Chapter 20-The bond

Chapter 20: 20-The bond

Varitreya walked through the academy corridors without slowing once. Her polished shoes clicked sharply against the black marble floors.

The sound echoed through the silent hallways like the ticking of a clock counting down to something inevitable.

Moonlight poured through the towering stained-glass windows, bathing her white uniform in silver light until she looked less like a student and more like a spirit drifting through the academy.

Maisa rested in her arms. The young redblood had completely lost consciousness. Her breathing had evened out after receiving the white blood, but she still looked painfully fragile.

Purple bruises spread across her face and neck where the blackbloods had struck her. Dried blood stained the corner of her lips and soaked into the collar of her dark red uniform.

She looked far too breakable. Varitreya hated that fact about redbloods. Whiteblood royalty did not concern themselves with fragile things. Yet every bruise she looked at sent another painful tug through the bond blooming inside her chest.

Behind her, Addessa walked in absolute silence. Her hands remained clenched into fists. Every few seconds, another crack echoed from the stone floor beneath her feet as she unconsciously crushed loose pebbles underfoot.

Lumi followed with her book pressed tightly against her chest. She had not opened a single page since leaving the arena. Her thoughts were racing far faster than anything written inside her books.

Zolani hurried to keep up, stealing worried glances toward Maisa every few seconds. No one spoke a word throughout. The silence itself had become oppressive at some point, and it was suffocating.

They finally reached the highest tower reserved exclusively for the student council. The heavy oak doors closed behind them with a deep boom.

The instant they shut, Varitreya’s composure shattered. "What..." her voice trembled. "...was that?"

Varitreya slowly laid Maisa onto the council chamber’s long velvet sofa. The other vampires present didn’t answer her.

She stared at the unconscious girl for several moments before suddenly stepping backwards as though afraid touching her any longer would make the bond even stronger. She looked at her own trembling hands.

"My body, my hand... they moved on their own..." her whisper barely carried. "I didn’t command them to move. I stood up before I even thought about what I was doing."

She looked at the others. "The moment she screamed... my body had already decided she was worth destroying everything for."

The confession horrified her. It now dawned on her what she had done. She, the future queen, went on her knees for a redblood. She tore open her vein and fed Maiss her blood. The recollection made her head hurt.

She ran her fingers over her hair. Frustration building inside her heart. "I was worried the bond would force an intervention, and it did. This can’t continue."

Addessa let out a sharp, bitter laugh. "You think you’re the only one, Princess?"

Everyone turned toward her. The proud blackblood slammed her fist onto the council table. The enchanted wood exploded beneath the impact. "I nearly killed those four idiots."

Her breathing had become ragged. "I couldn’t think. I couldn’t reason. I only knew..." she closed her eyes. "...that she was hurting."

Hatred filled her expression. "I hated every second of it," she admitted. The bond she had underestimated nearly made her lose composure.

Lumi quietly sat down. "I stood up and was about to race down and save her," she said, and all eyes looked at her. "I don’t remember standing."

Her fingers tightened around her book. "I only realized I had left my chair when Professor Primrose shouted."

She looked toward Maisa. "I was going into the arena to get her out of there," she felt the bond strongly, and it demanded something from her that she’s never felt before.

Varitreya frowned. "You have to be kidding me!"

Lumi nodded slowly. "I am not. I truly wanted to stop them," she let out, her voice became quieter. "I’ve never interrupted a sanctioned duel before. I’ve never even considered it."

She looked down at her hands. "I was willing to break academy law...for her."

Silence settled once more, and then everyone looked toward Zolani to see if she too were affected by the bond and in what way.

The mixedblood looked embarrassed. "I..." she rubbed her arm nervously. "...actually ran."

"You what?" Addessa stared, unable to understand the incomplete sentence.

"I was halfway down the stairs when I heard gasps and looked over to see the princess by Maisa’s side," Zolani gave an awkward smile. "I don’t remember deciding to. I just...ran with the thought of saving her. I only stopped because Your Highness reached her first."

A heavy silence followed. They were four different vampires with four different personalities and instincts. All arriving at exactly the same conclusion, protect Maisa.

Varitreya slowly pressed a hand over the flower-shaped mark hidden beneath her uniform on her wrist. It answered immediately as warmth bloomed beneath her fingertips.

She could feel the four vampires around her; Addessa, Lumi, Zolani, and Maisa. The awareness had become frighteningly clear.

She knew Maisa was asleep. She could almost feel the slow rhythm of her breathing. She could sense the relief flooding the girl’s unconscious body after surviving the poison. The realization made Varitreya immediately pull her hand away.

"It grew stronger."

Lumi nodded. "It did. I feel it too," she said. "The bond strengthened the moment Your Highness gave her white blood."

Addessa’s head snapped toward Lumi. "Explain."

Lumi inhaled deeply. "I’ve been thinking ever since the arena."

She opened her book before immediately shutting it again. "There are records stating that exchanging blood deepens vampire bonds."

Everyone became still, and she continued. "Normally, it strengthens family ties. Master and servant contracts and such." She swallowed. Hard. "And... sire bonds."

The room felt colder. Varitreya’s crimson eyes narrowed. "So giving her my blood..."

Lumi nodded once. "May have accelerated our connection."

The Princess stared at Maisa. "So what you are saying is that I made it worse."

"No," Lumi corrected gently. She wouldn’t dare accuse the princess of anything. She didn’t have the ability. "You saved her."

"There was another choice."

"There wasn’t enough time for other choices the poison would’ve reached her heart," Lumi argued to ease Varitreya’s worries.

Addessa crossed her arms. "I hate that you’re right," she spoke and looked toward Maisa. "That idiot nearly died because she couldn’t defend herself."

Her expression darkened. "...Pathetic."

Yet the insult lacked its usual venom, and every vampire in the room, including Varitreya, noticed.

"So why," Varitreya asked quietly. "Do you look relieved she’s alive?"

Addessa froze. "I am not."

"You are," Varitreya called her out immediately. She could see it. Addessa, like the rest of them, was thrown off her game. She wasn’t her usual self.

"I’m not."

"You are."

"I refuse to care."

Varitreya raised an eyebrow. "You nearly tore the arena apart for her. I could feel it."

"...That was the bond and mind you, none of us asked for this sire bond to bind us together so we don’t control it."

"You wanted to kill those students. Your words not mine," Varitreya went on. Picking on Addessa was a distraction. She knew that she had dug her own grave.

The news of what she’d done would spread like wildfire, and she’d end up with problems from every corner. The palace, nobles, and her subjects, so many questions and debates, would be raised from her actions.

"That was the bond."

"You nearly involved yourself in redblood matters."

"...The bond," that became her excuse, an explanation for her strange behaviour.

"I guess it’s melting your stone heart seeing as you’re willing to cry for her."

Addessa immediately reached toward her own face. Her fingertips came away wet. She stared at the tears in complete disbelief. "No way."

Another tear rolled down her cheek. "No... this can’t be happening." She wiped it away violently. "I wasn’t crying."

Her voice cracked. "I refuse... to cry... for a redblood."

The words sounded less convincing with every tear that followed. She turned away from everyone. Her shoulders trembled.

"I hate this... I hate this bond... I hate her... and I hate all of this!"

Silence answered her because every vampire in the room understood exactly how she felt, even Zolani.

Who wanted to like Maisa? Who among them didn’t still fear what the bond demanded of them?

Lumi quietly broke the silence. "We need to discuss something else."

Varitreya looked toward her. "My brain can’t handle more problems at the moment, Lumi."

"The arena, it’s important."

"What about it?"

Lumi adjusted her glasses. "The bond... forced our hands today," she let those words sink in. "It overpowered centuries of discipline, ignored rank and reason.

Her blue eyes slowly widened. "If it could force four of us to do whatever it wants," her heartbeat trembled. "What happens next time? What will it make us do next?"

Nobody answered because everyone knew what she was really asking. What if Maisa was dying again? Would they abandon their duties? Would they attack fellow students? Would they defy the Queen herself? Would they betray vampire society for one frightened redblood?

The questions hung heavily inside the chamber. Finally, Varitreya spoke. "No one..." her royal voice returned, calm but noticeably strained. "Must ever learn about this."

Everyone nodded immediately. "The palace, the council of elders, the professors, and the stidents cannot know about the bond.

Her crimson eyes drifted toward the unconscious girl sleeping peacefully on the sofa. "Especially her."

Addessa frowned. "She already knows."

Varitreya slowly shook her head. "No, Addie. She knows we awakened, but she doesn’t understand how the bond affects us," she let out. "If she realizes... how much control this bond already has over us..." The Princess closed her eyes. "Then every enemy we have... will control us through her."

Those words silenced the room more effectively than any order. For the first time since their hearts had awakened, the four vampires realized something far more terrifying than having a redblood mate.

Their greatest strength had become their greatest weakness and it was sleeping peacefully only a few feet away, completely unaware that with one scream she had compelled the four most powerful students in Veris Academy to abandon everything they had ever believed in.

"We keep this underwraps and find out how to control it. I will not be compelled to action by the cries of a redblood," Varitreya stated.