Training
Rhazien kept me to himself for the next night and day. We spent the time getting to know one another, that is, when we weren’t exploring and worshipping each other.
When the dusk bell chimed, Rhazien looked at me like a fox and asked, “How many times do you think I can make you scream my name before the sun goes down?”
Dozens. I’d whispered, begged, moaned, and shouted his name dozens of times before soft, courteous knocks interrupted us. I was flushed from our most recent round of adoration when Rhazien finally allowed Alba to enter with breakfast.
“Kiss me before you drink this. I want to taste you before you’re tainted,” he commanded with a smile as he handed me a fresh mug of coffee. I rose on my toes and happily obliged.
“You might have to get used to it, Your Majesty. I can’t live without the stuff,” I said as we parted and then lifted the brew to my lips. It was missing my preferred sugar and cream, but it was the thought that counted.
“I assure you,” he tucked a loose tendril behind my ear, “you can.”
I beg to differ.
Rhazien’s blood had worn off again and I felt like I’d downed seven bottles of Bromport wine. The headache was relentless, and I understood why humans of the Hive would want a constant dose of blood. I hadn’t asked for more and Rhazien hadn’t offered. I didn’t know what I would say if he did.
A distraught Gorvin whisked away his regent. The vein over the steward’s hairless temple protruded with worry over all of the abandoned tasks since my welcome ball. Dommik escorted me in silence to my lessons with Oddo.
I was as hungover as a sailor on shore leave, although I didn’t look it.
The dress Alba had chosen today was one of the most decadent yet.
The sheer sleeves, though revealing, were decorated with gems in a floral pattern.
The shining vines stretched from my shoulders to my wrists.
Complimentary silver thread adorned the corset and skirt.
It was beautiful and I felt beautiful in it.
The lesson was captivating, answering every question I’d ever had about sires and fledglings. I was ravenous for details, but the young Master of Archives was being more tight-lipped about the experience than I’d expected.
“Each vampire’s rebirth story is deeply personal.
Not all of us chose to transition. For some, they were turned without consent and never came to terms with their new life.
” Oddo exhaled and rubbed at his eyes as if trying to erase a memory.
“Madness in vampires is unfortunately quite common, as is suicide.”
I thought of the Original Culling. All those newly turned vampires were left to the sun before they understood what they were.
But that was vastly different from knowing what they’d become, understanding what existing as a vampire meant, and being so uncomfortable in their immortal skin that they’d rather meet their end.
However, was it so different from my own story? I had declared that I was done with this life. I’d nearly chosen the axe over the Hive. I understood why someone might choose death. Because with death came the promise of rest and peace. I understood it, but it didn’t make it any less sad.
“Oh,” I lifted my hand to my mouth, “Oddo. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to—”
“No,” he said, waving a hand and shaking his head. “It’s fine. It’s better for you to know and understand as much as possible before Winter Solstice.”
He said Solstice, but what he meant was before Rhazien offers his shadow. After two days in bed with the regent, I did have a deeper understanding of the gravity of the offer.
There wasn’t much to know about the process. A priestess would oversee the ceremony—as would anyone invited to witness our binding—we would recite some words, and then we would be shadowbound. It sounded like a human wedding.
It was the after that came with the elements of the agreement that concerned me.
If I were to die before I was turned, I would become one of the malicious entities—a shade stuck between realms of life and death.
A shadowy specter comprised of hate and despair.
I shivered as the fearsome, glowing red eyes assaulted my memories.
Oddo noticed my discomfort, gave me a side-long glance, and declared, “That’s enough for tonight.”
Dommik donned his typical commander’s leathers and led me to the main ballroom. Besides a standard, cordial greeting, we hadn’t spoken to each other. Something was off about him.
Void of guests and fountains of blood, the ballroom’s grandeur was unimpeded. The golden columns shone brightly, thanks to the fully lit chandeliers, and at its barren center, a single table littered with items waited for us.
“This is my training?” I asked, breaking our silence.
“Hide and seek,” he said flatly as he picked up a necklace with an oval blue gem in a golden setting.
Dommik’s eyes slid from the table to meet my gaze.
I couldn’t look away quickly enough. It had been two days since my welcome ball, which felt like an eternity on Rhazien’s blood, and I’d forgotten how piercing his gray-blue eyes could be.
“Pick an item, I’ll hide it, you’ll practice seeking them out. ”
I almost scoffed. The items were tangible. The memory of their location would be fresh. This would take barely any effort at all.
There was just one problem. To trigger the memory, I would have to touch Dommik, something that now felt wildly off-limits. There wouldn’t be a trace if I touched him over his clothing. Which meant he could touch me over mine... I banished the thoughts.
This wasn’t how I wanted this day to go. I knew seeing Dommik from time to time might be a reality for my life in the Hive, but I wanted to starve this thing between us, not feed it. And this would feed it. This pull. This infuriating attraction. I needed to extinguish it, and fast.
I flexed and clenched my hands at my sides. “What shall we start with?”
“Your choice,” he said as he absently waved a hand over the table.
As if given a command to put their best foot forward, the gems glimmered brilliantly, reflecting the illuminated chandeliers.
My gaze landed on my jade-handled hairbrush. “This.”
Dommik’s eyes bounced from the verdant item to me before nodding. “Okay.”
My hair flew as he rushed out of the room. I spun in an attempt to see which way he went but there were no clues to aid in my search. No flash of black leather. No echo of a slamming door. It was to be a true test of my abilities. It was a bit exhilarating.
I leaned on the table as I waited for him to return. A minute later, I was greeted by the wind from his supernatural speed.
When I pushed my loose hair from my face, I found him standing in front of me. Over me, really. Not that he could help it with his height. A piece of my confident facade crumbled at the sight. Dommik brought out a fluttering sense of excitement in me I hadn’t felt in years.
I needed to find this item, end this, and get back in bed with Rhazien.
Yes. I will fuck this na?ve crush from my mind.
“Ready?” he asked, dark brows raised, eyes soft.
I swallowed and nodded slowly. A deep, steadying breath brought with it Dommik’s musky leather and pine.
Focus on the brush.
I lifted my hand and closed my eyes. When my palm met his chest, I was sent directly into the vision.
My body stiffened, my breath stuttered, and through a whirling tunnel, I was Dommik running through the halls of the Hive.
A right turn, through a hidden doorway, down a set of stairs into a…
a…a room I hadn’t seen yet. All dark stone, candles, and…
pews. There was a chapel within the Hive?
Dommik chuckled within the memory. The sound echoed through the walls of my mind as he set the distinct jade hairbrush at the altar.
I lifted my hand from his chest and gasped as I let the memory collapse and plummeted back into my body.
Dommik’s arms gripped my shoulders. “Whoa. Easy. I’ve got you.”
He was trying to steady me, but the weight of his hands on my shoulders was turning my stomach.
“Thank you. I’m fine,” I said, shrugging him away. It wasn’t right, giving him a tone like he’d done something wrong, but I needed to keep pushing him away.
He didn’t seem wounded by it. In fact, he was distracted by something else entirely. A small basket.
“Here,” he said, offering it to me.
The smell of fresh bread made me salivate on the spot. My eyes flicked from the rolls to the commander. “What is this?”
Dommik shrugged. “I didn’t know how taxing this might be for you, so I brought you some snacks. There’s fruit and cheese as well, but you seem fond of bread—”
“Don’t say, ‘I’m fond of bread’ like it’s unique. If someone says they aren’t fond of bread, they’re lying.” My words snapped as fast as my fingers claiming a roll. The sweet loaf practically melted on my tongue.
Dommik chuckled as he set down the basket. “You’re welcome.”
I covered my mouth mid-bite and let out a muffled, “Thank you.”
The commander leaned on the table next to me. “Well…?”
I swallowed and let my wrist flop. “Well, what?”
Leather crunched as Dommik twisted his torso and jerked his chin to the items on the table. “Where is the brush?”
“In the chapel,” I said, nodding and plotting my next bite of the baked good. “I didn’t know there was a chapel in the Hive.”
The table rocked slightly as Dommik pressed away to stand. He stretched his arms high and rocked side to side, the bones beneath his dense muscle cracked at the force.
“Well, there wasn’t. Until recently.”
“Oh?” I was chewing vigorously.
A smirk crept across his stubbled, square jaw. “You don’t remember mentioning your religious practices to Gorvin?”
I stopped chewing. Frozen and mortified.
“No,” I said behind my hand.
Dommik dropped his head, smiling a broad, amused smile to the tiles below. “Yes.”
I squeezed my eyes tight, cursing the blood rushing to my cheeks. “That is…so kind of him.”
“Very, very kind of him.” His boyish snickering wove between his words.