527- Karma's Reflection and the Bonds of Blood
POV Thalyndra Moonclaw:
I let out another laugh.
"Still, I feel a little sorry for him."
"Don't worry, he'll survive," Lana retorted, pulling the cup from my hand and drinking my beer.
Anton was swimming in the lake with Myrion and Edric, while Lunara, Lyris, and Celindra chatted sitting under one of the tree's shadows.
It wasn't a special day, just a moment they decided to spend as a family, especially after what happened to me and Aurelka.
I bit my lips and let out a sigh.
"That day... you took a silver dagger coated in belladonna right in the chest. I know you're immune to silver, so it didn't hurt you, but are you also completely immune to belladonna?" I asked, changing the subject, remembering something I had been reflecting on for a long time.
She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth.
"It does affect us, yes, it burned like hell, but not like it does with you. I felt weak for a few hours, until my body absorbed all the poison and expelled it from my system." She rubbed her fingertip along the edge of the cup. "But I think the worst of it all is the combination of the two, which are lethal for most of us. You would already be wounded just from being hit by silver, and then adding belladonna to that makes it a deadly weapon."
I nodded, pulling the cup back from Lana's hands and taking another sip.
"I'm sorry he did that to you." Aurelka placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Don't be. It's part of our family, you've become my sister since you mated with Anton. You're his predestined partner, born to be one of us, and we defend our own. I'm grateful he stuck the dagger in me and not Lana, because it would have been fatal for her. We're fine, everything is alright, and that's what matters."
She could repeat that as many times as she wanted, I would never stop blaming myself, in a way. I was used to the way my father handled things, carrying his burden alone, so I thought I should be like him too. Aurelka and Lana got hurt because of me, because they were with me. They wanted me, not them.
"Over time, you'll get used to it," Lana commented after a moment of silence. I looked at her, confused, and she continued: "To the fact that you're not alone anymore, that you don't have to handle everything alone, because you have someone to share it with. I know you're just reflecting what you were taught, but... just as you learned to be independent, you'll also learn the true meaning of family."
I let out a heavy breath and looked forward, admiring Anton. He was on the other side of the bank, standing on some rocks. He wore only shorts, his chest and arm muscles exposed, with drops glistening against the sun on his tanned skin.
I could look at him for the rest of my life and never tire.
Aurelka made a muffled sound in her throat.
"I hope one day to find my predestined one too, I want to look at him the way you look at Anton, just as I want him to look at me with all that devotion as well."
Lana huffed.
"Always so romantic..."
"Well... that's the desire of the vast majority, I don't know why you want to walk outside the curve."
"I'm just a little more pragmatic. It's not that easy," she pointed at Vladren. "He, for example, never found his, so why should I delude myself that it will happen to me? And I don't care either. Look at my mothers, they are completely happy and in love, even though they aren't predestined. There is love in all forms and in all ways."
Aurelka pulled a small branch and threw it at Lana.
"Stop being a party pooper and let me dream, please?" Her friend laughed and shook her head in disdain, rolling her eyes.
"Fine, I just hope your predestined one isn't a pain in the ass."
"He's going to be amazing, just like me," the Eldoria heiress retorted, arching her eyebrows.
Edric threw himself into the lake, making the water sway. Anton and Myrion threw themselves in right after. They swam, approaching our bank.
"Who wants rabbit meat?" Lunara asked, placing a bowl with pieces of dried meat in the center of the table.
I felt my chest warm, a recognition, something I had come to notice happened whenever Anton approached. It was our bond, my soul warning me that its other half was nearby.
I raised my face, finding his gaze. He stared at me with his lips curved in a half-smile and an arched eyebrow. I knew what he wanted to suggest, even though he kept his mouth tightly shut. Once, we argued a little about the rabbit meat he had hunted for me.
I looked at the bowl and shook my head, refusing.
"I don't want any, thank you."
The problem wasn't the meat itself, but the memory it evoked.
"I brought cakes, cheeses, and other meats too," Lunara replied, moving away to get more plates. Lyris and Celindra placed some of them on the table.
Everyone approached to eat, each savoring what they liked most. Anton walked around and stopped behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders. He leaned in to whisper in my ear.
"I'm still going to convince you to try raw meat, or do you think I've forgotten that detail?"
I wouldn't say I doubted it because I was changing every day that passed, so anything could still happen. But so as not to give in, I shook my head and let out a mocking laugh.
Myrion ran a hand through his hair, messing it up and splashing water at Aurelka on purpose.
"Hey! If you keep doing that, I'll tell one of your daily lovers about your new contacts," she threatened.
"I don't even have new contacts."
She looked at her brother with slit eyes.
"Really? And what about the females in the city, do they know about your frequent visits?"
He stared at his sister, incredulous.
"You wouldn't..." he hissed, disbelieving.
"Just bet." She tilted her nose, presumptuous. Anton snorted.
"Say whatever you want, little sister, they'll still believe Myrion and think you're just jealous of his monogamous relationship."
Myrion laughed and Aurelka rolled her eyes.
"I hope I'm never as deluded as they are."
"Don't worry about that, we'll never let any male like us get near you," Myrion retorted.
"Males like you?"
"A complete conqueror."
"A promiscuous one, you mean?" the youngest protested. Myrion gestured.
"See it however you want." He made a pout with his mouth. "Your heart will be safe anyway, the first one to show up and be merely similar to us will be dead before even making the first move."