate settlements.
Whatever the reason, I decided I needed to thumb through Nobles and Notables again. I’d only noted two Hives so far. The North, where Vaspar, Valta, and their regent Eryx hailed from. And the Southern Hive. This Hive. My new home.
He tapped my hand, breaking me from my mental spiral. “There were five. But only two are occupied now.”
Three empty Hives. Interesting. I chewed on my cheek and waited for him to continue but planned on asking Oddo more about the five hives during our next lesson.
“Lorana entrusted this place to me before she and her sisters went to ground for the long sleep.”
“How long will they sleep?” The question tripped over itself as it fell off my tongue. It was an odd concept.
“They’ll sleep until they’re woken.”
“Wait.” My eyes popped open. “You knew Lorana?”
Rhazien’s cheeks rounded. “She made me.”
I knew Rhazien was Lorana’s descendant, that he shared her blood and inherited the gifts Oddo mentioned. But I didn’t realize she’d directly made him.
“You were made by an Original?”
Brown strands of hair lifted and fell with his eager nod. “Yes. I’m so used to everyone knowing that about me, but your expression reminds me that’s something very special.”
I wanted to know more. About Lorana and her sisters and where they were now. About his transition and life before immortality. But my mind’s attention was yanked back to the question that had been burning within me since I’d arrived.
“So, Lorana made you, entrusted you with caring for this Hive, and where do I fit into this? It seems like this is a thriving community.”
“Right.” Rhazien gave me an unfamiliar smile. It was hesitant, strained. “The item I need you to help me find is a powerful stone. Possessing it could help prevent a growing discourse between the Hives.”
“Discourse?” I repeated.
“Well,” Rhazien exhaled to the night sky, “a war, actually.”
My eyes bulged and I felt like I had been kicked in the gut. “Oh, is that all?”
A piercing ring vibrated between my ears. Through its shrill echo I made out the words ‘Northern Hive’ and ‘old ways’. He broke off mid-sentence about his great matter and moving Atoris into a new era of peace when he glanced back, noting my stunned expression.
“Reyva, are you all right?” Rhazien shook his head and scolded himself. “I really should have listened to Gorvin. This was too much.”
Too much was cohabitating amongst vampires. Too much was learning Rhazien intended to court me as a future queen. This was beyond too much. I could feel myself withdrawing next to him.
His hand stroked feverishly across my forearm. “I’m sorry. Tonight was supposed to be about welcoming and celebrating you.”
“No,” I quickly countered. “No, I’m okay.”
I wasn’t okay.
This was no request to find a misplaced trinket or some piece of jewelry with sentimental value.
This request held so much more weight and responsibility.
And it wouldn’t be just a war. If it came to be, it could mean continent-wide havoc, ruin, species annihilation.
It was too great an ask…and considering how I’d failed my final client before Hollis was murdered, the fragile petals of my confidence wilted and scattered to the winds months ago.
If there was a war between vampire Hives on the horizon, I could only imagine the kind of devastation that could mean for the humans of Atoris—for Lydia and the peaceful future I hoped she’d have.
The mangled and charred bodies from the tapestry in The Hall of Truths rushed to the front of my mind. So much pain and death.
Rhazien seemed miles away, and what I needed was to be held. Supported, encouraged, cradled even.
“Majesty…” A figure looming in the archway of the garden stole our attention. Dommik’s angular features were shrouded in shadow. The night suited him.
“You’ve discovered us. I didn’t think we could escape for long, but I thought we’d have a little more time before getting interrupted.” Rhazien stood, passively scolding the commander for interjecting, leaving me still and silent, slowly falling apart on the bench behind him.
“Apologies, Majesty. You’re needed inside.” I couldn’t see Dommik beyond Rhazien’s frame, but his tone signaled a concerning amount of urgency.
“Regarding?” Rhazien gestured for me to stand.
My limbs felt like they’d been replaced by thick steel but I managed to rise, despite the garden beginning to spin.
Dommik’s eyes locked with mine and I wanted to disappear. His discerning gaze stripped me bare in the fraction of a moment. A muscle twitched in Dommik’s jaw before he gritted, “Urgent Hive business.”
Hive business. Vampire business. Business I wasn’t allowed to be privy to yet. Considering all Rhazien had told me so far, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. I’d had enough earth-shattering news for one week, and I needed to focus on steadying myself.
Rhazien let out a frustrated grunt. “Duty calls at the most inopportune moments. Apologies, Reyva. I’ll find you once I deal with this urgent business. Would you like to accompany me back to the ballroom or explore the garden?”
Back to the room filled with hungry vampires gawking at me? While I’m still digesting that I’m expected to prevent a vampiric war? No, not yet.
I gave his arm a gentle squeeze. “I’d like to stay. Just a little longer.”
He nodded. “Dommik, please escort my jewel back when she's ready.”
“Of course.” The commander bowed his head.
Before departing, Rhazien took my face in his hands and leaned down to give me what could only be described as a courteous and respectful kiss on the cheek. The touch of his lips was so gentle, if my eyes had been closed, I might not have known he’d kissed me at all.
It was a sore reminder of how little we knew about each other. But I couldn’t expect that of him, not this early on. We were still strangers.
“I’ll rush back to you. I promise.” His thumbs rubbed my cheeks as he searched my eyes.
I blinked and gave him a close-lipped smile, ignoring my sinking chest. “I’ll be fine. Go.”
One last thumb stroke and with that, the regent was gone.
A biting chill rode on the breeze and I fell to my knees in the garden. The unforgiving boning of my gown poked at my middle, urging me to stand again or at least practice good posture. But I needed to be down low. The world was tilted as black spots threatened my vision.
“Reyva? Reyva! What is it? What’s wrong?” Dommik’s garbled words barely broke through the ringing in my ears. My eyes were fixed on my splayed hands on the garden cobblestones.
Breathe. I needed to breathe. When I tried to take a long inhale, my lungs refused, failing to let enough new air in to calm the war drum that was my frantic heart. Its percussion pounded at my temples.
“Here.” Fabric covered my back and arms and the scent of pine wafted from its threads. Dommik’s hands encouraged me to stand, only touching me atop the jacket he’d draped over me. “Come here,” he huffed, pulling me into a tight embrace.
One arm secured my lower back and the other wrapped around my shoulders. My face buried into his tensed muscles beneath his black shirt.
This was off limits, but I needed this.
I didn’t fight him. I just let Dommik hold me there in the garden. His arms were a necessary paddock for my nerves to re-center and settle.
A small gasp escaped through my already quickened breath when he squeezed me even tighter. His chin rested atop my intricate braids and he began to sway slightly and hum.
I let my eyes fall closed and focused on the rise and fall of his chest, letting myself get carried away by the gentle vibrations of his wordless song. It was comfortable and familiar. Safe.
My breath deepened and my mind began to still. Nestled here, between Dommik’s grasp and the hard muscle of his body, was a cocoon, sheltering me from the dangers of my own mind.
When my panic subsided, my vision returned, and my balance steadied, he asked, “Better?”
“Mmm.” I nodded softly against his chest.
“I’m going to let go now.” He waited for me to nod again before loosening his grip around me.
The garden was quiet. Even the fountain had calmed its babble to a whisper.
Now, with enough space between us, Dommik pulled his oversized jacket tighter around my shoulders to cover more of my shivering form.
“Thank you,” I said weakly, my embarrassment ripe and ready for picking.
“You’re welcome.” Dommik stood tall and tense, arms at the ready in case I crumbled again. Hesitantly, he asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”
I did. And I didn’t. Dommik might be one of the few people I was most familiar with in the Hive but I had no fantasies about where his loyalty lied. There would be no secrets between us, and anything I said would most likely find its way back to Rhazien.
But Dommik also knew more than anyone else—about Rhazien, this great matter to find this stone and prevent a vampiric war, and what it’s like to be turned.
My stomach sank all over again and my mouth filled with an acrid taste.
“You don’t have to,” he retracted. “I just figured I’d offer.”
For someone who’d insisted we weren’t going to be friends, that I was simply his assignment and nothing more, this felt oddly like an offer a friend would make.
“Rhazien told me—” I let out a heavy breath and hoped saying the scary thing out loud would calm the nausea rising deep in my belly “—why I’m here.”
“Hmm.” He rocked on his heels. “And what do you think about that?”
“I think I still have too many questions to know what I think about it,” I said honestly, pulling at his jacket.