Chapter 7 #2
Vander went on, “I led a rescue mission once. We found a hidden prison for hundreds of humans they’d captured.
They slowly drain their prisoners over time.
They feed the people and give them water but only enough to keep them breathing.
I don’t know how long this group had been there, but most of them were nothing more than skin and bone.
It was worse than you can imagine, the gaunt faces, the sallow, ashen skin, the empty eyes.
I kept wondering how they were still alive.
How their organs hadn’t shut down. Half of them couldn’t stand, let alone walk.
We carried the youngest ones, as many as we could, but there were only thirty of us.
The climb out of the canyon was too much for some.
A few fell or slipped... daywalker vampires caught up to us just as we reached the crest of this hill. ”
My stomach felt hollow.
“It was a bloody fight. I lost five, but we killed most of them, the others retreated back to Nocturnus. So many of those that we’d gotten out were slaughtered.
.. just when they’d tasted freedom. I’ll never forget this young girl, thirteen at most, who held my hand as she took her last breath.
‘Thank you for letting me see the sun one last time,’ she whispered.
Her dress was tattered and dirty, but it was blue with little yellow daisies.
Her mother was amongst the ones we saved.
Her screams haunt my dreams sometimes.” His voice lowered.
“I heard she took her own life a few weeks after we brought her back to Nighthaven.”
My throat tightened, and I closed my eyes.
“I didn’t know they did that. Capture and.
.. drain people, I mean,” I said softly.
The soil of the wildflowers dancing in the breeze of this meadow was stained with the blood of innocents.
I didn’t know that the ducai saved humans either.
They did more for us outside the wall than I realized.
“They call these captured humans and ducai blood bags or sources.” He spit in disgust.
“You said all vampires aren’t like the wildlings... They’re worse. At least the wildlings don’t torture people until they wither away and die.”
There was a deep sorrow behind those bright blue eyes, as if pain was slashed into his memory, as if he could drown in it. “We need to head back. As soon as the sun goes down, these hills will be crawling with vampires.”
The pace on the way was casual. He took time pointing out landmarks so I could find my way again.
An ancient oak tree with thick, curling branches and what almost looked like a face in the trunk.
A towering waterfall that cascaded over red rocks, with moss peppering most of the surfaces.
He called it Silver Falls. We stopped for a drink out of the rushing Thalassa River that ran to the sea.
Beside it was a circular set of standing stones.
Each was a different shape and size, with weathered carvings in the surfaces.
Moss crawled up the stone in patches and grew in the cracks.
“This is the old Celestial Spire, where the mages used to come during each full moon to draw more power. Or at celestial events like an eclipse. There is now one in Nighthaven called New Celestial Spire.” Vander pressed his palm to the stone closest to him.
“Assassins used to join the warriors to guard them, but now it’s against the law for mages to leave Nighthaven at all. Capture is too much of a risk.”
I brushed my fingertips against the rough stone surface that towered above my head. Something about this place made my chest feel lighter. “Do the ducai consider the mages the most important of the guilds?”
“Everyone has their role of importance, I don’t know if one is considered higher than another.
” He leaned his back against the stone and crossed his arms. “The scholars certainly think they’re the most high, but then again, so do the mages.
Assassins tend to have a superiority complex.
We are the most secretive and therefore draw the most curiosity,” he said with a lift of his shoulder.
“The warriors are loud and hardheaded. They think they’re the strongest.”
“So, every guild thinks they’re the best. What do you think?”
“There’s a reason I chose to be an assassin.”
My brows rose in surprise. “You were able to choose? I didn’t get a choice.”
He let out a deep chuckle. It was the first time I’d heard his laugh, and I found my heart beating faster. “You’re not me.”
“Is arrogance also an assassin trait or is it just you, sir?”
He laughed quietly and pushed off the stone. “Come on, let’s get a drink from the river.”
It was a quick walk from the spires to the river. He stooped and removed his gloves, then pulled his mask down below his chin. He cupped river water in both hands and brought it to his mouth.
I crouched at the edge, my boots sinking into the squishy moss-covered bank.
I felt him watching me. It was probably paranoia, but was he waiting for me to take my gloves off?
He already suspected something was wrong with my left hand.
Seeing it would be all the proof he’d need.
I knew I shouldn’t hide it from him, and I wouldn’t be able to forever, but I pulled my right glove off and dipped one hand into the cool water.
I turned my head slightly. He was watching me. “Can you swim?” he asked.
I breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m a decent swimmer. There’s a small lake near my home. We go there when it’s warm enough. Kace took me and my siblings for the first time a few years ago. It’s a little further than we’re supposed to go.”
“Who is Kace? This isn’t the first time I’ve heard that name.” He slowly stood and leaned against a boulder.
“He’s the chieftain’s son in Neverglade and my friend.”
“He’s the man who approached the stage when you were declared ducai.”
Water spilled over the edges of my palm as I brought it to my chin. How did he know? “Yeah.”
“You told your father you would have said ‘yes’ to him. For what?”
The cool water washed down my throat, and I shook the rest from my palm.
I thought back to the last time I’d gone to the lake, of jumping onto Kace’s bare back, wrapping my arms around his neck.
He dunked us both under, and I let go. When we resurfaced he was inches from me, water rolled in rivulets down his handsome face.
I’d stared into Kace’s rich brown eyes, silently asking him to kiss me.
He leaned forward, our lips almost touched, then my brother jumped in next to us, water splashed over both our heads, ruining the moment.
That part of my life was over now. “It doesn’t matter anymore. ”
“You were going to marry him.” Vander raised a dark brow in question.
He saw too much, but I was going to be stuck at this man’s side for the foreseeable future, so why not get to know each other? “I likely would have.” I stood and slipped my glove back on.
“Is that what you wanted out of your life, Aesira?” The way he said my name was different than anyone else.
He put more emphasis on “seer” in Aesira.
“To marry this man and become the future chieftain’s wife?
To spend your days swimming in lakes, keeping a home, and probably have a couple children? ”
I cleared my throat. That future was all but gone now, like smoke drifting away on a breeze. “I wasn’t really sure what I wanted, but that’s what I would have gotten.”
“I envy that life. The simplicity of it.” He crossed his ankles and watched the river run. The water almost seemed to put him in a trance. “I’m sorry you were taken away from your family and the man you love.”
I guess I did love Kace, although I’d never said that out loud. But was it real romantic love if we’d never even kissed? Part of me wanted to go back to what was familiar, but I would always wonder, what if...
“I think I would have been bored. I always felt like I was made for more. I know that sounds ridiculous. My mother always told me to be happy with the life I was given.”
He turned back with a small smile. “You were made for more, and your life will be far from boring now. You might find yourself wishing for boring.” A rustle disturbed the quiet somewhere behind me.
Vander’s mask was back in place, and he was at my side in a breath.
“It came from that cave over there. Wildlings like to hide in caves.”
I tugged up my own mask. “You think it’s a vampire?” I whispered, heart already drumming in my ears.
“We’re about to find out.”