Apprentice of Death

“Ready a patrol! Bring me my horse!” Adrian shouted.

“I’m coming with you!” shouted Cinder, worried about Lizzy and Mark.

“No!” he yelled back, running to meet the soldier bringing up his horse, a Prowess. “Stay here, Cinder. That is an official command,” he gave her a fiery look that communicated clearly that she was to stay without question.

“Sebastian!” Adrian called to him while his mount whipped around, preparing to take off, “Send out extra patrols and get the guard to sweep the palace and prison to ensure he isn’t hiding here. Escort Cinder to her room and double the guard. If he is bent on revenge, he could go after her, also.”

The King shouted at his mount and took off, leaving a cloud of dust behind him. Sebastian called for the guard and relayed the King’s instructions. He then turned and took Cinder back to her room, doubling the guard and locking all her doors, including the balcony. After a quick kiss on her pouting lips, he left her to go help with the sweep of the palace.

Cinder paced back and forth in her room for a long time, desperately wanting to leave to help, while her frustration and impatience built up with each pass.

“What good is being trained to fight if I am not allowed?!” she shouted to her empty room, frustrated with being seen as the weak link. She was tired of waiting and decided she was done waiting.

She changed from her dress into some brown leather pants and a white blouse with a green bustier over them. She hid a few knives on her person and put her dagger on a belt over her pants. She put her sword over her back and pulled her hair back to secure it at the base of her neck. She pressed on the door between her and the King’s room, intending to slip out of his door and down the hall if need be.

She checked the room, and it was empty, so she slipped inside and started crossing across to the main doors, so she could slip out and away. Just before she reached them, the doors burst open, and a group of people came rushing in, carrying the King, who was wounded. Jenny was trailing them, ready to help her King.

“What happened?” Cinder shouted at them, running over.

“His Majesty saved Lizzy from Mark’s brother. Mark is also wounded badly; he got the worst of it, and the King only was wounded because he jumped in front of Lizzy to save her at the last second. The Lycan was already in mid-leap, and even a King Alpha’s command wouldn’t have stopped the attack.” They laid Adrian on the bed with his back up and made room for Jenny to come in.

Cinder, however, pushed her way in first, commanding them all, “Leave us!” Jenny shoved her way in next to Cinder.

“Cinder, I need to heal him, please!” Jenny shouted.

“I said leave!” Cinder commanded again. She didn’t look at them again and leaned over Adrian, examining the massive wound on his bare back. He had taken the full hit of the attack, both claws and massive Lycan jaws on his back, tearing it into ribbons of bleeding flesh with an enormous center wound over his shoulder blade where the Lycan’s jaws sunk into him, tearing at him. He was bleeding all over, some organs pierced from behind, and the horrendous wound would be difficult for normal medicine to heal. The damage was severe and possibly debilitating, limiting his range of motion. Cinder could hear Jenny’s mind in deep panic and fear.

Cinder knelt beside Adrian and gently placed her hands on him, meeting his eyes that were half closed with the pain of his shredded back. She pushed as much healing magic out of her as she could and began healing his wounds, doing her best to manage his pain at the same time while Jenny looked on.

Adrian’s eyes drifted close, and his jaw tightened with the pain of the process, taking a deep breath and releasing it. The urgency that it was the King had Jenny almost frantic to help; she moved in small jerks, not knowing where to place her hands or what to do. She sucked in her breath as she saw the vast claw marks on the King’s back and side begin to close.

The mangled flesh on his shoulder blade began sorting itself out; the mangled ribbons of flesh and tendon moved back into their proper places and fused together. It took a few tense minutes of concentration on Cinder’s part, but slowly the wounds healed and closed over, smoothing out and fading to where you couldn’t even tell he had been wounded.

Cinder, at last, opened her eyes and reached out with her hands to his shoulder. Adrian grunted with the pain as she set his shoulder back into its place, and then she fully healed the damage the dislocation had caused; all soreness or need to take it easy being eliminated entirely. She double-checked his organs and infused his system with all the refreshment she could.

Jenny was amazed as the King sat up, completely healed; she had seen Cinder work but never on such a mangled and massive wound before. Cinder reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, looking into his eyes for a second before she turned to Jenny with a stern look. Jenny realized she had disobeyed Cinder and bowed in apology, and backed out of the room where the others awaited.

As she closed the door, Jenny said, “He is fully healed, thanks to Cinder. I must go to the hospital for Mark.”

Adrian rose off the bed inside the room, and Cinder wrapped her arms around his arm. Cinder brought him into his large bathroom and helped him out of his clothes and into the bathing pool. She took a soft sponge and helped him wash off all the blood on his back left over from his wounds, kneeling beside the tub. She felt tears coming to her eyes; the memory of him lying wounded like that bleeding had hit her hard now that the danger was over.

His wet hand came out of the water, reaching back over his shoulder to grip hers that held the sponge, holding it, sighing. He turned and looked up at her for a moment, his feelings of amazement and gratitude there. His eyes softened when he saw the emotion in hers, and he caressed her wrist with his thumb while his eyes held hers with reassurance.

“Go, Cinder. To help, Mark. I’m fine. I’ll be here when you get back. Thank you.” He turned and kissed her before rising from the pool and wrapping a towel around his waist. She didn’t want to leave him, but he gave her a reassuring nod and a soft caress on her cheek.

She turned and rushed from his room, running to the hospital to help Mark. She rushed up to the table he was lying on and was able to fully heal him as well, though he had lost a lot of blood and was going to be weak for a while. His wounds were as bad as Adrian’s had been but were all over; he really had been left for dead by his brother.

Lizzy was terrified that he would die and was overcome with gratitude for Jenny’s and Cinder’s help in saving him. As soon as he was healed, Jenny brought him a blood transfusion from a volunteer wolf to help.

Cinder learned from them that Mark’s brother had been killed by the guard during the attack after the King had saved Lizzy; the King had arrived before them and had just managed to save Lizzy and the baby’s life by diving in front of her to take the attack. Mark had already been left for dead by his brother outside their home.

Cinder left them and returned to check on Adrian, still feeling emotional over the whole thing; seeing him that way had shaken her, and was digging up painful wounds from seeing Garret wounded and bleeding to death in her arms.

She entered through the main doors to his room after being announced and having the doors held for her. They closed the doors after her, and she hurriedly walked across the room toward Adrian. Sebastian was with him, giving him a full report on the sweep of the palace and what he had been told about the prisoner escaping. Some suggestions were made by Adrian on how to avoid this happening in the future.

They were so deep in conversation that they didn’t look at her. Otherwise, they would have seen just how emotional she was feeling. She didn’t care that they were in the middle of talking; she almost ran right up to Adrian and wrapped her arms around him, relieved that he was ok. He returned her embrace, a little surprised and finished talking with Sebastian as he held her. She stayed in his arms, laying her face against his chest, staring at nothing while the image of him bleeding out on his bed haunted her. She swallowed with the emotion and drew in a shaky breath, hugging him tighter. He responded by reaching up to lovingly stroke her head.

Cinder could feel Sebastian’s eyes, and she shyly met his gaze. One look into her eyes, and he knew instantly that she was facing off with old demons; his reassuring gaze brought her a measure of comfort. She nodded that she was alright, and slowly, she calmed.

When the two were done talking, she looked up at Adrian and asked, “Are you ok?”

He looked at her worried face, caressing her, and gently teased, “Are you?” His smile had her laughing a little, nodding her head.

“I guess I did take it harder than you, didn’t I?” she admitted sheepishly. The three of them laughed as she blushed deeper and looked down. Adrian hugged her tighter and rubbed her back, avoiding the scabbard still strapped there. She looked down when she heard his mind sigh at the truth that she would have snuck out.

Her safety was so important to him, and he wanted to do everything he could to protect her, but he wouldn’t be able to do that if she was going to go behind his back and disobey his orders. How to keep her safe when he or Sebastian couldn’t be around her when such situations arose? The King’s mind was considering a few things about security, and the thought of assigning a personal guard to Cinder came to his mind in answer to that question.

Her face shot up to look at his with a scowl as she mentally reacted to his thoughts, “No, Adrian. Absolutely not! I absolutely refuse to accept that!”

She turned and stormed off into her own room, shutting the door behind her with gusto. She could take care of herself and didn’t need to be followed around all of the time by someone or multiple people.

Sebastian was surprised, as he hadn’t heard their interaction, and he turned from looking at the secret door back to Adrian.

“What was that about?” he asked Adrian.

“She was listening to my thoughts on security, and the idea of assigning a guard detail to her specifically came to my mind. I guess she didn’t like the idea,” he laughed in good humor. Sebastian laughed with him, sharing a knowing smile about Cinder’s stubbornness and independence.

“She was preparing to sneak out, you know?” Sebastian asked him. Adrian looked where the hidden door was and nodded with a knowing smile.

“Yes,” he sighed, shaking his head, turning back to Sebastian.

“I’ll talk with her,” offered Sebastian. Both knew this was one area where Sebastian was the right one to approach her.

Adrian nodded to him, saying, “I’ll go meet with the Captain of the guard, the General, and a few others to discuss how to avoid this in the future. You can join me when you’re finished if you have time. Otherwise, don’t worry about it. You’ve got the harder task, so good luck with that. Will you be bringing her to Dominique’s tomorrow, then?”

Sebastian chuckled at Adrian’s comment about facing the more challenging task before them and answered with a smile, “Yes.” The King nodded and left.

Sebastian entered Cinder’s room and found her out on the balcony, gently pounding her fist repeatedly on the railing while she thought, “Come to scold me have you?” He smiled and walked up next to her.

“You could use a good spanking. I think that would do you more good than any scolding ever would. You never did listen well to Sybil’s speeches.” He was only half teasing, and she smiled down at the railing. He continued, “Cinder don’t you understand why? It’s not that we think you are weak or useless in a fight; everything we know of you is the opposite. You scare the crap out of most of the soldiers around here when you put your mind to it.” She laughed, still looking down at the railing she was tapping with her fist. Sebastian continued, “You are strong and powerful but must understand you are also vulnerable. All it would take would be one bite, and you would become a werewolf, no longer a witch. You could still be an Eradicator in some sense as a wolf, but you would succumb to the same curse as the rest of us. You would no longer be able to help as you can now. Can’t you understand that?”

She heaved a frustrated sigh. Sebastian was right again, and he grounded her. Her thoughts about what he had said of needing to ‘steel herself’ against the evils floated around in her head, and she let him hear them.

“Cinder, I meant for you to ‘steel’ your mind, harden it against the evils you would see. Not recklessly endangering yourself to prove something. A good warrior and Eradicator will know when to fight, and when you stand down from a fight, you can’t win. You could never win against an infectious bite.” She sighed again, this time in the defeat of his wise words.

She looked at him sheepishly and said, “I’m sorry, Sebastian. You’re right, as usual.”

He heaved a sigh and gave her a mildly irritated scowl, thinking, “If you really believed that, you would listen to me more often.” She laughed out loud this time.

He sighed with a patient irritation and came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. He rubbed his cheek against hers while they watched the sunset light the skies with pinks and oranges.

“What do I do with the evil I have to serve, Sebastian? How do I handle that and ‘steel’ my mind against Dominique? I care about those people trapped in there that he uses and kills. Little innocent Lucy, and then there’s Sean, a man who hasn’t lived enough life or known the best things that life has to offer. How do I fight against that evil when I have to watch every day the light fade from their eyes, one by one?”

This time Sebastian didn’t have an answer for her. He just nuzzled her neck in comfort as the night finally took hold of the skies. She reached behind her to run her fingers through his hair, making him murmur and turn his face into her neck to kiss her.

Her private thoughts wandered to the fact that he didn’t know what the Oracle had said or how the evils she faced would one day claim her. Adrian had figured it out because she hadn’t been careful enough, and now he had to bear the burden of that awareness in silence. Sebastian, however, still believed he had a lifetime with her, and that thought brought a grimace of guilt to her face right before her face transformed to one of pleasure at his kiss.

She turned her face to his and kissed him, holding him to her lips with her grip on the back of his head. She released his lips to look into his glowing, yellow eyes. She turned around in his embrace and continued kissing him while they backed into her bedroom and fell on her bed.

She smiled down at him from his chest, sweeping his hair out of his face, thinking, “I’ll always love you, Sebastian. No matter what happens in our future, remember that.” His beautiful smile came to his face as he brushed her hair back from her face and held it there, so he could look at her.

“Cinder, I love you so much. I couldn’t imagine my life without you,” he thought, looking at her.

She hid the grief his words brought her well, bending down to kiss his lips with a slow-burning need, driven by the secret she held within, knowing that every moment could be their last. She wasn’t about to waste it, so she pulled his livery collar over his neck, tossing it to the far end of her bed. The subtle glow in his eyes intensified as he touched her bare thighs, caressing them.

He reached up, started unlacing her bustier, and tossed it off the bed once she was free. She straddled him and looked at him with her glowing yellow eyes, his exact shade, as she ran her hands over his bare chest and stomach. His tickling fingers reached under her blouse to find her skin, sending shivers down her spine.

He loved looking into the mirror of his own eyes as he slowly drew her blouse up over her head, sweeping her long black hair to the side as he threw it on the floor. His hands slid up her waist, loving the feeling of her soft skin under his palms, running them up her back as he looked at her beautiful curves. His smoldering look examined her with a possessiveness that she loved in him; he never let her forget that she was his.

Slowly he pulled her down to his mouth, kissing her on her neck for a moment before pulling her over him, taking her breast into his hot mouth, eliciting a gasp from her. He sucked and teased her with his mouth, as his hands slid down her back to squeeze her backside, holding her to him as she sighed her pleasure. She gasped and then moaned when he switched sides, raking her hands up into his thick black hair as she laid her face on the top of his head, panting with pleasure.

His hands reached around and undid her pants, pushing them down just enough to slip his fingers inside to tease and work her up. He had her panting so much she could barely draw a breath until she felt her body lock up right before she melted into him with a moan when the wave of pleasure broke out over her. She lay on him, drowning in it, while he removed her pants, tossing them to the side. She lifted her head and looked down into his glowing eyes; his face nestled in the curves of her breasts.

She watched through lidded eyes as his tongue snaked out to lick a hot wet pattern over the curve of one, making her sigh again. His hands slid back up her thighs to her butt, and he squeezed her while he smiled at her, a flame burning in his illuminated eyes. With a quick jerk, he slid her up his body to his mouth, thrusting his amazing tongue into her heat, driving her instantly to a throbbing need. He sucked on her, and she cried out and then moaned his name.

“Sebastian,” she panted, begging him, “Please.” His mouth didn’t stop his torturous assault of pleasure on her system, making her reach behind her, leaning back onto her arms as she moaned through the intense building need. She begged him again, “Please, Sebastian.”

He dropped his head to the bed, caressing her thighs and waist with his large warm hands as he replied, “Tell me, Cinder.” She knew what he wanted, but her words got cut off by a deep moan when his mouth returned to her, thrusting and sucking and twirling its magic. Her head fell back, and her elbows almost gave out with it.

“Say it, Cinder,” he breathed over her.

“I’m yours, Sebastian. I want you to make me yours,” she breathed, still panting.

His hands on her hips lifted her with an ease that would have disturbed her if she wasn’t used to his inhumane strength sliding out from under her. She sat back on her ankles, trembling on her bed with need, listening to him shuck the rest of his clothes behind her.

Her hair was gently but firmly pulled on, angling her head back right as his mouth possessed hers, his hard body sliding onto the bed behind her. He released her mouth to nip his way down her neck as he pulled her back up against him, with an arm below her breasts. His mouth was everywhere, all over her neck, licking, sucking, nipping, and kissing her; his hot breath and swirling tongue over her sensitive skin sent twinges of pleasure down her body to pool between her legs.

“Sebastian,” she pleaded her need again.

“What, Cinder? What do you want?” He jerked her up so they were kneeling on the bed, her head falling back against his shoulder as he continued kissing her neck from behind.

“I want you to make me yours,” she moaned out.

He gently bit her on her neck, as she felt him rubbing at her entrance right before a strong and quick thrust claimed her, making her gasp and then moan. Her hand reached up behind her to fist his black hair as his arms held her to him so he could withdraw and claim her again, over and over, as she moaned his name.

He was sucking on her ear and, in a breathy whisper, asked, “Are you mine, Cinder?” With another thrust of his hips, he filled her to completion, waiting for her answer.

“Yes,” she whispered. She heard his possessive growl, and he gently bit her neck again, moving inside, hitting her right where she needed to push her heavenward. Over and over until she was right on the edge, one stroke away from total abandon.

“I love you,” he thought for her on his final thrust before her mind was lost to the white-hot, blinding orgasm that had her screaming her pleasure.

His continued thrusts drove it onward until he gently bit her neck again when he came within her, breathing through his own pleasure as he held her to him with his arms and teeth. He released her, and they collapsed onto her bed together, falling into a deep sleep in one another’s embrace. She was his and would be until the day she died.

The following morning they awoke early, and Sebastian returned to his room to change. Cinder put on a black and red dress and put her hair up in tight ringlets pinned to the back of her head in a beautiful updo. Cinder felt Sebastian’s mental sight of adoration at her beauty when he returned from his room for her. She turned to him with a smile, stealing his breath. He walked up to her and pulled her up from her vanity bench to him so he could kiss her.

“You’re lucky you have to go to work, or I’d ask for one of those days off, to just lock ourselves in this room all day,” he thought for her, making a pleased blush rise to her cheeks. He reached out and stroked the blush, giving her another kiss.

“Are you ready?”

“As much as I can be. I’ll never feel ready to go there but let’s go,” Cinder smiled. He took her hand, and they walked down to receive their horses, mounting up to ride to the Keep.

When they were almost there, Cinder heaved a sigh, looking so down about it all that Sebastian felt it pulling at his heart.

He leaned over in the saddle before the gates opened and planted a quick kiss on Cinder’s lips, saying, “You can do this, Cinder. I know it’s hard, but you are strong. Be safe, and I’ll be back to pick you up.” Another quick kiss, and then he rode off, as the gates opened and she entered the Keep.

Cinder’s thoughts were focused on the prisoners that she would go and heal while she waited for her escort; who would die today? Her escort arrived, and they walked toward the prison and entered it; the dark, dank room filled with the scent of death and decay felt overwhelming to her.

From above, Dominique watched everything from the window of his bedroom in a tower of the Keep’s Castle. He had seen the stolen kisses and was seething with anger; he knew immediately that they had hidden their relationship from him from the beginning. A Bondmate was one thing, but a Bondmate who was also her lover would be much harder to displace willingly. The stakes for the game of gaining power using her had just gone up in his mind.

This deception could only stem from one place; Celeste. Celeste had undoubtedly had them hide their relationship from him, which made him wonder what else Cinder was hiding from him at her instructions. His anger burned even hotter at the thought; they thought they could outsmart him. Feeling angry always made his eyes flame deep crimson. Feeling angry always made him feel hungry. Dominique’s hunger for blood overwhelmed him, and he slowly walked down toward the prisoner’s room to select a meal.

Inside the prison, Cinder quickly healed a couple of men that were slowly bleeding out, and then she checked on Lucy, who was weak but recovering. She then worked her way over to Sean to also check on him. She examined him with her magic and could feel his terrible weakness. He needed more time to recover before he was fed on again, or he would die like he wanted.

It had taken her nearly two weeks to recover from the last time Dominique had taken too much of her blood; she didn’t know how any prisoners could survive for so long. But then again, they weren’t witches with magic in their blood like her. Dominique probably had more control when he fed on them.

Sean looked at her, and she met his eyes, trying to hide her emotional state from him. She leaned over him and took his dirty, bearded face in her hands to gently look into his eyes to see how the pupils reacted.

“Hey, witch,” he greeted her with the faintest of smiles. “You gonna let me die next time?” She ignored him and looked at his eyelids for an indicator of how his anemia was doing. His body was on the verge of giving out, making her want to cry. She wore a pained expression while looking at him. He smiled weakly at her and ran a thumb across her cheek, thinking, “That bad, huh? Sounds like good news to me, witch.” She looked into his eyes, upset that he was happy about it.

“Sean, please don’t think things like that,” she almost sobbed into his mind. She couldn’t bear the thought of him dying; she cared about him too much, even if he didn’t want her to.

“Why not, witch? It will only mean it’s finally over, and the horror can end for me. What does it matter anyway?” She sighed, dropping her head a little, before she looked back up at him with such a deep sadness in her eyes that he was surprised; no one had ever looked at him like that before.

“It matters to me, Sean,” she cried in his mind as tears flooded her beautiful violet eyes, slipping over the lids to roll down her cheeks, dripping from her jaw onto him. She was crying for him again, and he didn’t have a smart reply for once. He looked at her, studying her intensely, slowly bringing his closed fist up to wipe her tears away with his thumb. No one had ever cried for him, over him before, and it did strange things to his heart to see her so broken for him.

“Why, witch?” She started crying for real, laying her forehead on his jaw as she shook with sobs.

Her answer tasted of pure grief as she thought, “You matter to me, Sean. Can’t you understand that I care about you? I care what happens to you. No one else may know your name, but I do. No one else may know of your passing, but I would. Sean, you might not matter to anyone else, but you matter to me.”

He drew in a breath at her words, tears, and genuine grief. As an assassin, he had never been permitted to feel, but hearing her words and feeling the truth of them, along with her pain, exhumed his heart. For the first time in his life, he felt the uncomfortable and unfamiliar stirring of emotions deep within. He breathed deeply and slowly brought his arms up to hesitantly hold her to him, comforting her while he felt his heart beating with the new sensation of feeling something.

This is how Dominique found them when he burst into the prison, making Cinder suck in a gasp and quickly pull away from Sean, wiping at her tears to hide them. Dominique was already angry at her for kissing Sebastian, and seeing her caring for a prisoner had him tipping over the edge.

“I’ll take him,” he said to his servants while pointing at Sean.

“No!” Cinder shouted, “He is too weak. You’ll kill him!”

“Well, I guess it will be the last time I feed on him. Prepare a grave and bring him,” he coldly stated to his attendants.

“No!” Cinder moved in front of Sean and pushed the attendants back with her magic. She looked at Dominique pleading with her eyes but only received a cruel smile in return.

She looked down at Sean, who met her eyes and gave her a nod, thinking, “It’s my time, Cinder. It’s ok. At least one person will remember me.” She shook her head back at him and looked back at Dominique in desperation, thinking about what she could do.

Dominique stepped closer to Sean, and Cinder’s arm shot out, preventing him from getting closer to Sean, her mind making a snap decision.

“Feed on me instead,” she offered, turning her head ever so slightly to expose her neck. She could feel Sean’s shock.

Dominique’s eyes lit up in hunger and pleasure. He had found a hold over her, and he knew it. She had started to care about the prisoners, just like he had hoped she would, and he would use it to exploit her. She closed her eyes and swallowed as he walked up to her.

“As you wish,” he whispered when he got close to her. He grabbed her arms and pulled her up against him. She was trembling in fear but turned her head to the side, exposing her neck as she looked at Sean.

Sean shook his head at her to stop, thinking, “No, witch. Don’t do it; just let him take me. I’m not worth this.”

That sad look came to her eyes again, and she mentally whispered, “Yes, you are, Sean.”

She turned her face to Dominique, whispering, “Well?” He brought a hand to the back of her neck and lowered his deathly-cold lips to her neck.

As Dominique was about to bite down on her, Sean reached out with a manacled hand and pulled him from her. Dominique back-handed him, and Sean slumped over on the table, too weak and close to death to fight back. Dominique turned back to her and jerked her neck to him.

Sean met Cinder’s frightened eyes, holding her gaze with his green eyes as Dominique’s lips covered her neck. She reached out and held Sean’s hand for courage, squeezing it as Dominique’s fangs pierced her flesh. A tear slid down her face as Dominique fed from her. The magic in her blood had him losing control again, and he tightened his grip on her, drawing even more from the bite.

"Witch!” Sean shook her arm, which was going limp as she sagged in Dominique’s arms.

“You’re killing her, Demon!” Sean shouted at Dominique.

That was enough to snap Dominique out of his ecstasy and withdraw from her. Her eyes had closed, and she lay limp in his arms, her arms and head hanging back, unmoving. Dominique wanted to turn her then, but if he didn’t have a bond with her before he did, she would be more powerful than him. He needed the hold over her first before he could turn her.

He smiled wickedly at Sean and half dragged Cinder out of the door, throwing her up on her horse. The gate was opened, and with a slap, her horse went out the gate and started running home. Dominique had lost control again but looked forward to the day that she was a vampire queen and he could drain her repeatedly.