Apprentice of Death

The following morning Cinder awoke in Sebastian’s arms, snuggled down in the center of his massive four-poster bed. He murmured at her shift and pulled her back to him, lazily nuzzling her neck, kissing her there. She turned in his arms and held his face for a sweet kiss, making him smile on her lips.

“I love you, Sebastian,” she whispered. He opened his eyes and looked at her, smiling.

“I love you too, Cinder.” He caressed her and pulled her in for another kiss. He could stay with her like this all day, but they both knew that she had to leave for Dominique’s in a couple hours, and Cinder had promised to meet Adrian in the inner gardens for one of their morning walks.

The last few days, they hadn’t had them because Adrian had been busy handling business, but the two had started a tradition of going for walks through the gardens; they discussed her insights into others, as well as witch and werewolf society, traditions, knowledge and the various werewolf Kingdoms in existence. If she didn’t hurry, she would be late, and their time would be cut short when she had to leave for Dominique’s.

She kissed Sebastian and slipped from the bed, collecting her gown before walking into her room to change.

She put on a beautiful deep blue gown and used magic to pull her hair back from her face, using a headdress with a sapphire in the center. She left her room and walked to the gardens to see if Adrian awaited her. He usually sent word when he could not meet her, but you never knew; a King had many demands on his time.

She turned a corner of a hall and saw his form slowly walking there as he waited for her, his back turned to her. She smiled and blushed a little when she realized that her heart fluttered when she saw him; it had been days since Cinder had seen him, and she realized that she had missed his company, his presence. He turned when he heard her quiet steps approaching.

His eyes landed on her, traveling the length of her, as she saw him draw in a deep breath that raised his shoulders before he let it out slowly. She smiled at him, and he smiled back, tracking her with his eyes as she walked up to him. When she reached him, his handsome smile made her chest tighten for reasons she wasn’t willing to acknowledge. He offered her his arm, and she took it with another smile of her own, and they fell into step next to one another, starting their slow walk.

“I’m glad you could make it this morning,” she smiled up at him, and he returned the look.

“Yes, it has been some days since we’ve had a chance to see one another. I apologize for that. I’ve been in council meetings with the Alphas for a few days straight, and any free time after them was spent in military strategy meetings in the war room with the General and his officers,” he explained.

“It’s alright, Adrian. I know you’re a very busy man and have many demands on your time. You’re running a kingdom, and you have a lot of pressure on you.”

“Which is all the more reason I was sorry to miss our times together the last few days,” he said softly, meeting her eyes for a moment. She smiled, a slight blush coming to her cheeks that he noticed; his eyes softened as he looked at her. His mind showed how beautiful he found her. She had to look away, down at the stone path they were walking on, feeling shy. She couldn’t love him; she had to fight it for his sake.

“You leave for Dominique’s this morning?” She nodded, still looking down at her feet as they walked, the dread filling her as her eyes watered at the thought of having to go to that place.

Unbeknownst to Adrian or Sebastian, Cinder had been healing herself after almost every visit before exiting the gate because Dominique had grown more and more physically abusive with her. There was rarely a visit to his fortress that didn’t end with her having some wound or bruise somewhere on her body. She had to take it silently and wasn’t allowed to raise her hand against him because of the Apprenticeship laws, something Celeste was working hard to change.

The last time Cinder had been there, he had squeezed the back of her neck while he kissed her, leaving a bruising hand mark on her upper arm where he had held her to him. His cold lips on hers, his breath, and his chilling fingers made her shudder at the thought.

Adrian pulled them up, turning to her, “Cinder?” He had felt her shudder and the resounding trembling.

“It’s just the thought of him and going there,” she whispered, not looking up.

Her eyes slid closed when she felt Adrian’s fingers under her chin, lifting her face to his, so he could look her in the eye. His other large warm hand gently approached her, holding her upper arm. Slowly she opened her eyes and saw that he was studying her, his eyes roving over her face before they narrowed in gentle suspicion.

“What has he done, Cinder?” She sucked in a silent breath as she stared up into Adrian’s magnetic blue eyes, which were fixed on hers.

He knew Dominique, and this foreknowledge was the foundation of the suspicion of the truth in his mind. She swallowed with the emotion of the truth and shut her eyes, turning her face from him. He gently caught her chin between his fingers again and brought her face back up to his.

“Look at me, Cinder,” he thought gently. When she opened her eyes, she saw a depth of wisdom and deep concern for her welfare.

“What has he done, Cinder?” he asked, not looking away.

“Nothing serious. Please, let’s talk of something else.” She sighed, a pained look flashing across her face before she could stop it.

“Tell me, Cinder, please. What has he done?”

She looked away from his eyes again, thinking, “He kisses me sometimes and is rough in his touch, often leaving bruises.” Adrian sighed, and she looked back at him. His eyes were tender and pained as he looked down into hers.

“You’ve been hiding this from us,” he thought gently but not accusing; he was shocked that she would go to such lengths to keep them in the dark.

“I didn’t want anyone to worry. I’ve told Sebastian; he just hasn’t seen it,” she thought back.

“You shouldn’t be hiding it at all, Cinder, even if you think it will hurt Sebastian to see it,” he said.

She looked into his eyes and mentally whispered, “And you.”

His eyes intensified as they looked at her, taking in her thoughts. Her lips parted when his thumb gently moved, the tiniest fraction on her face; almost caressing her as he looked at her. His eyes took in her parting lips and drifted back up to her eyes. His briefest caress was an indulgence for which he immediately chided himself and released her.

She took his offered arm again, and they continued walking while discussing the different werewolf King Alphas.

“You mean to tell me that there are no other good King Alphas?!”

He smiled over at her, replying, “There is one other to the Southwest of here that is an ally; though the King is still very different than I am, he genuinely cares for his people. Unlike the rest of the Kingdoms down South, which are dark, dangerous places with Alpha Kings that could even be described as evil at times. The Kingdom that is Southeast of here, the closest Kingdom to my own, though still a fair distance, is ruled by a Steward who holds the throne until his nephew will ascend. I can only hope his nephew is a better King Alpha than the Steward, though I have heard he is reckless.”

They continued their slow walk onward, caught up in their thoughts until Cinder noticed she was running late. Adrian gave her another lingering look before she turned and left.

She pulled Obsidian up to the great iron gate of the Keep; she had run him almost the entire way to try to arrive on time, but she had failed. The gates were opened for her, and she rode him inside, dismounting and putting him at the hitching post. Her escort was already waiting for her, and she followed him into the prison to the castle’s right.

The door was heaved open for them with a chink of the iron ring as the hinges groaned at the weight of the heavy door. Her escort went to stand to the side of the prison and tune out the world like he usually did, and she started making the rounds, checking on the prisoners.

The little girl, Lucy, was in bad shape again when Cinder found her. She was sleeping, so tired from the loss of blood that she couldn’t remain awake. That suited Cinder because some of the wounds on Lucy would be painful to heal for her; the little girl might just sleep through it if she could numb the pain. She worked over her, and when she was finished, she found a rag and some clean water to clean the little girl’s face, neck, and hands, doting on her a little. She was so innocent, so young. How had she ended up in this horrible place to be used like this by Dominique? He really was a monster.

She healed more prisoners as she made her way around the ones chained to the walls and those suspended in the hanging cages. Tears fell from her eyes as she held the face of an emaciated woman in one cage, watching the light go out in her eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered at the woman’s cold body slumped over in the cage, Cinder’s grief spilling over her eyelids in more streams of hot tears, her heart aching inside her chest at her failure. She swallowed with the emotion of the loss, her face growing hot, her throat aching and swelling from hiding her desire to wail.

She went over to the last few prisoners, healing their neck wounds and doing what she could for them.

She walked to the last table and reached out. He caught her wrist gently, and she looked down into the green eyes of Sean. He had a gruesome wound on his neck, another stab wound, and his other wrist was broken. His foot was also crushed, making her wince at the brutality of his injuries; they were always so much worse than the other prisoners.

Her eyes returned to meet his green ones, and she thought, “Hey, Sean.” He didn’t say anything; he just looked at her, gently holding her wrist.

She gave him a smile, gently placed her other palm on the center of his chest over his tunic, and started pushing her magic into his system, healing his neck wound first to stop the bleeding and the deep stab wound in his back.

He took a deep breath and released her wrist, dropping his chained one to the table with a clunk, still tracking her with his sharp eyes. She reached over to his broken wrist, and her eyes met his again briefly, an apologetic look in them, as she set his wrist; he didn’t move or flinch, which surprised her.

She walked down to the end of the table and touched his foot which was horrible blues and purples. She met his eyes again, hers tearing, and she quickly looked back down to the injury. She placed a hand on his ankle to numb the pain as best she could and settled her palm on his sole, flowing her magic into him while she concentrated.

When she was finished, she opened her eyes and looked back up at him, a single tear slipping from her eye. She saw his eyes jerk to it like he was shocked, but the rest of his face remained unreadable. She wet her lips and reached up to wipe the tear away, looking away, embarrassed.

She got the bucket and rag, fetching some clean water. She sat on the edge of the table Sean lay on and reached out with the rag to clean his dirty hands first, the chain dragging with them as she lifted them from the table, gently washing them. She moved down to his feet and cleaned them, returning to sit close to his upper body on the table so she could clean the grime from his face. Cinder gently swept his long matted hair from his face, so Cinder could clean him; his overgrown hair and beard obscured most of it. She rinsed out the rag in the bucket, wringing it with her hands, and turned toward him again.

As she reached up with the rag, he again caught her wrist in his, his eyes staying on hers, studying hers. She held his gaze quietly for a long moment, thinking about him. She blinked when his other fist reached up to her face, making her flinch for a second and close her eyes, bracing for a hit. When it didn’t come, she opened her eyes and looked at him, trembling. Very slowly, as he held her gaze, his fist reached up, and then his thumb slowly trailed across her cheekbone, wiping away a tear that she hadn’t realized had fallen.

“He hits you, doesn’t he?” Sean asked in his thoughts. She looked away from his green eyes, looking down momentarily until she felt his fist drop back down to the table with a clunk. She swallowed and tried to bring the rag to his face again. This time he let her, releasing her wrist but keeping his eyes on her. She gently cleaned what she could, maneuvering the rag around his beard and matted hair. Her eyes met his again, and she paused, looking at him.

“Does he hit you often?”

She looked back at her rag and wrung it out again. She then moved the rag down Sean’s neck, cleaning off the grime and blood. She caught the tiniest glimpse of the black flame tattoos he seemed to have over his entire body as she cleaned him.

His green eyes were trained on her, not leaving her face as she focused on her work, refusing to look him in the eye, trying to avoid his perceptive questions. He reached up and captured her wrist again, drawing her eyes to his as he studied her quietly.

She looked into his eyes for a long moment when she realized she couldn’t hear his thoughts all the time; it shocked her. How strange. She had never encountered another person that she couldn’t hear their thoughts without them being a witch who was actively using magic to block her out of their mind.

“Well, witch?” he asked again, holding her gaze with his.

A small amused smile crept onto her face and faded as she asked, “Does he feed on you often?”

He drew a deep breath, thinking, “As often as possible.” She gave him a look that made it clear that was all he would get out of her on the subject.

She put the rag back in the bucket now that he was clean and started making the rounds to give the prisoners water, holding their faces for them as they drank. She helped the little girl sit up just long enough to drink what she could before laying her back down on the table to sleep again.

She returned to Sean and reached out to help him drink, one hand supporting his head while the other held the cup to his lips. He drank, his eyes staying on her, even as she lowered his head back to the table gently. She gave him a kind smile and again brushed some of his hair that had fallen in his face to the side.

She jumped and stood up off of his table when the jail door burst open; Dominique entered, glaring at her. She sucked in a breath, her eyes widening in fear as she took in the anger and violence in his mind.

“You’re lucky I was with an important client earlier today when you arrived, Cinder! You know better than to be late!”

“I’m sorry, Dominique, I-” she started, but he flashed up to her at vampire speed, and a hard slap with his iron hand sent her flying. Her face was on fire from the stinging slap of his ice-cold hand, his granite skin crashing into her cheekbone, making her eye feel like it would explode as she fell through the air. The slap was so hard it sent her sailing into the side of Sean’s table, the side of her forehead hitting the sharp edge as she collapsed to the floor.

She lay on her side, unmoving for a long moment, shaking and trying not to pass out completely, as her vision swirled and went black. She did her best to lift her body up on her arms, her head still hanging as she felt the thick hot blood gushing down her face, preventing her from opening her right eye. A small gasp of pain escaped her, despite her efforts to remain silent. She reached up with her right hand to put pressure on the throbbing wound and oozing blood with every beat of her heart. Her whole body shook from the aftermath of the trauma as she slowly stood, leaning on the table so she wouldn’t fall again.

She opened her one eye to see Dominique’s eyes lit up red as he looked at her blood. He hissed, bearing his fangs, and leaned over her. His right hand went to the back of her neck, and he jerked her against him with his cold grip of death. His other hand grabbed her right wrist and drew her hand away from the wound, releasing the flow of blood once more. She saw his eyes glow even brighter at the sight of it.

He leaned toward her, and she leaned away, turning her face from him in an attempt to put some distance between the two of them. His hand on the back of her neck painfully grabbed her jaw, jerking her face back to his. An evil smile spread on his lips as he looked at her, slowly leaning closer over her.

His tongue passed his lips, and he slowly licked a line of blood off her face, from chin to forehead, stopping just below the bleeding wound. He pulled back just as his tongue, coated in her blood, returned to his mouth; his eyes blazing with her magical blood entering his system. He looked over at her hand that he held, which was covered in her own blood. He drew her fingers up to his lips and slid one into his mouth to suck on it as he watched her reaction to him.

He slowly slid the finger from his lips and angled his head to kiss her; she didn’t move. She just closed her eyes and waited until he was finished, ending with another lick to her face he held.

“Make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he whispered in a deadly tone. Cinder closed her eyes and nodded. He released her and turned, heading to the exit of the prison.

Before he left, he shot out over his shoulder, “Leave; I have to go somewhere and don’t want you here when I am not present.” The door clanked shut, making her wince.

Her hand returned to her forehead, and she swayed dangerously, feeling dizzy. Her knees gave out, and she collapsed, heading for another hit on the table when a strong pair of hands caught her and held her up. Her one eye opened to see Sean looking at her with concern in his green ones while he supported her, lying on his side on the table.

She managed to get out a weak smile and nod, saying, “Thank you.” More tears slipped down her face, mixing with the blood. Sean reached out again with a closed fist and wiped at them with his thumb, not saying a word. “I have to go,” she grogged through her emotion. “Try to get some rest, Sean.”

She turned and fled the prison, running over to her horse. She had to let go of the head wound to mount up on her horse, but as soon as she was back on him and riding out the gate, her hand again went to her forehead to slow the flow of blood gushing from the head wound. She could feel it running down her face and neck, soaking into her dress at the bustline.

She had to escape Dominique and the Keep, escape him and the terror, so she ran her horse through the forest, still feeling dizzy and light-headed. She didn’t slow Obsidian until she reached the ravine to the Kingdom. She was still trying to manage the pain and knew she needed to lie down. It would be hard to heal herself when she was so dizzy; it was all she could do to stay on her horse.

Cinder needed to see Jenny; until she could think and focus, she wouldn’t be able to heal herself very well, and she needed blood flow to stop. She knew she was a gruesome sight with blood all over her as she rode back to the palace. She heard more than one gasp on her way through the trade center.

She rode into the courtyard and dismounted. With a shocked look on his face, an attendant came up to her for her horse.

“Cinder!” she looked over to see Tristan leaving his patrol, running up to her. “Cinder, what happened!?” This was the first he had seen of Dominique’s cruelty to her.

“Help me to the hospital? I fear I may fall or faint, Tristan,” she said.

He caught her as she wobbled and wrapped an arm around her waist, walking her toward the hospital wing.

“Call for Sebastian!” he ordered a soldier before she could stop him.

He helped her to the hospital and called for Jenny, who came running when she saw Cinder. Jenny showed them over to an examination table. Tristan lifted Cinder up and sat her on the table, moving back so Jenny could look at Cinder’s wound. She held a fresh compress to Cinder’s forehead, applying pressure. Cinder and Tristan turned when they heard some people coming down the hallway.

Sebastian, the soldier, and King Adrian all came at a fast pace toward them, Sebastian breaking into a run when he saw her.

“Jenny, I need to lie down, or I might pass out,” she said. Jenny gave her a nod and helped her lie back just as Sebastian reached them.

He came around the table on the opposite side of Jenny, clearly worried about her. She reached up for him, and he caught her hand in both of his, bringing it to his face, rubbing the back of it against his cheek, before planting a kiss on it and then returning it to his face.

“Cinder, what happened!?” he asked her. His golden eyes were so pained as he looked at her, full of worry. Her eyes traveled around her to look at everyone present.

Sebastian noticed and asked the guard, “Give us some privacy?” He nodded, saluted, and left. Tristan made to leave, but Cinder called him back before closing her eyes from the ache in her head.

“I was late, and Dominique struck me in his anger, causing me to hit one of the prisoner’s tables when I fell,” she explained. “It looks worse than it is, I’m sure. It’s a head wound, and they bleed a lot. I’ll be right as new after I heal myself,” he smiled up at Sebastian.

He looked at her and said, “This isn’t right, Cinder. You need to go to Celeste’s as soon as you’re healed. Tonight even or tomorrow at the latest. There has to be something that can be done about this. Dominique is getting increasingly violent with you, and it’s taking its toll.” She sighed, looking up into his eyes, moving her knuckles to his face to caress him lightly.

“Sebastian is right, Cinder,” Adrian said, drawing her gaze. She sighed and looked down.

“There, I’ve stopped the bleeding. Let’s get you cleaned up a little, shall we?” Jenny smiled at her, trying to be positive. Cinder nodded at her, and Jenny left to fetch some clean water and a rag.

“I’m serious, Cinder,” Sebastian said. She wanted to argue with him, but she could feel their bond flexing; their connection almost pulsed for a second. He was speaking as her friend but also as her Bondmate at that moment. She sighed and nodded, closing her eyes.

“I’ll go tomorrow morning, first thing, as long as Adrian is alright with that?”

Cinder opened her one clean eye to look at him, and he nodded, saying, “I insist.” She smiled at him, and he smiled back; she could see the deep concern in his as he looked at her.

Jenny returned and cleaned up as much blood as possible, improving Cinder’s appearance significantly. The wound wasn’t terribly large but was decently deep, which was part of why it had bled so bad, being on her head. She would need stitches if she wasn’t going to heal herself.

“Come on; I’ll take you to your room. You’ll be more comfortable there. Is Cinder free to go, Jenny?” Sebastian asked. Jenny nodded at him, her face still a mask of concern for her friend.

Sebastian lifted Cinder into his arms, cradling her to his chest, and slowly walked her down the corridors to her room. Adrian followed them and sat down on the corner of her bed. Sebastian laid Cinder down but slid onto the bed next to her, gently holding her. His mind was grieved for her, wishing he could take it on himself. She closed her eyes, and all she could see was Dominique’s red eyes, his tongue covered in her blood, and his fangs so close to her; she shuddered with the memory.

“Cinder, what else happened? You rarely have that look on your face without some sort of horror story that put it there. What else did Dominique do?” She is wretched when remembering how Dominique had licked her wound and smiled at her with blood dripping from his mouth.

She closed her eyes and showed Sebastian and Adrian all that had happened with Dominique, from jumping off Sean’s table until she had arrived in the palace courtyard. Both of their eyes lit up in anger at the recounting.

Cinder closed her eyes and concentrated on her wounds, calling on her magic to heal her body now that she had rested and didn’t feel faint. Both men watched her wound come together and sealed over, turning pink and fading completely like it had never happened. The bruise on her wrist also healed and vanished from their sight. Cinder focused on her head again and made sure everything was all right before she sat up.

“You’re sure you’re alright, now?”

“Yes. I’ll be alright now. I should probably bathe and change, but I’ll be fine.”

“Are you going to want to come to dinner?”

“Probably not; I’ll just eat something here in my room and take it easy,” Cinder said.

“Alright, I have to work on some things for the upcoming Summer Solstice bonfire, so I’ll be working late, but I’ll come to check on you when I’m done.” She nodded at Sebastian. He kissed her and caressed her face, rising to slip out of her door, Adrian following him with a backward glance. Adrian’s thoughts showed he would also come and check in with her in a little while, making her blush.