Page 37 of Blood Legacy (Eternal Descent (MistHallow Academy) #1)

37

GAIDA

I work to keep my face neutral as Dante kisses my palm. His gesture is sweet and comforting, but it does nothing to calm the storm brewing inside me.

“Right,” I say, pulling my hand back. “Let’s go somewhere more private to figure this out.”

Felix’s eyes darken with concern. “You’re taking this remarkably well.”

My laugh is hollow, forced. “What’s the alternative? Fall apart? That won’t stop whatever’s coming.”

The truth is, I’m terrified. What truly frightens me about this is the thought of being used, of my blood becoming a tool for some ancient monster’s agenda. Of losing control over my own destiny.

But fear won’t save me. Action will.

We leave the dining hall together, moving through corridors filled with students oblivious to the danger swirling around them.

“We have to get to Advanced Blood Magick,” I mutter to Felix. “We’ll catch up later, okay?”

He nods and watches me leave with Dante. I’m nervous about being in a class with Harlow again after everything that happened last time and what we’ve learned. Regardless of whether The Equilibrium is responsible for me being this way or not, they have still been manipulating bloodlines for centuries.

Taking a seat at the back, as far away from Harlow as possible, I try to look interested, but my mind is spiralling off in all directions. Shifting in my chair when I get the feeling like Champagne bubbles fizzing through my veins, it’s almost pleasant until it isn’t. The tingling at the base of my skull explodes outwards through my body like lightning has decided to use me as a conduit. My vision blurs, then snaps into hyperfocus with such intensity that I grip my desk to anchor myself to reality.

Dante’s muttered words are distant; I can’t make them out. The classroom transforms into a complex array of light and energy. Golden threads crisscross the space, each one pulsing with its own rhythm, its own story. Every vampire in the room blazes like a small sun, these threads stretching from their cores upward and outward, connecting them to points beyond MistHallow’s walls.

Sire bonds.

They’re not just visible but tangible to my new senses. Each one is unique, each one telling its tale of power and submission, of protection and control. Some glow brighter than others, indicating strength, devotion, and love. Others appear dimmer, strained by distance or circumstance.

“Miss Aragon?” Professor Harlow’s voice ripples through my altered consciousness. “Are you well?”

I blink hard, struggling to focus on her face through the maze of golden threads. Dante crouches next to me, gripping my fingers.

“I need some air,” I manage to say, rising from my seat on shaky legs. Dante grips my elbow and steers me out of the classroom.

The corridors offer no respite. If anything, the bonds are more visible here, creating an intricate spiderweb of supernatural connections that fill the entire space. They shimmer with life, with history, with power that calls to something primal unfurling inside me.

Another wave of sensation washes over me. It is raw strength, ancient power flowing into my veins. It is knowledge, understanding on a level that transcends conscious thought.

The hallway spins as a memory that isn’t mine floods my consciousness: a vast chamber carved from living rock, its walls painted with symbols that writhe in torchlight. The air is thick with incense and the metallic tang of blood. A figure, monstrous in appearance, stands before an altar, their wrists bound with silver chains that gleam in the flickering light. Blood drips steadily into a ceremonial bowl, each drop glowing with that same golden light I now see in the bonds.

My attention snaps back to the bonds around me, drawn to one that pulses brighter than the others. It belongs to a first-year vampire passing. Young, devoted to her sire, their connection strong and vital.

With barely a thought, I reach out mentally and brush against it.

The bond shivers like a plucked string, vibrates with increasing intensity, and then snaps with a sound I feel rather than hear. The young vampire’s scream echoes through the hallway as she collapses, her connection to her sire severed as easily as cutting a thread.

“Gaida!” Dante’s rough voice echoes in my head, which feels empty, hollow.

Catching his eye, horror floods through me as I realise what I’ve done, but underneath that horror lies something else. Satisfaction. Power. Control. The feeling is liberating, calling to that primal part of me.

Somewhere in my peripheral vision, I notice Felix skidding to a stop. He approaches carefully. “Gaida.”

The first-year vampire writhes on the floor, her feral nature already emerging as other students scatter in fear. Her eyes have gone black, her fangs fully extended as she claws at the floor, trying to find an anchor in a world suddenly devoid of her sire’s stabilising presence.

Sense slams into me the second Felix grasps my hand. I yank it out of his grip and run to the vampire. I drop to my knees and bite into my wrist without hesitation. “Drink,” I command, pressing the bleeding wound to her mouth. She latches on instantly, desperately. Her feral energy subsides, replaced by a new connection forming between us.

It’s different from a sire bond. Stronger. More primal. I can feel her consciousness linking to mine, her will submitting to me through recognition of something ancient and powerful in my blood.

“Interesting,” Harlow’s voice cuts through my concentration. She stands in the doorway, watching the scene with an intensity that makes my skin crawl. “You can control it now. Direct it. The Equilibrium will be pleased.”

“Get away from her,” Felix commands, his voice icy cold.

I look up when I realise he isn’t talking to Harlow. He’s talking to me.

With a gulp, I pull my wrist away from the calmed vampire, who slumps unconsciously against the wall. Her features are peaceful now but temporarily changed by our connection. “It was an accident,” I mutter.

“Was it?” Harlow moves closer, practically shoving Felix out of the way. “Or was it instinct? The blood calling to blood, power recognising power?”

“Stay back,” Dante warns, having no qualms about shoving Harlow away from me.

There’s something predatory in her gaze that sets off warning bells in my head. Something calculating that suggests she’s been waiting for this moment.

She smiles, the expression not reaching her eyes. “Your power is magnificent. The Equilibrium has waited centuries for you. Do you understand what you truly are? What you represent?”

“The Equilibrium can get fucked,” I snap, backing away and turning to Dante. “I am not their experiment.”

“No,” she agrees. “You’re something far more valuable. You’re their template. The key to understanding how bonds truly work, how they can be manipulated, controlled, reformed. Through you, they’ll finally understand how to reshape the entire vampire society.”

Felix growls, and black lightning flashes at his fingertips. Harlow glances at him and then steps back. She is afraid.

Well, good. Bitch.

“Back off,” he states, quiet, cold, emotionless. “Don’t go near her again.”

When she’s gone, I sink to the floor, trembling with both exhaustion and barely contained power. The unconscious first-year still slumps against the wall, temporarily stable from my blood. I did that. I severed her bond without even trying.

“I can sense them all now,” I say. “Every bond in MistHallow. Every connection. Every weakness. It’s overwhelming.”

“Control it,” Felix replies, coming closer. “Don’t let it control you. Focus on understanding before acting.”

Testing his advice, I close my eyes and concentrate on the bonds around me. Each one tells a story: the strength of devotion between sire and charge, the strain of distance, the complexity of multiple bonds in ancient vampires. Some feel brittle, others flexible, all of them susceptible to my touch.

I reach out carefully toward one, not to break it but to understand it. The bond belongs to an older vampire, a professor here at MistHallow, their connection to their sire well-established and strong. As I examine it, I realise I can feel the emotions flowing through it: trust, loyalty, affection tempered by healthy independence.

The first-year vampire stirs, her eyes fluttering open. When she looks at me, there’s recognition and something more. Devotion. My blood has bound her to me more strongly than her original sire bond ever did. I can feel her in my mind now, a constant presence, her thoughts and emotions accessible to me in ways that should be impossible.

“What’s your name?” I ask softly.

“Katie,” she replies, her voice barely a whisper. “Katie Collins. I... I can feel you. In my head. In my blood.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to...”

“Don’t be sorry,” she interrupts, her eyes wide with wonder rather than fear. “It feels right. Like this is how it always should have been.”

Her words send a chill through me because they resonate with something deep inside me that agrees. This does feel right. Natural. As if I’m finally becoming what I was always meant to be.

“It’s temporary,” I murmur.

The lie tastes bitter on my tongue. I have no idea if this bond is temporary or permanent. The intensity of our connection suggests it’s not going away anytime soon. It is stronger than the ones I forged with Eliza, Melody and Victor. More secure.

“We need to get her out of here,” Dante says, his eyes scanning the hallway. “Before Harlow comes back with reinforcements.”

“The containment cells,” Felix says. “Before it wears off.”

“I can’t remember the way,” I mutter, helping Katie to her feet.

“I do,” he says and marches off. I’m not sure if his cold attitude is directed at me or this situation, but it hurts. The pang hits my chest, and he freezes for a second before turning around. “It’s not you,” he says quietly.

“Then what is it?” I ask, following him as we guide Katie through the corridors to the underground lab-slash-prison.

“It’s this whole situation,” Felix replies, his voice tight. “The Equilibrium, Harlow, these new powers of yours. It’s all moving too fast, and I don’t like not having all the information.”

I nod, understanding his frustration. The weight of Katie’s presence in my mind is a constant reminder of how quickly things are changing.

We reach the containment cells, and Felix opens one with a complex series of hand gestures. The wards shimmer as we pass through them.

“You’ll be safe here,” I tell Katie, helping her onto the small cot. “At least until we figure out what to do next.”

She grabs my hand, her eyes wide. “Don’t leave me,” she pleads. “I can feel you slipping away already.”

The desperation in her voice tugs at something never touched before inside me. I grip her fingers briefly before stepping back. “I won’t be far.”

Dante clears his throat. “We need to talk about what just happened,” he says, his voice low and urgent. “Harlow knows now. The Equilibrium will know soon if they don’t already.”

Felix nods, his expression grim. “We need to get to Luke.”

“Fast,” Dante says as Felix closes the cell door and locks it again. I don’t ask how he knows to do this. I guess magickal lock picking is in his wheelhouse.

In a silence which is awkward and slightly maudlin, we file out of the lab. I glance over my shoulder but then grimly face forward and accept responsibility for my actions. However horrific they are, this is my fault. And I will somehow make it right.