Chapter 91 Melted Bonds
❀ Maeve ❀
When I pushed off the ground abruptly, Jessica startled.
She’d sat beside me throughout my breakdown, saying nothing. She hadn’t even touched me, and I was grateful for it.
She stood as I did, clasping her hands in front of her, her back straight at attention.
I swallowed to calm my raw throat, blinking my dry eyes. I’d cried the moisture out.
“Who is the keeper of the grounds?”
She started to speak, but I cut her off.
“Inform them of the damage and nothing else. I want this,” I waved my arms around the destroyed building, “repaired as fast as possible.”
“Yes, your grace. Right away.”
She turned to leave, her purple cloak rustling over broken glass and blood.
“Wait,” I called.
She stopped and faced me, expression eager to serve.
I wondered if she’d ever seen Drusilla cry.
“Direct me to the beach first.”
With a nod, she turned around again, and I followed.
Avoiding sites with pooled blood and wrecked plants, she led us out.
The sun shone brilliantly in the sky. I turned up my face, enjoying the warmth.
How ironic that something so beautiful would’ve killed me if I weren’t mixed with wolf.
The genetic luck pleased me. Imagine never having to bask in these golden rays.
Jessica walked ahead of me, almost skipping with abandon.
“I can already smell the water. You don’t have to get all the way there. I don’t want to stress you.”
Being human, with no super speed, seeing me to the beach and then back to the mansion would tax her.
She slowed to a stop. “Oh, alright.” She wiped a hand over the sweat on her forehead. “I’ll go back now.”
At her disappointed look, my lips curled. “You can come back with a horse if you want.”
Jessica’s eyes instantly brightened. “Thank you, your grace!”
She was already sprinting back to the castle, cloak billowing.
I watched her run with mirth.
From just this interaction, I’d gathered she loved the beach. But servants didn’t get extra time to chase their personal pleasures.
But I did.
And I had every intention of enjoying each one available to me.
After living most of my life in lack, the very idea of restraint irked me.
I continued on to the beach, following the faint thread of salt in the air.
With my vampire side dormant and my wolf side still weak, I had no doubt I should’ve been able to smell better.
I worked with what I had, winding through hills and the sides of smaller mountains in pursuit of the sea.
My dry eyes prickled, tears scarce.
The idea of a large body of water called to me for reasons I couldn’t name. I could hardly wait to arrive.
And soon, I did.
The scent was overwhelming now. Dried seaweed on hot rocks, the tang of salt coating my tongue just from breathing.
Seagulls and other creatures squabbled and competed for food.
I followed the chaos, my steps quickening as I sighted the end of the trail through a split in the rock.
When I burst onto the beach, my breath rushed out of me in awe.
Sky as far as I could see.
Blue layered with clouds, competing with the blue of the sea and its own white of seafoam, creating endless waves.
I ran.
Shedding my clothes down to my underwear, I raced for the edge.
Birds scattered at my approach, admonishing me with startled cries.
Bubbly laughter escaped my lips, shocking me.
Something about the sea freed me, opened me so deeply I struggled to rein it back in.
Wading in until the water reached my calves, I sank to a seat. I still couldn’t swim and wouldn’t risk the strong currents.
My lips curved as I imagined a particular torture for immortal enemies who couldn’t swim.
They’d drown only to come back to life, water battering their bodies back to death. Over and over again…
I shivered and scooted back to safety.
I dragged in a deep breath, observing the never-ending expanse of sea and sky—
Something stung my chest.
I slapped a hand to my skin, looking down, expecting a creature gripping flesh with tiny pincers or teeth.
My heart thudded when I brought my wet hand up.
Blood.
I felt around my chest again, wincing at the sharp, raw pain of a wound. A gouge.
The bloodgem.
It had melted.
Without thought, I scooped up saltwater to wash the exposed flesh left behind. The burn made my teeth grind.
But then my skin began to knit back immediately. Soon, my chest was as unmarred as the days before I’d met Nikolai.
Why melt? Why now?
Thinking back, it hadn’t exactly worked as it should have. Or maybe Nikolai had just ignored my feelings and emotions to keep me with him.
My eyes widened.
He’d made the gem obsolete through disregard.
My fists clenched, even as my heart broke.
The loss of the gem deepened the crater in my chest. Another severed connection, more proof of my unstable emotional state.
I pressed my face to my knees, hugging my legs, eyes squeezed shut.
Perhaps I should let the sea take me. Multiple drownings would be a small price to pay for freedom.
I threw my head back and screamed, fists striking the sand.
My heart was Nikolai’s—and also Bastian’s.
I wanted to be here in Veilmoor, but also in IronWolf.
I wanted my mates and the promise of safety—
A neigh interrupted my wallowing.
I turned to see a figure, Jessica, approaching at a canter.
She clutched a finely crafted outdoor basket for dear life, urging the horse forward as fast as it would go without losing its contents.
When they neared, her cheeks were flushed, a rolled mat secured behind the saddle.
“Your grace, I brought you refreshments!” she declared with a wide, sunny smile.
I rolled my eyes.
She really was going to milk this outing to the bone.
But with gratitude, and anticipation, I helped her down.
As she unrolled the pretty woven mat that matched the basket, a sharp awareness slithered down my spine.
My gaze roved over the shaded mountainsides. Several pairs of red eyes gleamed from within.
My claws curved instantly, even though I was the stone-chosen queen of this vampire-crawling land.
“We have company.” I stepped in front of Jessica.
They wouldn’t dare attack in the sun—
“Oh, those are the guards. After I reported the attack in the greenhouse, I insisted they shadow you from now on.” She smiled sheepishly. “I threatened them with Master Nikolai’s wrath.”
I tilted my head. “I was the one who requested no shadowing, Jessica. It makes my skin crawl.”
“But you’re queen…”
“I want privacy.” I looked heavenward for patience. “Tell them to leave.”
Jessica headed toward the mountainside, then glanced back at me with a look that clearly said ‘really?’
I glared. She continued on.
She reached the site and spoke briefly with the shadowed figures, their red gazes flicking from her to me and back again.
I planted my hands on my hips and glared in their direction too.
One by one, the red lights blinked out as they withdrew.
Jessica skipped back.
If they could risk the sun in mere cloaks to protect me, why hadn’t they been present during my fight with Lilith?
Was her influence truly that strong?
My eyes narrowed.
I may take up this position of queen far faster than they expect.
No way a jealous leech-chick outranked me in my own mate’s mansion.