“Don’t move,” her mother ordered Victoria.
The princess looked like she was going to let her pride make her get up out of the chair and walk away from the healing she desperately needed.
“I’m going to tell you about scars,” her mother said.
What? Victoria didn’t need stories. She was in desperate want of a healing.
“Mother, is this really the time?” Elizabeth interrupted
“Do you want to tell the princess about your scar?” her mother asked.
Fire, blue and hot, flickered in front of her mind.
Did her mother really want her to share that horror with Victoria after the princess had been so recently burned?
“Uh, not really,” Elizabeth said, quite confused.
“What are you doing?” Elizabeth asked using telepathy.
“I’m healing the wounds you don’t see,” her mother answered.
“Why didn’t you heal your own daughter?” Victoria asked, sounding angry now and not bothering to mask it.
“To remember,” her mother said.
The lie pinged Elizabeth’s barrier but she didn’t say anything.
“It was a lesson,” Victoria said, a haunted look on her face.
“The lesson wasn’t for Elizabeth,” her mother said. “I left the scar there to remind myself of my failure.”
“Mom?” Elizabeth whispered into her thoughts.
She had always thought her mother had been too drained to heal her. She never questioned why her mother hadn’t erased the mark in all the subsequent healings.
She should have guessed.
Mom was never satisfied with the penance life asked from her for that night of horror. It wasn’t right or fair, but her mother was too stubborn to listen to her daughters. They didn’t even feel there was anything to forgive.
“You have to make a decision, Princess Victoria,” her mother said.
She sat on the footstool in front of the injured princess like any other servant about to perform a task.
“Call me Victoria,” the princess royally ordered.
She didn’t know her mother, yet.
“Do you need these scars, Victoria?”
Victoria looked frightened. It made her look so much younger.
Elizabeth wanted to hug her. Maybe her mother was right, and Elizabeth should share her story, at least partly, with Victoria.
“I don’t know,” Victoria admitted.
“I can heal your neck without another scar, but I think it’s time someone erased the rest,” her mother said.
She didn’t grab onto Victoria like in most traditional healings. She put out her hands, palm up, waiting for Victoria to grab hold of her, to make the decision herself.
“There are so many scars,” Victoria said, fear creeping into her voice.
“The lesson isn’t for you,” her mother repeated.
She waited patiently, palms up, radiating strength even as she sat lower than Victoria.
Victoria grabbed her hands. “Do it. Everything,” Victoria said, squeezing her eyes tight.
“Lessen the pain. Elizabeth!”
It was the longest thirty seconds of healing in which Elizabeth had ever participated.
Her mother never grabbed onto Victoria’s hands, but she let the younger witch squeeze her open palms with white knuckled strength. Her mother’s powerful magic burned even hotter than Elizabeth’s own lightning.
Victoria passed out when the healing was complete, her hands relaxing a few seconds, before the rest of her body fell limp.
Elizabeth dropped to the floor, but stayed conscious.
The pain she had halved between them, but it still had been almost unbearable.
“Let’s never do that again,” she told her mother.
Using air alone, her mother picked up Elizabeth’s exhausted body and carried her to a second chair. A blanket dropped onto Elizabeth’s lap.
Her mother’s magic had always been strong, but after so long in the human world, and weakened, it was eye opening to see her mother demonstrating such reserves once again.
Elizabeth shivered and pulled the blanket up to her chest. This was not going to go well for her.
Her mother's anger at Victoria’s scars was barely being held in check by the usual stiff upper lip.
When Elizabeth unloaded the claim business onto her mother, she was going to become a convenient target for that anger.
“Why is your friend covered in bite scars?”
“My friend?’”
“The last girl you brought for me to heal was your human friend.”
She meant Julie. Her mother had been unable to save Elizabeth’s human best friend when she had been drained by a demon.
Elizabeth had called her mother before dialling 9-1-1 on a pay phone. Frightened, and a young preteen herself, when the demon had come upon them, she’d panicked and involved the human authorities.
To this day, Elizabeth was unsure if the demon had been drawn to her witchy powers or if he was hunting for human blood.
The demon had run off at Elizabeth’s screaming, but it had been too late.
Her mother had found Elizabeth with Julie’s lifeless body. She pulled Elizabeth away before they got tangled up in the homicide investigation.
The demon never made it to the portal, although Elizabeth couldn't fully claim that kill. She had tricked the demon’s mind while her mother drove a tire iron into his chest.
No free trip back to hell for that murdering bastard.
“I think the answer to your questions requires tea,” Elizabeth finally replied.
Her mother knew where Elizabeth had gone, lost in her thoughts. A calming cup of tea would likely soothe both of their tempers.
It would also be easier to explain the claim if her mother was sitting down to drink tea and wasn't pacing the room.
Her mother was limping badly.
“Just how much trouble have you managed to get yourself in when we’ve only been here a few days, Elizabeth?”
“Depends on your definition of trouble.”
Her mother walked over to the fireplace, where a small, black kettle hung. Her room was different from Elizabeth’s room, created with an earth witch in mind. The fireplace was bigger and had a metal rod for hanging kettles, built into the stone.
Her mother made the tea, not asking further questions until she had sat down on the last chair.
She delicately sipped her cup and let Elizabeth do the same, blowing against the steam before the first scalding taste. Then, she looked her daughter in the eyes.
“Boys are my definition of trouble,” her mother thought to her.
“Yes, I’ve gotten into trouble.”
Her mother took another bracing drink of tea.
She must have added something in it to help with their magic burn from earlier. Elizabeth could feel the warmth curling around her chi like a hug.
“It’s Kim’s son, isn’t it?” her mother guessed.
Elizabeth had fallen head-over-heels. Was it that obvious?
She nodded into her tea, thinking of what she wanted to tell her mother.
“He’s part of the problem and the solution. Victoria is involved as well,” Elizabeth said.
“Tell me about the princess first. Why was she injured so badly?”
“Those were demon bites all over her body and her neck was burned by her brother, Prince George.”
“That prince has a dark reputation. Jill has talked to me as well about abuses she has witnessed. It is as bad as we feared. Demons are valued over witches and too many are sacrificed for power and greed,” her mother said, shaking her head.
“Jill told me there are no blue witches left in the royal harems. I think she and the princess are the only blue witches left in the castle, and Victoria’s at the very weak end of that spectrum. I have only seen her burn turquoise,” Elizabeth shared.
Her mother drank her tea quickly, putting the cup down on a side table.
Eliza
beth knew she was processing what she had been told, making a judgement as to whether they should stay or leave.
“Kim doesn’t know how much things have changed since she was banished. I’m not sure it is safe for you to continue hunting. Even Jill is at risk here with so few blue witches,” her mother said.
“It’s more reason for us to not stop. Can’t you see how much we are needed? I’ve already found the library tunnel and I’m sure the portal is the key. Just give me a few more days.”
“You girls have not been telling me everything. I know what it is like to be in court for the first time. I can’t help you if you hide things from me.”
Her mother was echoing Daemon’s words.
It was hard to open up. Lightning had always made Elizabeth different. She had learned to stay a little apart from others, even her own family.
It wasn’t usually secrets she kept from them, but feelings, like the way it felt when she read an unconscious reprimand before her mother suppressed it or imagined the deepest fears of a vampire she was hunting.
Telepathy was not something anyone else could understand, truly and fully, without possessing the power.
She had been so overwhelmed by her sudden feelings for Daemon that the claim had become a secret, too.
How to explain to her mother why she had allowed the blood-bond to a dangerous demon when it was a tangle of emotions in her mind?
She needed to trust.
“I accepted a claim from Prince Daemon,” she admitted.
Her mother waited for the explanation.
“Daemon claimed me the night of the tasting ball, as he said. I don’t know why, but he insisted on it that night. He’s as strong as the rumours say.”
“Has he fed from you?”
“Not really. He has tasted me, but only after he gave me some of his blood to cement the claim. He believes it is his own lightning, and not my magic, that he tasted in my blood.”
Elizabeth took another sip of tea and privately admitted to herself that it was only a matter of time before she fed Daemon.
Their relationship was progressing quickly.
“It is strange that he couldn’t tell your lightning apart. It was a very dangerous risk you took, accepting his claim,” her mother gently scolded.
“He offers me protection. Trust me, it would have been more dangerous without his claim.”
“Any other vampire would have been better than one of the most powerful demons at court.”
“I couldn’t just turn him down. He is the firstborn prince, even if the king won’t acknowledge him as such, and he is persistent.”
Elizabeth met her mother’s troubled eyes.
There was guilt there as expected, but there was also a question that Elizabeth had to answer.
“I like him.”
“Oh, Elizabeth. I never thought we would have to protect your heart. Jill’s a romantic but you have always been so practical.”
“I didn’t say I loved him.”
‘Liar, liar,’ her mind whispered, but she didn’t share those thoughts.
“Does he care for you?”
“He tries to take care of me, but I don’t know about his feelings yet. It’s not like we’ve known each other long and most of the time he’s doing things that piss me off. Males are very difficult to get along with in Maeren.”
“They are elementals, not humans. Magic makes them wilder. You won't find them as easy to handle as the boys back home. What did I tell you about setting boundaries? A witch should follow protocol, or a male elemental will just take what he wants.”
“I set rules.”
No way was she going to reveal those rules. To her mother. She was pretty sure they weren’t protocol.
She hadn’t even mentioned Jill’s claim yet.
Her sister should be the one to tell their mother that she let William claim her.
The first meeting between her mother and William at the breakfast after the ball did not bode well for that revelation.
Phillip . . . well, he was involved with Jill first, so she considered this Jill’s problem to explain as well.
The little stolen kiss and taste of lightning between Elizabeth and Phillip didn’t matter as much, after their awkward breakfast on the balcony.
Daemon had set boundaries.
“I will expect your demon to present himself to me again,” her mother said, decided upon letting the claim rest for now.
“Fine, I will let him know.”
Daemon owed her for breakfast seated on his lap.
“Explain how the Princess is involved in all of this. I haven’t seen wounds like hers since the clan wars.”
“George wants to claim me, and Daemon is the only one standing in his way. Victoria and Victor were forced to try to bring me to George and break Daemon’s claim. George had some sort of hold over them. He tortured Victoria to get her to attack me in the forest.”
“Why does Prince George want you? He doesn’t have any air. No other vampires expressed interest in you after your show at the ball. Apparently, you were very convincing.”
One other vampire had expressed interest, until he tasted her.
Elizabeth had glimpsed her mystery vampire through their lightning-connected dream.
The only thing she knew for sure, was that he wasn’t Phillip or Daemon.
Damn it! She was going to have to tell her mother about the mystery vampire and Phillip, too. Two vampires and a demon were even too much for a slayer of her skills.
Victoria suddenly woke up just as Elizabeth was building her nerve to finish her confession.
It wasn’t the best timing as Elizabeth hadn’t even gotten to the part of the explanation that exonerated Victoria, yet.
Her mother merely got up and checked on her patient.
“Keep explaining, Elizabeth.”
“Daemon found out about George’s plan and made Victoria my Lasier.”
Elizabeth skipped over the fight. Her mother didn’t need to know about the flying daggers.
“Your demon is clever. A Lasier bond breaks all other bonds. It will free Princess Victoria from the hold Prince George has on her. Is this why I’m hearing about Daemon’s claim now? You must announce the claim to keep Princess Victoria as your Lasier?”
Her mother got tea for Victoria.
The princess sipped from her dainty cup, with her pinky up.
“Yes, I have to announce Daemon’s claim to make Victoria my Lasier.”
“Victoria is going to be my new bestie,” Elizabeth said out loud.
Her mother accepted that their private conversation was at an end, for now.
“A Lasier is not your friend,” her mother replied.
Victoria stubbornly got out of the chair, without help, still clutching her teacup.
“Princess Victoria, please sit down,” her mother said. Her tone of voice made it a command and not a suggestion.
Victoria wisely obeyed.
“Flower fairy had to go and spill her guts. Besties don’t rat each other out,” Victoria muttered, obviously not pleased the big reveal had happened without her.
“Have you taken the blood-oath yet?” her mother asked.
“No. It was rather recent,” Victoria answered.
“What blood-oath?” Elizabeth asked.
“A blood-oath is used to bind a Lasier to her witch. Although the vampire initiating the claim will arrange the Lasier’s protection, he cannot bind the Lasier to his will. The claimed witch must know the Lasier will protect her above all others, so the oath goes to her. Blood-oaths can be used for other binding agreements, but those are less common.”
Her mother sat down in her chair again, after delivering the explanation.
“How is it that you don’t know about blood-oaths, Liz?” Victoria asked.
She sounded merely curious, but that line of questioning could quickly become quicksand to sink her whole family.
“You may as well know that Elizabeth and her sister were raised on th
e edge, outside of nobility, most of their lives. We don’t go around announcing this, for obvious reasons, when the girls are both seeking a suitable harem.”
Victoria wanted to know more, no doubt, but it would be rude to question her mother further.
Everyone knew their father was dead, although the circumstances around his death were murky. Most would assume that poverty had driven her family to live at an edge town and that was the way they preferred it.
Nobody was going to chase you if they didn’t know you were running away. They were hiding in plain sight.
“You’re a country hick, Liz?” Victoria mocked, but it was in good fun. “I knew you came from the edge, but to grow up there must have been interesting.”
Freedom.
That was what Victoria was thinking of when she imagined their family living on the edge. She didn’t look down on them as poor or ignorant of noble customs.
Victoria was jealous of their freedom.
“Maybe we can swap stories from the edge, for the need to know Maeren factoids, to prevent me from embarrassing myself while I’m here?” Elizabeth offered.
“Sure,” Victoria agreed. “But what do you mean while you’re here? I thought you were looking for a royal harem, and with Daemon claiming you . . . He’s never claimed a witch before, Liz. I don’t think he’s going to just let you leave.”
Fear of demons, bright and sharp, despite the recent healing.
Victoria’s thoughts were like a recently released prisoner that still looks at everything like it had four walls, no escape available.
Elizabeth shared Victoria’s fear with her mother using telepathy.
“I can only heal the body, not the mind, with earth. But maybe your lightning . . . ?” her mother suggested.
“No.”
Not after Jill’s panic attacks, ever since that night.
Elizabeth’s magic was not for healing.
“Friendship, daughter. Friendship can be stronger than magic.”
Victoria set her empty cup on the side table.
Elizabeth realized they had been ignoring her while silently communicating.
“I don’t think any of us know what Daemon wants yet,” Elizabeth said, finally answering her question.
“Get your Lasier under oath. Once she is bound to you, then she won’t be able to reveal any secrets you tell her. She will be bound against all harm to you, including from herself.”
Every Witch Demon but Mine (Maeren Series Book 1) Page 32
