Chapter 24-Confirmed acceptance

Chapter 24: 24-Confirmed acceptance

The room suddenly felt much quieter. Then, Zolani awkwardly clasped her hands and took a step forward.

"I... I wasn’t sure you’d want visitors," she let out in a light tone.

Maisa managed a faint smile. "I do."

Lumi stepped forward first. "I brought your lecture notes," she said and placed several organized notebooks onto the desk. "You’ve missed a dozen lessons, so I thought... they might help."

Maisa looked at the perfectly arranged pages and wondered whether grades were strict in the vampire academy as they were in the human schools. Because judging by Zolani’s books and Lumi’s, it appeared to be just as competitive and detailed.

Every subject, every diagram, and every annotation was neatly done. With one look, it was evident that Lumi loved books and handled hers with care.

"You wrote all this?"

Lumi nodded. "I write quickly," she stated. Vampire speed came in handy. She was able to copy notes for Maisa without getting tired.

A tiny smile almost appeared. "I also corrected Professor Primrose’s mistake on page twelve. It was a little too challenging for our class."

Despite everything, Maisa laughed. She imagined the scene of Lumi correcting the strict looking Professor she saw at the arena and found her body easing into a laugh for a second.

Zolani visibly relaxed when she saw Maisa laugh. With everything going down outside, she didn’t think the newly turned vampire would have the heart to laugh.

"I brought food," she announced. She unpacked fresh blood bags approved for redblood consumption together with bloodfruit-scented candies and herbal tea. "I wasn’t sure what you’d like," she added.

Maisa stared at the small gifts. No one had ever brought her gifts before without it being necessary but simply because they cared. But since she met Zolani, that’s exactly what happened again and again.

The crimson haired vampire always has something prepared for him, and that made the ice inside her crack.

"Why?" Her voice trembled. The deal was too good to be true, especially with their reputation. "Why are you both being kind to me?" She dared to inquire.

Zolani quietly said, "Because you’re alone. You have us, and together, we will get through this."

Lumi looked toward the floor. She felt guilty because everything that happened was her brother’s fault. Luan had arranged the combat, got the blackbloods to agree to fight Maisa, and got Maisa to accept the challenge.

Everything that happened after was the consequence of his scheme. As his sister, it was only right that she fixed his mess and cleaned up after him. Though, she didn’t reveal that to Maisa.

"And no one should have to face this alone," she added to what Zolani said.

That single sentence shattered the fragile wall Maisa had built around herself. Tears overflowed again, and she became a crying mess.

"I didn’t ask for any of this..." she cried and covered her face. "I didn’t ask to become a vampire. I didn’t ask for the bond... I... I didn’t ask the Princess to save me," she cried even harder. "I just... wanted somewhere I could belong."

Her shoulders shook with quiet sobs. The weight of everything was catching up to her and breaking her strong shoulders.

Without thinking, Zolani crossed the room, and she wrapped both arms around Maisa. "It’s alright. You don’t have to carry everything yourself."

A moment later, Lumi hesitated and then slowly joined them. Her embrace was tentative at first, almost uncertain, but it soon became genuine.

The three remained together in silence and only shared warmth. The flower-shaped marks beneath their skin suddenly pulsed.

Once, twice...then again. A soft crimson, blue, and dark-red glow seeped through the fabric over their respective parts where the flower laym

All three stiffened at once as the bond surged once again. It carried an overwhelming feeling of trust, acceptance, and belonging as though it longed for each of them to acknowledge what fate had already woven together.

Their pulse fastened. Their breaths became heavy as heat spread across their bodies, and the blood in their veins called for each other like they were engraved in each other’s bloods.

Almost unconsciously, Maisa lifted her tear-filled eyes. Zolani looked back with quiet tenderness, half off the hug, and Lumi’s usually composed expression softened in a way neither of them had seen before.

Drawn by the strange warmth between them, they shared brief, gentle kisses. They were small, emotional gestures born from comfort rather than passion.

It was warm and sloppy, and the small chemistry ignited when Maisa and Lumi locked lips. But it got a little possessive and painfully hot when Maisa and Zolani shared theirs.

The instant the final kiss ended, the glowing flower marks flared brilliantly. Light spread across their skin before gradually fading into a steady warmth. The bond settled more complete than before.

All three drew back at the same moment. Their eyes widened as once again, the bond demanded something of them that they weren’t ready for. And with the kiss, they could each feel that thru had opened up to each other and fully claimed the bond.

"Did we..." Zolani whispered.

Lumi touched the glowing mark beneath her collarbone. "I think the bond just changed. Previously, it marked us to each other, but now we’ve confirmed acceptance of the sire bond."

Maisa pressed trembling fingers against her own chest. For the first time since arriving at Veris Academy, the constant ache inside her heart eased. But the feeling didn’t last long as all three felt a whole in their chest, the acceptance was incomplete, and they were missing two of their mates.

Far away, within the royal palace, Varitreya stopped mid-sentence during an audience with the Queen as heat suddenly spread through her chest.

She inhaled sharply. Feeling Maisa, Zolani, and Lumi more intimately than she ever imagined. She licked her dry lips, getting the urge to kiss her mates. The urge was stronger than the hunger for blood and the heaviness of duty to the crown.

Across the room, Addessa did exactly the same. Both women instinctively placed hands over their bond marks. The warmth they felt wasn’t painful.

It was accompanied by an unmistakable feeling of closeness...and a sharp awareness that something significant had just happened between the others and they were left out.

Varitreya’s expression tightened. She felt incomplete, like pieces of her were missing, and she needed to find them and make herself whole again.

’What are those idiots up to now?’ Addessa frowned, her pulse racing despite herself.

’Maisa, Zolani, and Lumi, what are you all doing?’ Varitreya’s eyes darkened.

Neither of them understood exactly how any of that was happening, but both felt the same unexpected pang. An uncomfortable mixture of distance, longing, and the unsettling realization that while they had been trapped in palace affairs, the bond had continued to grow without them.

"Vari, what’s wrong?" The queen asked, noticing her going silent and her mood plummeting.

Varitreya’s icy gaze met her mother’s eyes. "I don’t know what more you want me to say, mother. Judge the matter as you see fit... but I am done explaining myself," she said. "Addessa, Medora, we are leaving," without bowing to the queen, she left, and her confidants followed. They didn’t miss to show the queen respect.

"Where to Princess?"

"Until mother passes her judgement on this issue, we can’t leave the premises. I suggest you make yourselves at home."