SWNOVELS Chapter Thirty-Four
Mircea
I stared at myself in the mirror, my entire body felt different, and it wasn’t just from the exhaustion. Vali wasn’t kidding when she said it would be hard to get her to stop; and I had been more than happy to oblige. Although, I wasn’t overly sure if what we did together last night had been a series of events or just one extremely extended one.
I knew what felt different, and that was because right at this moment, I felt calm. It was strange to finally feel safe, to feel like I had a place in our world, because I’d never felt that before. Never had I felt so safe that I could remove my shirt in someone else’s company and let them look at me, just as I was looking at myself now.
When I looked at my body, normally all I saw were my scars. The evidence of what Traian had done to me for years, but now… now I could look at the new scar. The bite on my shoulder that had healed overnight into silver scar tissue, not pink and angry like the rest.
And then there was the mark.
The onyx coloured mark that twisted around my left hand and forearm like trails of vines. The mark that mirrored what had appeared on Vali’s right hand overnight as well, although it was much more obvious on my pale skin compared to her golden umber.
“I see you’ve locked in the bond…” Antanasia’s voice echoed through the room, where all the furniture was still out of place from the events of last night. From when Vali had lost control of the power we shared.
“Yes.” I replied as I looked over to her and saw her eyebrows furrowed as she stood in the open doorway.
“You’re not rushing to put your shirt on.” She said next, and all I responded with was a shake of my head. “I told you that you weren’t unattractive, you didn’t believe me.”
“Well, now maybe I do.” I replied, picking up my shirt from last night and throwing it on.
“And where is your mate?” She asked next as she walked into the room, her arms crossed over her chest as I began doing up my shirt buttons.
“Going to pack her things and make sure Jackson and Marcy are getting ready to go.” I replied. Anne came over to me after I finished buttoning my shirt, and grasped onto my left forearm to draw it closer to her and investigate the new mark.
“Your mother and father claimed each other, Traian was too daft to notice, and their Bond acted differently. It didn’t mark them, because the Bond knew it was too dangerous, but they had scars, barely noticeable to those who didn’t know, but they were there.” She said, her brow furrowed as her ice coloured eyes warmed for just a moment. “She would be very happy for you, they both would.” She added, looking into my eyes.
“Thank you, Anne.” I said as she let go of my hand.
“Although, they would be telling you to have a proper plan for going to Lilith.” Right, that was why she was here. While it was probably just as likely that she had come here to make sure I was ready to leave, which I was, this option made more sense.
“What do you mean?”
“Lilith has been friends with Traian for over a century, I don’t think seeing her will end in our favour.” That was a valid point, and while I had considered it I still thought the benefit outweighed the risk.
“What are you proposing?” I asked, and I watched as those ice eyes turned cold once more.
“Myself and the other two wolves came up with a plan last night while you and Vali were otherwise occupied.” She explained.
“Great.”
“You won’t like it.”
“Even better.”
“Traian likely knows we are going to come for him, that we will be attacking the castle after gaining strength. The issue is that we don’t know what his counter-attack will be, only people inside would know that.” My insides started turning to ice as she spoke, because I had a bad feeling about where this was going.
“Anne-”
“If it comes down to choosing between you and Vali to get to safety or to be imprisoned and try to get information, will you make a choice? And what will your choice be?”
“Get Vali to safety.” I replied without hesitation.
“Why? There has to be a reason behind your decision, not just instinct to protect her but a true reason.” She replied, and I took a second to think. My eyes wandered around the room, seeing the accidental destruction Vali had caused last night. She had no control over the telekinesis I had been trained to use since I showed my power. Without control she was dangerous, especially with how powerful we both were, but if she learned to hone it?
“The way I’ve been trained with my telekinesis, it was always to keep me docile, to make sure I could never use it against my father. But telekinesis is the royal ability because it can be used against every other power.” I said, she nodded. “I can’t use it against my father, l don’t know how. No one knows how anymore. But Vali…”
Vali knew so much about her telepathy. Vampires who had it were only able to read minds and possibly communicate through it, there was no record of knowing how to meld minds or feel what the other person felt right down to physical sensations. But she knew. Vali knew and she’d only had the powers for a handful of years.
“Vali would be able to figure it out, as long as she trained with someone to control it first.” I told Anne, who nodded slowly. “You helped teach me, because the technique is similar for all manipulation powers. You would be able to teach her the basics and she would be able to figure out the rest. And me? I would have the best chance at Bran castle. I’m the only one with the royal power, so they still need me.”
“That was our thoughts as well.” Anne replied, furrowing her brow. “If it does go to shit, Jackson and Marcy both think it’s best to stick by your side and keep you safe.”
“They’ll get killed-”
“The blue moon is almost upon us, Mir, and you let all of the wolves free. Your father needs as many wolves as he can get his hands on for the Hunt, Jackson and Marcy know that. They understand the risk, but don’t want you going in alone, and neither do I.”
“If you three already have this planned out, why are you asking me?” That sinking feeling in my stomach suddenly felt like an anchor being dropped.
“Because, we need you to convince her it’s a good idea. Not beforehand because she will fight against it, we need to keep it secret and instead hope for the best. But if the worst should happen…”
“You need me to convince her to go with you.” My eyes were focused completely on the mark that covered my hand. Less than twelve hours ago I had bitten into Vali’s neck. Less than twelve hours ago we laid claim to each other in a way that was completely irreversible, and now I would have to lie to her?
“Yes.” She replied, even though I didn’t need her to. At least I heard the sad tenor to her voice, it made me realise she wasn’t happy about needing to ask this of me.
Anne had watched me grow up, was there when I was born and was still here now. She’d seen everything Traian did to me, watched the depression I fell into when he killed my mother. This wasn’t just the first time I’d felt at peace, it was the first time she was seeing me this way. It was obvious that it killed her to ask this of me, but for the greater good she had to.
“Okay. If the worst happens, I’ll convince her.”