Bloodborne Awakened (Borne of Blood Book 1)

by Tracey Laviolette

  Gordon led me downstairs and into a room where Kyle sat in a chair by a desk. After releasing my hands, Gordon quickly shut the door behind me. I looked around the small room, which appeared to be an interrogation room like the ones I’d seen on cop shows.

  “How’s Jacob?” Kyle asked and folded his hands together across the table.

  I pulled out the chair beside him and sat down. “Dr. Wester has him sedated, but they really don’t know how long he has left.”

  “And I take it that Evan doesn’t want the alternative? To at least save his son?”

  I shook my head and looked down at the table. There was that pain in my heart again, pulling and tearing. My eyes filled with tears, and even though I tried to look away, they fell, one by one as I tried to wipe them away.

  “Evan’s insane.” Kyle touched my hand, then gently squeezed it. “He’s more interested in politics than he is to save his son’s life.”

  I sniffled, then wiped my eyes again. “What do you mean?”

  “Evan is power-hungry. I mean, he’s been looking for a reason to wage war again against the Dragonbornes. It’s always been about control, and he wants it all. His motives for being on the Elders’ panel, or whatever—it’s all planned. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if he only married the good doctor to get there.”

  “You’re talking about conspiracies. Why does Evan hate Dragonbornes so much?” I sniffed again, then wiped my hands on my jeans.

  “It’s not a theory if it exists. I don’t know, it could be the power thing. Evan could be jealous because the Bloodbornes choose to stay out of the affairs of the humans, while the Dragonbornes work to help them in the shadows.”

  “But his hatred and greed will cost him a son.” I shook my head adamantly. “We need to save Jacob.”

  “I know, I’ve been trying to figure out how we can do this. The Bloodborne Counsel is old and pretty much stuck to their ways of tradition.” Kyle brought his hand up to his mouth, and it looked as though he was pondering some far-off thought.

  Along with Kyle, I drifted off into a trance, mulling over how to save Jacob. His life hung in the balance, just as ours did. I knew, in my heart, that Jacob was fighting for his life, just as I should be doing. My gaze shifted to Kyle. Jacob was a warrior, just like us. He deserved a chance at life—his destiny wasn’t over yet, at least not while I still breathed.

  I felt the truth, deep and hard. Jacob had the spirit of not just a warrior but a great King. He alone had a thousand generations of Royal blood inside him—the Heir to the Throne. I was sure that his soul was as ancient as they come. His mother, Karina, was an old soul and daughter of the Bloodborne King. Jacob was chosen from his bloodline to be next in line for King. If Jacob become King, he would put an end to the bickering and fighting among the Bloodbornes and Dragonbornes—unlike his father. The only one who wanted a war was Evan.

  “Step aside and let me through.” A man’s commanding voice snapped my attention from my deep thoughts back to reality.

  I looked from the door to Kyle, then back at the door again as it opened. A tall white-haired man, very lean like you would believe an Elf to be, walked into the room. He was clothed in a white pantsuit with a blue and gold sleeveless robe. The design was immaculate and fit for royalty.

  “Jessie?” His voice was stern and firm, almost like that of a true King’s.

  I swallowed hard. “Yes, I’m Jessie.”

  His dark brown eyes settled on me. “You are the one who will save my grandson?”

  My eyes widened as I looked from the man to Kyle, then to the man again. “Yes… I believe I can.”

  His eyes narrowed as he looked me over. “My pompous son-in-law would have my bloodline die because of a feud he created. Come with me, child, and if it is true that you can save my grandson, then may this put an end to this bickering amongst fools.” He swiftly turned to reveal Tristan standing at the door.

  Tristan gave me a smile, then followed up with a sly wink. “But…sir, Evan threatened to kill me.”

  The man stopped in his tracks, and with his back still to us, he spoke the words I’d never thought I would hear in my life. “If you save my grandson, I will personally kill anyone who threatens to harm you. You have my word.”

  At that point, Tristan bowed as the man walked past him and around the corner. Tristan motioned for us to follow, and we did. The man moved with quick, long strides that made it impossible for us to keep a walking pace with him. I wasn’t sure what Bloodbornes were, but I swore they had to be part Elf—well, from the movies I’d seen, anyway. I honestly didn’t know what elves were or where they came from. But this man was very tall and lean, with such pale skin, too flawless and gorgeous for a human male. He was the exact picture of what I thought Elves looked like—in real life, anyway.

  “Who is he, exactly?” I asked Tristan as we jogged behind the man.

  Tristan took a deep breath, then whispered, “He is the Bloodborne King.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  ∆

  For the first time in my life, I felt pure power, raw and utterly relentless, as Tristan and I followed behind the Bloodborne King. As we moved down the hall, several students stepped aside to let the Royal Envoy pass by. Much to my liking, I caught a glimpse of Leigh, who stared at us wide-eyed as we walked past her.

  “How do you know him?” I whispered softly to Tristan.

  “I’m a part of his Royal Guard, assigned to watch over his family.” Tristan kept his voice low, but grinned broadly.

  I shook my head. You called him? I mouthed.

  Tristan nodded, speaking softly. “It’s his bloodline, and Jacob is important to the King.”

  Our conversation ended as we came to an abrupt stop at Jacob’s hospital room. One of the King’s guards opened the door, and the King stepped aside and motioned in a long wave for me to enter the room. As I ahead, I noticed Karina first, then Mia, as both stood from sitting beside Jacob’s bed.

  “Father?” Karina ran to the King and hugged him. “My son… help him.” Her voice wavered.

  The King bent down and wrapped his arms around Karina for a long moment, then released her and walked over to stand beside Jacob’s bed. His eyes didn’t wear the graveness well as he looked down upon his dying grandson.

  “What’s his condition?” he asked softly.

  “He’s getting worse. I gave him something to slow the venom, and we’ve tried to come up with an antidote, but we don’t have anything that works.” Karina moved closer to Jacob and held his hand. “He’s getting cold.”

  With weary eyes, the King looked to me and gently placed his hand on my shoulder. “Do what you must.” Then he turned back to Karina. “Where is your husband, so that I may speak to him of his ill doings?”

  “He’s in the Hall of Elders, meeting with them as we speak. Father—” Karina began, then stopped as he lifted a palm.

  “I know all I need to. Tristan, you will come with me.” He whisked away his envoy out the door, leaving me with Karina, Mia, and Jacob.

  “I’m torn, I can’t leave my son, but I need to be there with my father and husband.” Karina turned to me. “Please, do what you can for Jacob, and I promise I will be back as soon as I can.” Her attention turned to Mia. “If anything happens, come and get me immediately.”

  Mia nodded, and Karina gently squeezed my arm before she followed her father toward the Elder’s Hall. I knew the battle about to rage in that room wasn’t one I wanted to be near. I’d seen enough death and destruction for one day.

  “What do you need me to do?” Mia asked as she stepped around to the opposite side from me.

  “I’m not sure. I honestly don’t know what to do.” I looked up at her with hopeful eyes.

  “Jessie, for what it’s worth, I believe in you. Do what you believe is right for my brother.”

  Mia’s words cut deep within my heart, and I felt strength rise from a depth I didn’t even know existed. I looked down at Jacob, at his pale lips on the verge of turn
ing blue, those same lips that had kissed me so passionately. Silently, I hoped I had the faith to carry out this mission.

  “Where do I—” I looked from his neck to his arm.

  “I would suggest the neck—it will reach his heart faster. Possibly burn past the venom.”

  I nodded and inhaled a deep breath as I closed my eyes and focused. A cold shiver sprang up to my spine, leaving the hairs on the back of my neck and arms prickling on their ends. My fangs descended, and I carefully moved toward Jacob. Gently, I turned his head to the side, exposing his neck, and noticed the vein. With normal vision, I wouldn’t have been able to see it so clearly—so rich and perfect. I leaned closer and closed my eyes as I felt my teeth touch his skin. Slowly, I sank my fangs into his skin until I had a metallic taste in my mouth, and I knew I hit the vein.

  No one needed to give me any instructions after that. Nature took over as the venom from my fangs slowly dripped into his vein. The feeling was somewhat euphoric for that second or two, and it was over. Immediately, I pulled back and saw the four small puncture wounds I’d made on his neck. His skin had already begun to heal and close over before I even blinked blink. Mia and I exchanged a concerned look as I backed away and sat down in a chair. I folded my hands together and looked expectantly at Mia.

  “All we can do is wait.” She spoke softly as she watched her brother. “We don’t know what will happen to him after this.”

  “You think he’ll turn into a Dragonborne, like me?” My gaze shifted from Jacob to her.

  Mia’s worried eyes lifted, then slowly trailed toward me. “I honestly don’t know. Perhaps he will. The sample we took from you to make antivenom, we thought it worked on you. But,” her gaze traveled back to Jacob, “I know now that it didn’t. We thought you were a Bloodborne like the rest of us, but we didn’t know that the unidentified link in your DNA was Dragonborne. You are the lucky one.”

  “Why do you say that?” I leaned forward and crossed one foot behind the other.

  Her expression softened as she looked up toward me. “Because we are guessing that Dragonbornes are inherently immune to demon venom. The creature that bit him was a hybrid, and what I thought worked on you would work on him. I was wrong.”

  “Mia, it’s not your fault. You didn’t fail.” I frowned, then shook my head.

  Her attention went from me to Jacob and back again. “I didn’t? I couldn’t save my brother.”

  “He’s going to make it, Mia. If it hadn’t been for you slowing down the venom, he probably wouldn’t have made it this far.”

  “Thank you for your kindness.” Her voice was soft and subtle as her attention drew back to her brother. “But Jessie, you need to understand. I didn’t save you like we thought. Whatever is inside of you saved your life by burning through the toxins in the venom. Your body cured itself.” Her gaze shifted to me. “I’ve never seen anything like that.” She looked away to her brother again. “But don’t worry, no one knows but me. I’d prefer to keep it that way.”

  At first, I didn’t understand what she meant; perhaps she wanted to hide the information because she’d made an honest mistake. There had to be more to her intentions than she admitted. Given the information on Mia, she didn’t like failure and would find a way to overcompensate. Perhaps the reason she wanted to keep this a secret was to protect Jacob, and not me. If Jacob did turn into a Dragonborne, then he may jeopardize the entire race of Bloodbornes. They had to remain a pure bloodline because of their responsibility to keep humans safe.

  I released a long sigh. “What will happen to him and the Bloodbornes after this?”

  Mia shook her head. “I don’t know. The Bloodborne laws are strict.”

  A sharp pain stabbed my heart as I remembered the conversation that I’d had with Evan over the Bloodborne Laws. They believed that the body had to be of pureblood host to accept the spirit.

  However, the Dragonbornes were once Bloodbornes, and they were hosts as well. In my theory, Dragonbornes were still Bloodbornes, except with a slight difference.

  The world we lived in ran because of some sort of balance, and this was taught in ancient writings of every faith or religion. There was a balance to everything, that was the way of life. Good and evil. The scales to balance life and death. To ascend or descend. Inevitably, there had to come a day where the Bloodbornes would be in balance with the rest of the world. My theory was that the Dragonbornes were inevitably created to balance the Bloodbornes. At least it made sense to me, and perhaps I didn’t know enough of their history to make that call, but my logic was based upon what I’d already learned.

  Jacob’s life hung in the balance, for more than just life or death. His balance now held the weight of an entire race of people. If he changed, then they could change as well. The hatred between the two races had to stop, and Jacob could be the one to put an end to it all. Only time would tell what fate was to bring.

  “It’s late… you should go and get some sleep. If I remember correctly, you were out for three days.” Mia glanced toward me and gave me a soft smile.

  “You’ll let me know—” I was exhausted, and desperately wanted a shower and some sleep. My heart told me to stay with Jacob, but my body refused to listen.

  “I promise.” She nodded, then waved me off.

  I slowly stood and gave Jacob one last look before I’d left. On a positive note, the color appeared to come back to him, and it looked as though he was peaceful. I knew better though—

  If he experienced what I had, Jacob was going through an unimaginable hell. I leaned down, close to his ear.

  “You can do this, Jacob. I believe in you,” I whispered softly against his ear. Softly, I placed a kiss on the side of his cheek, then looked up at Mia. Her eyes held so much sorrow and anxiety, and I wished I had encouraging words to share with her, but nothing came to me. She gave me a confirming nod as I walked past her toward the door. I hated to leave, I didn’t want to go, but I knew it would probably be better if I got some sleep.

  As soon as my hand touched the knob to open the door, I felt a cold shiver run through me, and I froze. Behind me, I heard a rustling and whisked around to see Jacob’s body twitch. Mia sprang to her feet and stood over him, then she turned toward the monitors.

  “What’s wrong?” I moved quickly, back to his side.

  “I’m not sure. His heart rate is going off the charts, and his blood pressure is dropping.” Horror seemed to fill her eyes as she snapped her attention to me. “We’re losing him!”

  Jacob’s body suddenly burst into violent convulsing, and Mia grabbed at his arms to hold his upper body down. I grabbed hold of his legs to keep them steady. It didn’t look good for him at this point.

  “He’s not going to make it!” Mia shouted.

  “Can we do something?!” I screamed out as I felt the strength behind Jacob’s thrashing nearly overcome me.

  “Nothing, I haven’t already tried.”

  “Don’t you dare leave me, Jacob!” I screamed at him, and suddenly found what felt like claws gripping at my heart. I wasn’t going to lose him—not now. I owed him my life, and if that were what it took—I’d give it without compromise.

  Jacob’s upper body flew up from the table, toppling Mia over into me. He sat in an upright position for a second or two, then lifelessly fell backward, hitting the table with a hard thud.

  “Oh God,” Mia shouted as we watched the heart monitor flatline.

  Wide-eyed, and disbelieving what I’d just witnessed, I refused to believe I had just lost one of the most important people in my life. I shook my head and pushed Mia aside as I grabbed hold of his shoulders and looked down into his face.

  “Jacob! You don’t have the right to leave me! GET UP! WAKE UP!” I growled out the command as I let go of his shoulders and thrust my fist down onto his chest. A beeping sounded from the monitor, and I looked from the monitor back to Mia in surprise. I shared her emotion, but it faded as quickly as it happened when the beeping stopped again. “Get the shocking t
hings!” I shouted to Mia.

  She shook her head. “I can’t. His heart can’t take it—the poison has gone to his heart. Jessie, let him go. Not everyone survives these things.” Mia’s voice cracked. “I’ll go get Mom and Grandfather.” Her hand squeezed my shoulder before she walked out.

  After she left, I was alone in the room with Jacob. Call it grief. Call it emotion. Call it pain. Call it whatever the hell you want—the pain crushed me. My eyes filled with water like a fertile well. Each one burned down my cheeks as it fell. Jacob didn’t deserve to die. He had his entire life to live to be a strong leader, a protector, and… more tears fell as I thought of him as being my own.

  I closed my eyes. My fingers found his hand, and I squeezed it tightly. If there were any hope I had, it would be that some miracle would happen, and I would have him back with me. I opened my eyes to see the peaceful look on Jacob’s face. He looked calm, even in death.

  Tears flowed freely from my eyes. I looked up to the ceiling and held my gaze there, searching for something—anything that could bring a miracle to help him.

  “I need some help here!” My voice cracked under all the pain I felt inside. “Please!”

  I inhaled a deep, ragged breath, and my body suddenly felt full of electricity. Just as I closed my eyes, the cold waves swept over me and felt as though they carried my mind off to a different place. Slowly, I opened my eyes and believed I’d died that moment. I stood in an array of clouds that shimmered softly around my feet. Around me was light, yet I could see darkness lingering beyond.