by Sam Destiny
What scared her most was the way she started to understand his deep sense of duty and honor. All her ancestors had dealt with the Morningstar warriors and duty and honor often had been the only thing keeping those guys in line when tragedy struck. And that happened quite often.
Seeing that Jaden and Kaden had come from a Morningstar family, it really wasn’t any surprise that Jaden would choose his race over his mate. He simply didn’t know better than to obey his leader.
It didn’t lessen her heartache or make her forgive him quicker, but it still softened her towards him more than she thought possible after only a few short days. The fact that Kaden, too, had spoken in favor of Jaden made it even easier.
What spoke against forgiving Jaden was the fact that he hadn’t once tried to contact her, not even when he had been right in front of her doorstep.
There was another thing though she realized: She really knew nothing about Jaden besides the fact that he had a twin and put his race above everything else. In the end, Jaden had been right and all they felt for each other was because of the bond. Which, again, didn’t change that she loved him and probably had since the first time she had been close to him. This was mind-boggling and too much for her, so she pulled another diary close, ready to drown in a world that was hers, but somehow still totally different.
Destra walked up and down, knowing she was near the daughter she hated so much.
The moon had just risen over the city and in contrary to the day before, this time the night stayed clear. It was almost beautiful; the stars sparkling above them, but Destra didn’t give a damn. She couldn’t care less about the beauty of the night.
She wanted to push her hands onto her hips, but she was too scared of hurting herself.
“Where in the world are those stupid warriors? I don’t have all night and I really want to hurt someone,” she fussed, looking at the four Hellraise soldiers she had brought with her. They weren’t her first choice and by far not the best, but considering the fact that most of her good soldiers had fallen the night before, they were as good as they came.
“They’ll be here soon,” Nox mumbled soothingly, not coming close to her. Just like everyone else he stayed clear of her, not sure if they could catch something from the danger surrounding her now. In fact, if any of her foot soldiers were to touch her, they’d die a slow, agonizing death, which seemed almost impossible for vampires.
Nox sounded bored and Destra wished she could kiss him just so she’d have something to do. Waiting never had been her strong side and now it was even worse than usual.
A commotion down the street made her look up and straighten her spine. Fighting. Finally. The warriors were coming and she felt excitement tingle along her spine. There was no doubt that she’d find the right guy. She had just the plan, too.
There was no need for fighting; she’d just have to make sure that he, the Jaden guy, would touch her. It didn’t even matter where, just a tiny touch and there’d be no going back. The thought alone brought her ecstasy like nothing else.
”Dearest Creator, Nox, you are so fucking brilliant,” she exclaimed, almost clapping her hands before remembering that this maybe wasn’t such a good idea.
Nox turned, meeting her eyes with his obsidian ones. “Only for you, Mistress. Only for you,” he promised and she nodded, satisfied, then she started to walk.
After all, someone had to make sure that her daughter’s Morningstar warrior wouldn’t miss his appointment with torture.
Jaden had never met Destra before, but he still could instantly tell who she was. Hell, she could have been in a crowd of females and he still would have been able to pick her out.
“Holy shit,” Kaden mumbled next to him, obviously realizing the same Jaden was realizing: Destra and Maya looked so much alike that they easily could have been twins. Destra’s hair was shorter and her body leaner. The biggest difference were Destra’s glowing red eyes that seemed to illuminate the alley around them.
“She’s borderline insane,” Red whispered under his breath, but Jaden knew the signs. The brighter the red, the crazier the Hellraise.
“We meet at last,” she said, her voice deeper than Maya’s. He shook his head, not being able to believe that she had waited for them to meet.
“You will not get to Maya,” he snapped and those red eyes found him, making him realize that she hadn’t had any idea who she had been looking for. He cursed since that could have been an advantage for them that now was gone.
“So you are the reason she won’t ever be out of my hair. You turned that bitch, didn’t you? Was her blood good? But then again, I don’t care. She’s a thorn in my side,” Destra cursed and Jaden took a deep breath before speaking. She was trying to rally him, but he would try hard not to fall for that.
“I am absolutely certain she won’t be a problem for you much longer,” he assured. He had every intention to kill Destra hard and fast.
“True. You and her will still be together though,” a guy next to Destra said and Jaden recognized the magician that had taken Maya away. At the memory of this guy touching his precious Origin he almost exploded. The man didn’t even give off the normal vibe a human had. It was as if nothing was really living inside that ice-cold exterior.
“He has a beating heart, meaning we can kill him,” Lex hissed next to him.
“Nox,” Destra said, using a tone one usually used to call back dogs.
“Nox? Short for obnoxious, right?” Kaden snickered and Jaden felt himself smirk.
“Nox it off, Kade, he didn’t do anything to you,” Jaden reprimanded him and Kaden gave him a grin while the mage very obviously was seething.
“No wonder she fell for a cave man like you. She never was the brightest candle in the chandelier,” Destra mused, sobering Jaden in an instant.
“You have no idea how smart she is. She evaded you pretty long before I found her, so I’d say no matter how smart she is, it’s always a little bit more than you,” he taunted, feeling tense. Something wasn’t right. Destra’s fighters weren’t in attacking position. In fact, they more looked as if they stood around at a boring party.
“Something’s off,” Red whispered, confirming Jaden’s suspicion.
“But why, everything is perfect,” Destra exclaimed, starting to walk. Jaden noticed how her men practically jumped out of her way. This was so much bigger than respect or awe; they were outright scared of her. It was a trap, that much was obvious, but he had do admit he had no idea what was to come. An ambush maybe?
He looked at Red, pointing at their surroundings, but Red just shook his head. No one else was there. Or better no one but Maya was close. He felt her in his bones, closing his eyes for a moment to tap into her feelings. She was content, making him wonder what had caused her to stop hurting. Maybe she had…
“Stop and focus,” Lex snapped and he was right. They had more pressing matters to attend to.
“She’s here, I know. We all know. We can feel her blood calling out to us as if it would be the most delicious thing we’d ever try…” Destra turned away, closing her eyes and smacking her lips as if she really could taste Maya’s blood on her tongue. Jaden knew though that she wouldn’t ever get a sample of that raspberry awesomeness. “Whatever is protecting her won’t be there when she has to leave the new court. I’ll get her out of there before you get a chance to warn her…”
Jaden gritted his teeth. No matter what trap this was, he didn’t want to wait any longer. Destra needed to die.
He took a tentative step forward, waiting for shots or arrows, but nothing happened. Strange.
“She’ll be able to step outside whenever she wishes because you’ll be deader than dead,” he threatened and she laughed; a sound that reminded him so much of Maya it made his heart ache.
“That’s wishful thinking. How did she like that anyways, huh? Being left alone? Isn’t that what they do to those poor Queens? Take them away from everything they know and love? Make them think their mates never cared? But then
again, most likely they didn’t, right?” Destra asked, delight in her voice.
“You damn…”
“Jaden, don’t let her provoke you. She’s guessing, nothing else,” Kaden warned, but Jaden didn’t care. She had struck a nerve there and her gleeful expression almost kicked him over the edge.
“She’ll probably always hate you. You still fuck others, don’t you?” she said, clearly wanting to antagonize him. And it worked. He knew she was just taking one wild guess after the other and yet … before he even had made a conscious decision his hands wrapped around the white, slender neck of his Origin’s mother. It was too easy and no one even bothered to step forward and protect her. In the back of his mind he knew that there was something terribly wrong, but he just couldn’t put a finger on it.
“Get back, Jaden! Whatever it is, doona touch her,” Devon shouted, but Jaden just couldn’t get himself to release her.
“It’s brilliant, isn’t it? Brutal, cruel and fucking brilliant,” she said for his ears only. A slow burn came from his hands, eating its way through his body until he felt on fire, blazing as if he had gone up in flames. This was bad, very bad. His knees were about to give in, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get his hands to release Destra.
“Get away. Shit, Jaden, just step back! What is going on?” He could feel the warriors hovering around him, but no one dared to pull him away or even touch him.
“Moracai. It’s the one poison in the world that can kill a vampire,” Destra finally explained and the fire in Jaden’s veins was replaced by ice.
“No way,” Kaden protested, his voice full of agony. Finally Jaden’s hands agreed to let go of the wicked witch and he stumbled back, not much strength left in his body. Wherever they had touched Destra’s skin, his fingers were turning blue, showing where his almost immortal body had come into contact with its killer.
“Absolutely way. Nox helped me with the general set up. Getting you to drink something would be impossible. Getting you to touch me though was very easy,” Destra grinned.
“Moracai is barely found anymore. I don’t think she found enough to make a poison strong enough.” Destra cackled while Jaden looked at his twin’s hopeful expression.
“Trust me, there was enough,” he assured him, trying his hardest to stay on his own two feet. It wasn’t an easy task because his body was ready to drop and unconsciousness threatened to claim him.
“How are you not dying?” Lex asked directed at Destra and finally the magician stepped forward.
“Here is the part where obnoxious turns into genius. I created a spell that would make the poison act like a second skin, not affecting the one wearing it, but making everyone else who touches her hold on until enough seeped into his or her bloodstream. And I know where to find what I need. So she has a spell and you all … have a warrior that soon will be nothing but a groaning, aching shell for years and years to come,” Nox explained, and, as if trying to prove how smart exactly he was, he reached out and brushed his knuckles over Destra’s cheek. “And just like that the spell’s gone,” he announced.
Jaden couldn’t help but notice how even Destra’s shoulders sagged in relief.
“Get her,” Jaden bit out, but it wasn’t more than a whisper.
“We need to get him back to his place,” someone shouted. Jaden’s vision was blurring, but he still could make out Destra’s retrieving figure. They needed to get her and this might be the only chance they had! Why were they walking around him when they needed to kill that bitch?
“Don’t let her go,” he snapped, but then he suddenly saw stars. A lot of them. Real ones even. Why was he on his back when just a second ago he still had been standing?
Someone was bend over him, but he couldn’t keep his eyes open long enough to worry whom it was.
What he did wonder though was if he’d ever get a chance to tell Maya how sorry he was and that he loved her, but even that thought soon was taken over by blackness.
The next time he awoke he found himself in his own bed, Kaden, Lex and Red arguing in front of him.
“You shouldn’t have called him,” Kaden snapped and Lex threw up his hands.
“Jaden is his best friend,” he gave back, but Jaden’s twin just shrugged.
“And what do you think will be the first thing he does now?” he challenged and Jaden wished he would know whom they were talking about. As it was though there were more pressing matters at hand.
“Don’t let Maya come,” he forced out, his voice sounding hollow. The guys in front of his bed didn’t even react.
Lex paled though as realization dawned. Or maybe Kaden’s thoughts just were open to be read.
“He’s gonna bring her here. She’ll be seeing him like that and will try everything she can to actually heal him,” he said out aloud, making Jaden sit up. He winced against the pain almost ready to overwhelm him, but by now he was sure they were talking about his Origin.
“Kaden, you saw her. She won’t come, right? She hates me. She won’t come,” Jaden said in a whispered rush, panic seizing him. That got Kaden’s attention. He sat down on Jaden’s side and tried to push him back into the pillows.
“Swear to me that you will not let her come here! If you get a chance, tell her that no one can heal me! I’m begging you! Don’t let her risk her life for me! Promise!” Jaden demanded and his twin swallowed hard. “You know you don’t want to let her die, so keep her from it! By all means, just make her stay away!”
“Brother, you know she loves you. Do you honestly think…”
“I don’t care, Kaden, promise me you won’t let her try if there’s no hope of her succeeding,” Jaden demanded, gritting his teeth against the pain. Moracai was the worst thing anyone could imagine. It made a vampire’s health deteriorate during hours until he was on the brink of death and then it kept him there for decades if no one had mercy. Sometimes one lucky bastard was brought back from a poisoning like that with humans donating blood, but it was unheard of that a mated vampire could come back.
Even if it took all hope about Jaden surviving this, he was glad Maya was his.
“I promise,” Kaden finally said and Jaden now let him be pushed back into the pillows.
“Tell her I love her,” Jaden pleaded, closing his eyes because giving into the darkness was a lot easier than fighting it.
“You tell her that,” Kaden replied, but both knew that this wasn’t going to happen unless Kaden would break his promise. For Maya’s sake Jaden hoped his twin would stick to it though.
Maya knew something was wrong even before she heard the shouting out in the hall. That courtier and Ryder were at each other’s throats again, but she could hardly focus since agony almost brought her to her knees.
“I’m begging you, Ryder, just leave her alone with that,” she heard the female say, but her door flew open nonetheless. “Great, what’s your awesome plan now, genius?” The woman then wanted to know and Ryder turned back to her.
“My best friend kinda wants to see her so he can tell her a few things he didn’t exactly say to her before and don’t get me wrong, but I don’t care what kind of ass you think I am, I’ll actually bring her there because that’s what he’d want,” Ryder fussed while Maya held her middle, trying to breathe through Jaden’s pain. She seriously wished she could find enough air to ask what was going.
“It’s Moracai, asshole! You can now decide if you want to torture him or her. She’s your sister, for the Creator’s sake!”
Suddenly all pain receded from Maya’s body, making her realize that Jaden was drifting off into unconsciousness.
“Tell me what’s going on,” Maya demanded, not even looking at her brother. “Besides the fact that the two of you obviously decided to barge into my private quarters and stop respecting me,” she went on and the courtier bowed.
“My Queen…”
“Maya is my name. What was yours again?”
“Her fucking name is Cany, Maya, and you should finally start remembering t
hat because she ain’t going anywhere. And Jaden’s dying,” Ryder snapped.
“Cany, can you tell me what’s going on? Vampires can’t die… They can be killed, but they don’t just die,” she exclaimed, but the look on Cany’s face said it all: Hell, yeah, it was possible for a vampire to die.
“It’s a poison. Actually it is the only one a vampire can be harmed with and as far as legends go all Moracai – resources were eliminated … obviously though that really was just a legend since your mate… He…”
“He’s suffering, Maya, and I need you to come and see him. Right now he has moments of being awake and you can talk to him, but there’ll be a point where we might… Just come and talk to him before you regret it,” Ryder pleaded and Maya finally turned her eyes on her brother.
“How can he be healed?” she wanted to know.
“Not at all,” Cany said instantly and way too fast for Maya’s taste.
“She’s not stupid, courtier, so don’t treat her that way. Blood, that’s all that can save him, but don’t even think about it. Mated vampires cannot be brought back from the poisoning since their mates don’t have enough to replace what will be lost,” Ryder explained and Maya stared at him, being surprised when Cany slapped him.
“Way to go, jerk. Tell her he’s dying because of her. You sure are such a charmer! My Queen, please, there is just no way you’d survive trying to help him,” Cany pleaded, obviously seeing the determination in Maya’s eyes.
Matt joined them, looking distraught.
“We cannot bring her over,” he said towards Ryder, purposely not looking at her. It ticked Maya off.
“First, I am done with people deciding for me what I will or won’t do. If I have the means to save him, I’m gonna try,” she snapped, pushing past all of them.
“Why, Queen? What did he ever do to you that he deserves your compassion? He brushed you off and you’ve been broken ever since I met you. Now you are ready to throw away your life?” Cany asked, stopping her.
