Chapter Twenty-Nine

A s soon as the door closes behind Reaper and I’m left alone in the room, I waste no time at all in jumping up and rushing to the bathroom. Now that I’ve fed myself copious amounts of food, my other needs have made themselves known, and I am feeling absolutely gross. My arms and legs have been cleaned of all the blood that covered them, but the guys obviously wanted to remain respectful, which I appreciate and didn’t clean anywhere else. Now that my stomach is no longer mad at me because I didn’t feed it for two days, the need for a shower is practically screaming at me.

I know I spend longer than ten minutes in the shower, but I also know that the guys won’t mind, especially since I don’t take the piss with it and spend hours in there like I want to.

An envelope on the bedside table catches my attention, and I quickly make my way over to it, tearing it open when I see my name on the front of it.

Farren,

By now , you should be feeling a lot better. I have told your men , but I feel the need to tell you as well you need to go into the Void at least twice a day for at least an hour each time , or this will happen again. You are gaining strength , which means both you and the Void need you to spend time there , or the consequences will be deadly. I am sure that you are starting to have some suspicions about the Void , and while I cannot give you as much information as I would like to, I can tell you to explore the Void thoroughly . I think you will be surprised at what you find there.

See you soon, dearest,

Monty

As usual, Monty is as vague as he is informative. I am fond of Monty, and I always have been; as soon as I first met him, I felt a kinship with him, but right now, I have to admit that there is a part of me that would love to torture some information out of him. I swear I hear the tinkling sound of distant laughter as I think that, but my life is so weird at the moment that I decide to ignore it instead of adding it to the pile of shit that I have to deal with right now. It’s starting to feel a little bit overwhelming, so I’m going to focus on one thing at a time, and right now, that’s getting to the library so we can go over the plan and hopefully get to actually doing something because I can feel my magic buzzing under my skin, wanting to play.

I place the letter back on my bedside table, and then as I turn to look at the bed with the still sleeping animals on it, I ask, “Are any of you coming with me, or are you going to get better acquainted with Oryn?”

To my surprise, they all get up, Meri moving to my shoulder and Poca and Oryn stretching as one takes to the air and the other one heads towards the door. I guess that answers that, then. I really should be feeling weak or tired or something, but I am so full of energy that I think it’s a damn good thing that we’re going on a mission imminently.

Much to my amusement, halfway there, Oryn starts to swoop and dive at Poca, who barks playfully and, in doing so, ends up getting Meri involved. I watch happily as they race off down the hallway, heading in the direction of the library and leaving me behind.

It makes me really happy that they all get on, but I have no idea if Oryn is planning to stick around or just wanted to stay around while I was in and out of consciousness and then got curious about what was happening. The thing is, I have no idea what kind of creature he is. This means I don’t know what he likes to eat, the conditions he needs to live comfortably, not to mention things like his weaknesses and how dangerous he is. Without knowing any of these things, I’m going to be constantly worrying about him. Maybe I can ask Xerxes to see if he knows what kind of creature Oryn is; since he won’t be able to see him apparently, I’ll have to try really hard to describe what he looks like and hope that I give a good enough description that he can identify him correctly.

As I turn the corner heading down the wide corridor that leads to the library at the end, I practically run into Loki; he catches me as I bounce off his chest and looks down at me with concern.

“I saw Meri and Poca racing down the hall, and I was worried that something had happened to you, so I came to check,” he explains, his thumbs rubbing my arms gently.

I frown as I reach up my hand and gently cup his cheek, “I’m fine, but are you?”

He stills, especially as I gently run my fingers over the bags under his eyes, bags that I swear are darker than they were even thirty minutes ago when we were in my room.

When he still doesn’t answer, I become even more convinced that something is wrong, and I ask, “Loki?”

He pulls away from me and runs his hands through his hair, gripping it tightly as he leaves them there and starts pacing; I watch him worriedly. His teeth have elongated, and his eyes are practically glowing. He looks like he’s struggling with something, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say that he was hungry. He’s behaving like a hungry vampire, a really fucking hungry vampire, but that doesn’t make any sense.

He finally starts talking as he paces, glancing at me every now and then, “I don’t work the same way that normal vampires do.”

“Because you can heal, and no other vampires can?” I ask, hoping for some clarification.

He shakes his head, “Not just that. I don’t know why, but I can’t survive on bagged blood, and I can go longer between feeds than a normal vampire too, two weeks or so. I need blood from the vein in order to survive.”

Realisation sets in, and I ask, “Why the hell didn’t you say something sooner? How long has it been?”

“My last proper feed was at the academy just before we left, I got a mouthful or so when I killed that guy a few days ago at Remiki’s place, but it wasn’t enough.” He glances over at me, still moving somewhat agitatedly, “I thought we’d be back at the academy before it became an issue.”

“I’m assuming, since you’re struggling, Grey has informed you that you won’t be able to feed from anyone in the Shadowlands, the majority of residents protect themselves from the vampires, and all the vamps only drink from donated bagged blood.”

“I know. I can’t drink from the guys though, because of the complications that could cause and because it’s a very intimate thing. I could feed from an animal that will get me by and curb the cravings somewhat.”

I hear what he’s not saying, so I finish his sentence for him, “But you wouldn’t be at full strength, especially because you haven’t fed from a supernatural or human for a while?”

Loki looks at me and nods before he says, “It will be fine, but I am going to have to figure something out after this last faction, or I’m going to end up in a lot of trouble.”

A thought occurs to me, and I let it marinate for a second, seeing how my instincts react to it. When there’s no negative feeling in response to it, I suggest, “Feed from me?”

Loki whips around, stopping dead and staring at me as he exclaims, “What?”

“Feed from me. We already know that the last faction is going to present the most problems, we need you there with us, and we want you at full strength. If you only feed from me once, then it shouldn’t trigger the obsessive thing, and I don’t have a bad feeling, so I think I would be okay anyway.” I try to explain my reasoning, but I’m not sure I get my point across very well.

Using his vampire speed, he suddenly appears in front of me, placing his hands on my face as he searches my eyes, no doubt looking for any sign of hesitation or worry.

When he finds none, he glances away briefly before looking back at me, “You obviously know enough about vampires to know about the obsession that can take over a person if they’re fed on and don’t have the gene to resist it, but do you know anything else?”

I pause, he’s fishing to see if I know something specific, and I wrack my brain trying to think of everything that I know about vampires, and then it clicks; I push away the hurt that tries to bubble up because it's entirely irrational. Answering his question, I say, “Yes, I know that the only people guaranteed not to be affected by the vampire's venom and potentially develop a dangerous obsession are a vampire's true match pair and a vampire's mate, which can only be a vampire.” I force myself to add at the end because I need to hear it out loud, because I really fucking like him, and I need to be reminded that one day he may very well find his mate.

“Good, you know. Before I agree to your incredibly generous offer, I need to tell you that I think that you are my true match pair,” he senses the moment that I freeze at his words and holds my face slightly firmer as if he’s afraid that I’m going to try and run away from him, I don’t really know what I’m feeling right now, but it’s not that. He rushes to continue what he is saying, “I am not telling you this because I expect anything from you, so please don’t panic. I am telling you because it means that you do not have to worry about any adverse effects. True match pairs don’t experience any of the potential issues that normal donors can. Please say something.”

I nod, not that it really makes sense to do so, but that just seems to be what I find myself doing. I smile, “Okay, thank you for telling me. I was going to feed you either way, but it’s reassuring to know that I won’t be going any crazier than I already am.”

His eyes widen slightly, and I’m reasonably sure it’s because he was expecting a different reaction from me entirely. I lean forward and kiss him softly before moving back again and tilting my head to the side to expose my neck. I thought I might find this part difficult, making myself vulnerable for him, but surprisingly I don’t, not even a small amount. Loki pulls me closer to him as he moves us so my back is against the wall, and his body covers mine in the most thrilling way.

His nose brushes up the side of my neck as he inhales, and I shudder at the sensation as I try to repress a moan. I’m finding this a hell of a lot more of a turn-on than I really thought I would. His lips brush my neck once, and my hand's thread through his hair as he does it again, and then I feel the fleeting sting as his teeth pierce my neck before desire quickly chases the pain away, except it’s not just desire, and the longer he drinks, the more that desire fades into the background and other emotions start to come forward.

I feel safe, wanted, needed, and so incredibly cared for. This is Loki, my Loki, and it's no secret that I have feelings for him. He understands me in a different way than the others do, and he always manages to make me feel like it’s going to be okay, no matter what the situation. He reminds me not to take everything so seriously, and I cherish him for that. My magic stirs, and in my mind's eye, I watch in fascination as my bond with Loki starts to glow and becomes stronger, as our magic reaches for each other along the bond lines, intertwining and making me feel euphoric and giddy with the power of the connection.

Somehow, I feel stronger the longer that Loki drinks and my need starts to take over all of the other feelings. When he pulls back from my neck, having drunk his fill, I know that he wants to check that I’m okay, but all I can think about is his lips on mine, the fact that they have flecks of my own blood on them makes absolutely no difference to me and his eyes widen as I pull his mouth to mine, kissing him almost desperately. I moan as his tongue dances with mine, and it’s echoed by the rumble of a growl coming from his chest. The vibrations of his growl tease the already taut peaks of my nipples and push myself harder against Loki.

Our frantic kiss starts to slow, becoming languid and seducing and making heat pool between my thighs as my pussy clenches and practically begs for him, the needy bitch.

Pulling back, Loki rests his head on mine, staring into my eyes as we both struggle to catch our breath, “Love, as much as I want to take you right here, right fucking now. The first time that I have you writhing underneath me in pleasure will not be under the influence of the bite.”

I nod, that makes sense if I’m honest, although if my pussy could it would be pouting in disappointment right now. My smile is broad as I reply, “I get that, I’m not happy about it, but I understand.” I tease and then add seriously, “Did you get enough? How are you feeling?”

His smile stretches across his face as his eyes twinkle with affection, and he replies, “I feel fucking amazing. Honestly, I have never tasted anything as exquisite as your blood, and I’ve never felt this strong either. I can feel my magic buzzing under my skin, and I swear our bond grew stronger as well?”

“Yeah, it did. I think we might be able to talk through our thoughts now like I do with Killian.” I reply and grin excitedly as I add, “I know what you mean though. I thought I’d feel weak or dizzy or something. I have just lost blood, but I feel even better than I did before, and that’s saying something because I felt pretty damn awesome before.”

Loki’s face fills with relief, “Thank fuck for that. I am absolutely certain that you are my true match pair. Are you sure you’re okay? Vampire bites take longer to heal than normal wounds, so I can heal it?”

I frown slightly as I reach for the puncture marks on my neck, “I don’t want you to heal them. I like that they’re there and what they mean, but we do need to get to the library, and it’s probably a good idea to heal it, I suppose.”

Loki’s eyes heat at my words, and he leans forward, kissing me until I’m breathless before he pulls back and replies, “I love that you want to wear my mark, but you are right. This time, I will heal you.”

I nod and then smirk wickedly, “And next time, do it somewhere that’s less likely to be seen so easily.”

Loki’s eyes widen as he groans, “Love, you are going to be the death of me.”

Grinning, I reply cheekily, “I think you’ll find that it’s quite the opposite actually.”

His deep chuckle echoes around the hallway and fills me with warmth. I could honestly listen to that sound for the rest of my life. I love all of their laughs, but Loki’s just makes you want to join in, even if you don’t know what’s so funny.

“Well played,” he replies, and then gently tilts my head to the side and wastes no time at all in licking my neck and making me gasp in surprise at the sensation of his tongue over the sensitive bite marks.

“Whoa, I swear that went straight to my clit,” I mutter when he pulls back, and he makes a choking sound, “Shit, sorry, that was supposed to be an inside thought.”

He shakes his and takes my hand in his, threading his fingers through mine as he leads us down the hallway and to the library to meet the others. I guess that he really couldn’t think of a reply to that one.

“Hey guys,” Killian smirks as we enter the library and see that they’ve already got a map of Khaos’s stronghold laid out on the table and Xerxes flapping around above where they’re gathered.

Mayhem is preparing the spell ingredients, and I’m glad that they didn’t wait for Loki and me. Speaking of, with the way they are smiling knowingly at us, they are all well aware of what just transpired in the hallway. Thankfully none of them brings it up.

“We’re going to do the spell, and then we’ll decide how to get to the object and break the spell that is controlling them. Once that’s broken, then the border should be open, and we will be able to find the last pieces of the key and secure it.” Grey explains.

“Then we can see what else the Fae realm has planned for us.” Reaper smiles, looking excited.