Chapter 66-Need her (4)

Chapter 66: 66-Need her (4)

"By every means necessary. So, please...save me, Varitreya."

Varitreya remained silent. Merely watching her with a calmness that gave nothing away of what she was feeling.

Maisa waited for her response. Feeling the nausea return once more, she grabbed the edge of Varitreya’s blazer, bit her lip, and looked up with watery eyes.

Her stomach twisted, and the harsh pain in her throat felt even worse. The bond was making her body’s healing properties fail. Now, she was in real pain, and the source of her relief was hesitating to help her.

Her face immediately drained of colour. The calm expression on Varitreya’s face made her uneasy.

"No... please..." She covered her mouth.

Varitreya’s eyes widened. "Maisa?"

The call was more of a question, and it was filled with worry. She sidestepped to get a better view from a little distance.

Maisa stumbled sideways. Her knees nearly buckled as weakness overcame her. Another wave hit her. She barely managed to turn before collapsing against the side of the sofa and gagged violently.

This time, there was no soil. There was only blood. It was dark red blood that spilt from her mouth and onto the floor.

Varitreya froze. Her face paled as she watched Maosa spill her guts out.

Maisa coughed desperately, tears streaming down her face. "I told you..." she said, voice was half talk and half cry. Her voice was almost inaudible. "I can’t stop."

Varitreya stared at the blood, her eyes moved to glance at Maisa before settling at the fading petals above her heart, and inside the her, something cracked.

It cracked eough to make her understand that this was no longer merely a question of whether she wanted the bond or not. Maisa was suffering because of her, and she could stop it if she only gave in to the request that Maisa raised.

She stepped forward with elegant, regal steps. Her frame was as composed as ever.

Maisa looked up. Her tears soaked her face, and the blood at the corners of her lips made her look even more pitiful.

The princess reached for her face, and Maisa flinched. She leaned towards Varitreya, seeking the comfort and relief the vampire princess might offer her.

That tiny movement said more than words could. It spoke her of her desperation and need for the princess and loudly about the trust she had thar Varitreya would help her.

Varitreya’s thumb brushed away a tear on her right cheek. "Look at me, Maisa."

Maisa obeyed and looked up at her. There was obedience in those eyes, one that felt like submission melted down from a stubborn soul.

"I don’t know how to do this," the princess said.

Maisa blinked. A kiss? Feed on her? Touch her? What didn’t the princess know how to do?

Varitreya’s voice had softened. "I don’t know how to accept something I never asked for. Something that can change my life... goodness knows it might be for the worst," she paused to arrange her thoughts. "And I don’t know what accepting you will mean for my future."

Maisa’s heart clenched. Varitreya’s words were rejection wrapped in beautiful words. Her heart shattered. Without Varitreya accepting her, she’d be forced to endure the pain of the earth element for goodness knows how long.

The idea of such a painful future made more tears flow from her eyes.

"But..." Varitreya’s hand moved to the flower-shaped mark. "But I know I can not stand here and watch the bond destroy you because I am too proud to acknowledge what is happening between us."

Maisa’s breath caught. She met Varitreya’s eyes with hope in hers. Her heartbeat had slowed down, almost as if it was scared to ruin the moment if it thundered too loudly.

Varitreya leaned closer to her. "Is that enough?" She asked, her first time getting closer to someone, and she didn’t know what was right or wrong, so she asked Maisa’s opinion.

Maisa stared at her. "For now... maybe," her lips trembled, and it made her words come off as an insecure cry.

The princess nodded. Pulled her up and held her close, one hand by Maisa’s waist, and the other hand kept wiping the tears off Maisa’s face.

The movements were gentle, too gentle. "Then breathe," she whispered.

Maisa tried. Her breathing remained uneven, and the longer she inhaled and exhaled, the harder it was to remain calm.

Varitreya placed her forehead against Maisa’s. "Stop fighting the bond, and I’ll try to do the same."

Maisa’s eyes closed. The warmth of Varitreya’s skin against hers was strangely calming. The pain inside her chest began to loosen slowly almost imperceptibly.

The white petal above her heart flickered: once... twice... and by the third flicker, it began glowing again.

Maisa gasped at the warm pulse above her heart. The white petal throbbed harder than the others, immediately overwhelming her.

Varitreya felt it, too. She felt Maisa’s pain fade, and that part of the girl that clung to her soul was wrapping around her even more tightly now.

The bond, for the first time since their argument on the bus, it had quieted down. It wasn’t gone or satisfied completely, but it had accepted the little compromise.

Varitreya’s eyes widened. "So that’s all it wanted, huh?"

Maisa opened her eyes. "What?"

"This force that binds us just wanted some little recognition," Varitreya stared at the glowing petal. "It didn’t need love," she said, brushing her hand over Maisa’s eyebrow, her voice thoughtful as she added. "It needed acknowledgement. For me to recognize that you are and always will be bound to me."

Maisa’s lips parted. "So... I don’t have to force you to love me?"

Varitreya laughed. She messed Maisa’s hair and asked, looking almost amused. "Do you think you can force me to love you even if you wanted to?"

Maisa blinked, her cheeks turning red as the words hit her. She thought about it, and after a moment, she realized how ridiculous she sounded.

How could she, a redblood ever, force the princess of the vampire nation to love her? It sounded ridiculous.

"You have a point," she scratched her nape and lowered her eyes.

The pain was gone, and so was the nausea, and she was content. There was nothing more she could ask of the princess.

Maisa decided it was better to join sapphire and feed before they depart on the first route. After all, the worst part of the nightmare had passed with a simple momemt of closeness.

"I should change," Varitreya whispered and released her. "Knowing Primrose, she’ll insist we go to the cemetery to honour our fallen first. And my uniform isn’t cut out for that?"

Maisa finally looked up. "Cemetery?"

"Hmm," Varitreya hummed. "Old Scaris holds many beautiful places for vampires... the most special one is the Scaris cemetery," Varitreya said.

"Why is that?"

"Sincr vampires are known to have originated from Scaris. It was seen fit that final resting place for vampires should be here. There’s over a hundred acres of land preserved just for this. It’s divided in sections from the highest ranking nobles to commoners. All vampires have a spot."

Maisa felt it ironic. Vampires weren’t treated fairly in the nation, but when it came to burial grounds, all got one, regardless of blood colour and nobility.

Varitreya snapped her head back and looked at Maisa over her shoulder. "I should take you to meet my grandmother later," she smiled. "Soft but effective vampire..." Then her eyes moistened. "It’s too bad we live in a world where hunters exist."

The word "hunter" hit a nerve in Maisa vulnerable heart. She looked up, first Luna and Varitreya... was fate kidding with her!

"You are new, so you don’t know about the Everheart and the Chester family...nmph," she sighed. "Stay a vampire longer, and you’ll memorize their name by heart... most of the fallen you’ll see today died by their hands," she dropped the matter and moved away to change.

She had no idea how well Maisa knew those names. Everheart was her family name and Chester, who was the second most powerful hunter family, coming second only to Everheart.

"I’ll change, and we can head out."