Chapter 9 #2
Cedric stands up and walks around to my side of the bed, crouching down in front of me. He reaches hesitantly for my hands on my lap, just as he did earlier. I allow him once more.
“You will die.”
“But you said I was immortal?”
“Even immortality has its limits.”
“You said I was half-vampyr, half-cess. What does that mean?”
“It means you have a higher chance of dying as the cess are not completely immortal. Magic sustains their lifespan. Your only benefit from them is the ability to consume human food and to wield magic.” I stare down at him, a face of confusion as I sort through this information.
“I tried to eat human food earlier,” I admit, reminded of the way it tasted coming back out.
“A failed attempt, I imagine?”
I nod.
Cedric continues. “You are in your most fragile state despite our efforts. Avonde informed me that if you do not feed on blood, you may only have a week or so before you shut down and wither away, slowly and painfully. Desiccation, I’ve seen it before only once.
It is neither pretty nor graceful. It is a horrid way to die. ”
I imagine myself indulging in the forbidden liquid, sipping it down like wine. My stomach responds, growling for it, yet I’m faintly repulsed.
“Try, please,” he says, handing me the flask and uncorking it. “And don’t say you can’t. You can. It’s your most innate function.”
My stomach rumbles and I gulp, trying to keep the hunger down. A bead of sweat rolls down my face and my body lights up, practically begging for it. I’ve been here before, in a dream of mine. My psyche has apparently been leaving hints this whole time. But I can’t focus on that now.
There is no hiding my fear at what this means…
The liquid looks darker in the shadow of the bed so I raise it to the light from the moon and swirl its contents around, noting the thickness of it. Thicker than wine or water.
The scent flows from the container freely and my nose catches a whiff of it.
My stomach responds again.
Cedric looks willingly into my eyes, as if urging to down the whole thing right then and there.
Bringing the bottle to my mouth, I take a shaky breath, immediately inhaling the aroma of it.
Strong, fruity – the notes similar to wine.
Pain spikes down the roof of my mouth and into my gums. A shifting in my mouth adds pressure and I draw my hand to my wincing lips.
I feel a cutting prick on my finger. Blood wells on the spot and before I have the chance to speak, Cedric cuts in.
“Fangs, they’ll need to be retrained but blood spurs them. Look at me.”
Our eyes meet, my mouth slightly open to reveal my new attachments. A wanting smile forms on his and I see his are also protracted. The dimple on his left cheek that I did not notice before reminds me that vampyr are so humanlike in appearance.
Well, for the most part.
Cedric is hardly average looking, in many ways…
“And what if I hate it?” I motion to the bottle.
“Doubt it.”
I nod, trying to keep cool as I lift the liquid to my mouth, docking it between the two new parts of my teeth. Tilting my head back, I quickly pour it all in, not allowing myself a moment to hesitate or second guess.
Fire and ice, sweet and savory, satiating and not.
Blood is all of those things at once. The cosmos illuminates behind my closed lids and the hairs on my arms stand.
My body wakes to its vigor immediately and I swallow heavily, indulging in the velvety smoothness of the drink.
It feels like I just took the biggest breath of air in. Just pure essence.
I mull it around my tongue in an attempt to savor it as best as I can because I’ve drained it all. The immediate craving for more rocks me, as if I’d never had something to eat once in my life.
My eyes flutter open, I didn’t realize they were closed, and I tilt my chin back down, removing the bottle from my lips. My tongue prickles as it grazes them before I wipe the blood on the back of my cold hand.
“That was…”
“Believe me, I know,” Cedric finishes, taking the bottle from my hands, a subtle yet proud smile on his face. A battle won.
The king rises and places the bottle on a nightstand before turning to look at the portrait once more. With the light from the moon more fully upon him, I question his own wellbeing. It’s no secret he has been imbibing, but he looks tired. More than tired, actually – exhausted.
The euphoria from the blood wanes.
“What is going to happen to me?”
His hands make fists and I notice his posture tighten.
“I don’t… I’m no longer sure, to be honest. The cess are going to visit your cottage tomorrow to conduct a more…
thorough examination. Magic could solve this.
” The king is forthcoming in all things but emotions.
His face is impassive like carved stone, barely letting anything through.
There is nothing for me to say back.
He nods to the door and I follow, the journey through what is obviously my lodgings.
“You can ask questions at any time. No request is too large. I’m happy to clear my days in order for you to make sense of all this until we can heal your mind,” Cedric says, clearing his throat.
Half of what he says sounds genuine, the other half sterile, but I can’t blame him.
“Thank you, I will think on that,” I say and feign a faked curtsy. He laughs once as two guards approach, their swords sheathed at their sides. Their silver armor slightly catches the moon’s glow right across their shoulders. A beautiful imprint of elys and stars in the center of their chest.
“See Lady Elivienne back safely,” he orders. The guards, with their pumping human hearts, nod. The smell of their essence is unmistakable as they turn towards the direction of the cottage.
I wave gently. “Good night, Cedric.” He tucks his hands behind his back and slightly dips his chin. And as we descend the hill, with the sound of crickets surrounding us, I cannot ignore the lingering feeling that my meal left.
Bread, spiced soup, carrots, warm cakes on a weekday morning; nothing could ever compare.