A Queen Among Blood: Chapter Eight - Yildiz
“You’re very observant for a blind woman,” he says with amusement.
I frown at his comment. “I see more than you think I do, and you’re avoiding my question. Afraid of getting caught out on a lie?” I taunt.
“You need to leave. There’s nothing for you here. Your mission has ended, so return home and forget all that happened today,” he says in a hard voice.
“You can’t be serious,” I say in bewilderment.
“Was there something in my tone that screamed ‘joke’ to you?” he asks in annoyance.
“Don’t you know who I am to you?” I ask sadly, stepping closer.
“I know exactly who and what you are, and I can promise it’s something I intend to fix,” he says in a hard voice. I step back recoiling from his words as if I’ve been slapped. Indescribable pain lances through me, and I feel an unfamiliar tightness in my chest.
“Are you saying you don’t want me?” I whisper, trying to keep the hurt out of my voice.
I hear his sharp intake of breath, “Your mother has made a grave mistake and I intend to fix it. I don’t know why she would do something so cruel to you. Perhaps she got bored,” he says offhandedly.
“My mother does not make mistakes,” I say in a strong voice. I don’t like how he’s speaking about her.
“You can’t be that gullible and naïve. I thought irshiusts were better than that,” he says, a tone of disappointment in his voice.
Oh, now I’m pissed. I launch myself at him, pinning him to a nearby tree with my forearm against his chest. The force of both our bodies caused the tree to crack and the impact of my body connecting with his sent a shockwave of pain through my arm. I think it's broken. Fortunately, the contact from our bond is soothing the ache in my arm.
“You’ve just met me and don’t know anything about me, and your first assumption is I’m gullible and naïve because I say my mother does not make mistakes. I never said she was infallible, no one is, not even the Gods. But her gift to see whose hearts belong together is not something I question because she is never wrong. It is her gift; it is what defines her and that I trust explicitly. So don’t make assumptions about me before getting to know me and do not insult my mother in my presence,” I say in a strong forceful voice.
With incredible ease, he pulls my arm from his chest, the pain in my arm vanishing entirely as his large hand wraps around my arm while he gently pushes me back, “Seems there’s a first time for everything. Whatever she hoped for us, will not be. I won’t allow it,” he says, walking away from me, leaving my heart aching worse than my arm. Actually, my arm doesn’t hurt at all now.
“Will you at least tell me your name?” I ask, refusing to let him hear the pain in my voice.
He sighs, “Osiah. My name is Osiah, and the sooner you’re free of your bond to me, the better your life will be.”
Before I can say anything, he vanishes, leaving me feeling dejected and alone. I have no idea how to find him or if I’ll ever see him again. All I have is a name and a lingering scent to remind me he’s even real. Actually, it seems I have more than that. Even though he’s gone, there are wisps of his aura still lingering around me wherever he stood. I’ve never seen that before. No one’s aura does that, not even the Gods.
I find a large rock and perch myself on it and think over everything that’s just happened. A simple mission to handle rogue sanguidae turned into me finally meeting my animai and it was not at all how I hoped it would be. My animai is a sanguidae, the very first sanguidae in fact. He has God-like attributes, such as the fact he’s stronger than me and can teleport beings and my sword was no match for him.
If he is the first sanguidae, then how did he come into creation? Was he made by a God like all supernaturals, and if so, why? Is this why the origins of sanguidae were hidden from us? Was it my destiny to understand their origins by being fated to the progenitor of their species? I stand by my words, I do not believe my mother makes mistakes, but I have to wonder what the hell she was thinking when she did this.
I at least thought when I met my animai he would be happy to meet me, that he would hold me and claim me as his. Instead, he called our pairing a mistake and said he’s going to fix it. It’s like he couldn’t get away from me fast enough and the pain that causes me is excruciating. If he doesn’t want me, then why didn’t he just reject me? Somehow meeting my animai has brought with it more questions than answers and unexpected pain. If I have any hope of getting to the bottom of this then I need help, and only one person can help me. I need to reach out to my mother for answers. She made this bond, so if anyone can give me guidance it’s her.
I have no idea how long I’ve been perched on this rock, as my mind became nothing but a storm of questions and worries, but thankfully I’m pulled from my thoughts when I can hear fast-approaching feet and a familiar comforting scent.
“What did I miss?” asks Beste as her glittering coquelicot aura comes into my line of sight.
“A lot,” I say, rubbing my face.
“Yildiz? Are you alright?” she asks, coming and kneeling before me, resting her hands on my knees, “You look drained. Are you hurt?” she asks, looking me over.
I shake my head, “Not physically. It’s a long story, but the sanguidae will no longer be a problem,” I explain.
“I can tell they were here, but where are they now?”
“I don’t know, but I know they’re being handled. I’ll explain on the way home,” I say, getting to my feet, “How did everything go with that venator?”
She stands with me, “I may have done something a little dishonest,” he says cheekily.
“Oh?” I ask curiously.
“The mutolupus turned out to be from the Tane-rore Pack.”
I blink in surprise, “He’s a long way from home, they’re based all the way in Rotorua.”
She nods, “He was visiting friends. Unbeknownst to him a venator had been following him since he left his pack and had been waiting to get him alone,” she says with disdain.
“Was he badly hurt?”
“Nothing he won’t recover from,” she assures me, “As for the venator, well… let’s say I got a little creative.”
I stop and cross my arms, “Beste, what did you do?” I ask sternly.
She chuckles, “Knocked him out and placed him with the corpses we found. I was sure to make it look like he did it. Two birds, one stone. The authorities will have their killer and questions answered and there’s one less venator going around murdering supernaturals,” she says proudly.
I shake my head, “That’s cold. Brilliant, but cold.”
She throws her head back and laughs, slinging her arm around my shoulders, “Then I am a brilliant ice queen. Now, tell me what happened with the sanguidae.”
“You’re going to want to brace yourself for this.”