18. Cyan
Chapter 18
Cyan
T he night after returning from Sapien with Tavi, I had a patrol shift with Thorne, which didn’t usually happen. His partner was usually Rhain, and now that Kalix was gone, I was usually paired up with Des or Laith.
Maybe I should have been honored working with our clan leader, but instead I felt like I was put under a microscope.
Part of me wondered if this pairing was by happenstance or design, but I knew better than to voice my questions about it.
We rode to the Crown, the northernmost point of Sanguine. After becoming the ruling clan, Blood 'til Dawn had to seize this region forcefully from the remnants of its previous inhabitants, a clan called Rathka’s Order.
Those vampires were something else. Not only did they eat humans alive, but they had begun cannibalizing each other about a century ago. No one truly knew why, though there were speculations of a virus that had eaten through the rational parts of their brain and made them do unnatural things.
Rathka’s Order had been doing a decent job of eradicating themselves by the time we stepped in, but there was still a hell of bloody battle. My first real one, about fifteen years ago. The last dozen or so infected members had scattered into the surrounding mountains and forests. Our best hope was that the werewolves had taken care of them for us, but their whereabouts remained a big question mark.
Only one member of Rathka’s Order appeared to retain his wits and did not succumb to the cannibalism that ravaged his family. He actually lived near us, right off the Cap in the Heart of Sanguine. Close enough to keep an eye on, just how we liked him. He didn’t seem interesting in reclaiming the Crown region for himself.
Hence why we continued to patrol the ancestral home of Rathka’s Order, in case any of them chose to return and eat the new residents that had moved in. The Crown was popular with dragon shifters due to the cliffs and mountains in the region, but humans and smaller clans of vampires had also moved.
This was a much quieter area of Sanguine with large plots of land for each family. Buildings and roads were made of weathered stone and brick. Only the windows were modernized with light-proof shutters to keep the sun out. Aside from that, the Crown looked like a quaint mountain village from a children’s fairytale.
Away from the hustle and bustle of the Cap, I heard crickets and frogs when we cut our bike engines and patrolled the village center on foot.
“How’s it going with the new blood pet?” Thorne lit up a darakt cigarette, getting straight to the point.
“Alright.”
I felt his eyes on the side of my face, but didn’t return his gaze. Tavi would not occupy my thoughts tonight. I had a job to do, and kept my focus sweeping across the street ahead for any sudden movement. At least, that was what I kept telling myself.
“Really?” he mused, red smoke leaving his mouth in an exhale. “Is that why I smelled marrow on you the other night?”
I kept my face and posture neutral, but my fists clenched inside my jacket pockets. Why was it any of his fucking business, anyway? “Was just feeling under the weather. Wanted a little pick-me-up, that’s all.”
“Is that right.” He phrased it like a statement, not a question.
“What about you, boss? Find a new blood pet to play with?” My teeth clenched as soon as the words were out. Just like that, I’d let him know he had gotten under my skin.
Thorne let out a dry laugh, flicking the ash of his cigarette. “Nah. I got enough responsibilities as it is. The last one sure taught me that.”
“You mean the angel you had?”
Thorne’s expression turned to stone. Only the red smoke drifting out of his nostrils made any movement around his face. “Watch it, pup. Don’t go digging for what doesn’t concern you.”
I held up my hands defensively. “Hey, you brought up blood pets. Not me.”
“And I won’t make the same mistake again,” he huffed, picking up his stride so that I had to hustle to catch up with him.
There had been a rumor going around a few years back that Thorne had an angel as a secret blood pet hidden somewhere away from the compound. Considering angels were one of the species we were forbidden to have contact with, due to their alliance with the werewolves, having one as a blood pet could have ruined everything for us as ruling clan. The dragons could cut off all business with us, and other clans would incite a civil war for a lesser offense.
But Thorne never said a word about it, and neither did his inner circle. Truth be told, Thorne never said much about his own personal history. He was considered young for a clan leader, in the upper three-hundreds. But many older members, Kalix and Rhain included, looked to him faithfully as a leader.
And Kalix’s judgment was one that I always trusted, even when I didn’t feel like I knew Thorne on a personal level. Maybe that was the issue.
“I didn’t mean any disrespect,” I said hastily once my stride matched his. “I just…I’ve been in the clan my whole life, always with you leading us.” I took a deep breath, bracing myself for saying his name out loud for the first time in twenty years. “Kalix always trusted you, believed you would lead us to ruling clan one day. And I always looked up to him. So what I’m saying is, I’ve never had the chance to know you like he did.”
Thorne chuckled, tossing the spent end of his cigarette. “So the young Cyanide has a humble bone in his body after all, eh?”
“Just a small one,” I cracked. “Let’s call it one of my finger bones. Definitely not the important bone.”
Thorne paused, inspecting me like he was really seeing me for the first time. “I can see why Kal took you under his wing.”
I straightened. “Thank you.”
“That wasn’t a compliment.” Thorne started walking again. “He kept you in check. Without him, you’ve got a chip on your shoulder the size of Temkra’s heart. I can never tell if you’re trying to prove yourself or self-sabotage. Either way, you act like you’re all smiles and ready to party but your eyes are dead, pup.”
I was so taken aback that I stopped in my tracks. I wasn’t even offended, just stunned. Here I was, thinking that I barely knew Thorne while he could see through me like I was made of glass.
At my halted steps, Thorne stopped and turned back to face me. “Cyan.” He sighed. “What happened to him wasn’t your fault, you know.”
Yeah, right. He hadn’t been there. All Thorne had dealt with was the aftermath, the teetering dominoes of clan politics that he was tasked to keep standing. He wasn’t there when I knocked the first domino over.
How much did Thorne blame himself? It was the first time I’d considered the possibility. If we had become ruling clan just five years earlier, Kalix could have been saved. By the time Thorne had consolidated power, it was too late.
I opened my mouth to argue just as I saw lightning fast movement over Thorne’s shoulder.
“Behind you!” I bellowed, going for the silver blade inside my jacket. Tavi had my favorite one from our sparring session but I had plenty of backups.
Thorne turned and ducked just in time to avoid a heavy, swinging blow aiming for his head. Long, gnarled claws that had once been fingernails caught the moonlight.
“Stay down!”
I was one hell of a nobody to be yelling orders at my clan leader, but he thankfully did as I said. Taking off at a sprint, I jumped and sailed over Thorne’s crouched form with my dagger aimed and ready. With a hard slam, I crashed into his attacker and we went tumbling.
The smell hit me first. The foulest mix of dirt, rot, and body odor that ever hit my senses. We suspected that the remnants of Rathka’s Order had taken to living rough in the mountains, feeding on animals and probably each other. Nothing prepared me for that smell, though. And with my silver dagger stabbing in fast, controlled bursts, the scent of burning flesh added to the mix.
He fought me for a long time despite my hitting vital organs and blood vessels multiple times, probably due to the adrenaline and whatever animalistic craze that had taken over his mind. My arms had a few bleeding scratches from those nasty claws but in the end, the life drained out of him and he stopped moving.
“Cy!”
I looked up and turned to see Thorne pulling his own dagger from the neck of another figure covered in dried blood, dirt, and filth. The body crumpled to the ground as Thorne began running toward me.
“Cy, there’s more!”
I spun on the ball of my foot, blade covering my throat and facing outward like I’d shown Tavi, but was a fraction of a second too late. How the fuck were they so silent?
My body hit the ground before I knew what hit me. From a sideways angle, I saw Thorne’s booted feet dancing as he fought. My arm felt impossibly heavy as I reached for my neck, trying to find the source of blood pooling around me. I felt the gash in my skin, and the steady pump of my heart forcing blood out of my body.
My brain couldn’t seem to form any coherent thoughts aside from, shit, this is bad.
Some time later, something wrapped around my neck and pulled tight, like it was going to choke me. The sight above me didn’t make sense. Thorne with his shirt off? Thorne with his hands around my neck. I could feel my blood pumping against the pressure of his palm.
“Don’t you fucking bleed out on me, pup.” He sounded like he was underwater. “We’re gonna get you back to your blood pet and get you all fixed up, alright?”
My thoughts were sluggish, like I was losing my grip on them as the blood drained from my body. But the words blood pet brought a single face to the forefront of my mind.
“Tavi,” I gasped through the pain and sensation of life draining out of me.
“Yes, we’ll get you to Tavi soon. Just hold the fuck on.”
I couldn’t see Thorne anymore, couldn’t see past the dark blotches obscuring my vision. Vertigo overtook me and I didn’t know which way was up. I was being flung and thrashed around, manipulated like a doll. I thought I could make out Thorne’s boots hitting the stone pavement, and wondered if he was carrying me.
“Seriously, you better not fucking die on me,” Thorne muttered. “Kalix would have my balls if he ever found out.”
“Kal…” I groaned out his name, grasping at my final memory of him. He was stoic, determined, resolute, while I had been a mess.
I was always a fucking mess. It was why we lost him.
I must have passed out. The next thing I knew, the blurry faces of my clan mates hovered above me. Why did they look so worried?
“Tavi’s coming.” Thorne’s voice sounded close, like he was near my ear, though he still sounded like he was underwater. “Hold on just a little longer, Cyanide.”
A moment of clarity hit me. I couldn’t take Tavi’s blood. It was too sweet, too good and strong, because she was my blood mate.
I would have laughed bitterly if I had the energy. Me, the clan fuck-up with the first blood mate in Sanguine in twenty years. It was a huge fucking joke, and I didn’t deserve to take that gorgeous human’s blood.
“No,” I tried to say, but couldn’t even tell if I had a voice. “Not Tavi.”
“Shut the fuck up, Cy. Come here, Octavia. Hurry.”
Oh fuck. She was here. I must have been truly dying if I couldn’t even scent her. I didn’t want her seeing me like this. She cared so much for others. I didn’t want her to care about me.
And yet I craved it. I craved her blood and the scent of her skin, her plush lips against my mouth, my fangs. I craved her arms around me in a hug, on the back of my motorcycle. How fucking pathetic was I, after what I’d done to Kalix, to be dying here and still want the power of this human to save me?
“I’m not sure what to do. We’ve never…”
“Tavi, get out of here.” I moaned at the sound of her voice. Her scent was in my nose now, though I still couldn’t see her. “Get her away from me,” I said as my fangs descended, throbbing with the strongest need for her yet.
“Ignore him. You’re the best chance he has at living. Just put your wrist to his mouth. He’ll do the rest.”
Before I could protest again, the delicate skin of her wrist pulsed against my lips. I didn’t even fight. I was that weak, in spirit and body. Instinct and survival took over, and my fangs sank in.
There was a jerk of her arm but I held fast, and her blood flowing over my tongue made everything right. She was life and vitality, meant to sustain and feed only me in this way.
Her blood, meant only for me.
What a sick, cruel joke.