Page 22

22

GAIDA

The moment we materialise in the academy, Luke, Dante, and Felix all steady me as I sway. We have landed in my room, thankfully.

The power transfer from Mashtar’s destruction crashes through my body like a tidal wave, wild and untamed.

“You need to rest,” Dante says.

I shake my head. “I need to help Felix first. The blood hunger will be hitting him hard soon.”

Felix’s arm tightens around my waist. Through our new bond, I feel his confusion, exhilaration, and fear all tangled together. “I can wait,” he says, though the tightness in his voice betrays him.

“No, you can’t,” Luke replies. “First feeding is crucial. It sets the pattern for control.”

“We’ll leave you two alone,” Luke says quietly. I can see how much it pains him to have to go, but he does have to go. I need to make sure Felix is taken care of. “I’ll go and check… the vault.”

I gulp but nod, and he and Dante leave.

The moment we’re alone, Felix staggers, clutching his throat. “This burning,” he rasps. “Is it always this intense?”

I guide him to sit on the bed. “You need to feed,” I say, sitting beside him. “But we should do this properly.”

“What do you mean?” His voice is strained, fighting the hunger.

“Sharing blood between sire and charge is different from feeding. More intimate.” I take his hand. “It’s the way we strengthen our bond.”

He nods.

I reach out, brushing my thumb over his lips. The simple touch sends electricity through us both, amplified by the sire bond humming between us.

“I can feel you,” he says wonderingly. “Inside my head. My blood. Everywhere.”

I nod. I can’t stop staring at him, this new vampire version of Felix. He’s still himself, but sharper, more vivid, as if someone turned up the contrast on his entire being. “How do you feel?”

“Alive,” he replies, with a soft laugh. “Thank you.”

I shake my head. “Don’t thank me. We belong together.”

I hold his gaze as I slide closer, taking his face in my hands. His skin feels different beneath my touch, no longer warmer than mine, but cool.

“We’ll start slowly,” I murmur. “It can be overwhelming.”

Tilting his head, I expose the line of his throat. Despite being a vampire now, the instinctive submission makes him shiver. I extend my fangs and gently pierce his skin.

The moment his blood touches my tongue, the world explodes into sensation. Unlike human blood, with its simple nourishment, vampire blood carries memories, emotions, the essence of the being it flows through, and Felix’s blood, infused with mine, creates a circuit between us.

I drink deeply, feeling his pleasure echo through our bond. His hands grip my arms, to anchor himself against the tide of feeling.

When I pull back, his eyes are glassy, his breathing ragged. “Your turn,” I whisper, tilting my head to expose my neck.

He hesitates. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t.” I guide his head down. “Trust your instincts. Trust our bond. Think about your fangs extending?—”

They snap down, and his eyes widen as he presses his fingertip to it. “Fuck.”

“Guess you’ve got that down,” I murmur with a soft smile. “Do you think you can do this?”

He nods carefully. “I think so. I won’t hurt you?”

“No, just as I didn’t hurt you before.”

Felix moves in closer and nuzzles my neck. His fangs scrape against my skin.

“Bite down slowly, but don’t hesitate.”

He nods and then sinks his fangs into my neck with surprising gentleness for a new vampire. The initial sharp pain gives way immediately to pleasure as he draws my blood into himself.

He growls and clamps down harder, gripping my arms painfully.

His control slips as the primal hunger takes over. For a moment, I let him feed, knowing he needs this first rush, this overwhelming sensation to understand what he’s become.

“Felix,” I murmur after several deep pulls. “Pull back a little.”

He doesn’t respond, lost in the euphoria of first feeding. His grip tightens further, dragging me onto his lap.

He suckles on me until it’s difficult to distinguish where I end, and he begins.

When he finally pulls away, his eyes are bright when his mouth finds mine in a kiss that’s entirely different from those we shared before his turning. No need for caution now, that we will cross a line. Just equal hunger, equal strength.

His hands fist through my hair as we kiss, mine slide underneath his shirt to feel the cool smoothness of his skin. When we part, his eyes are dark with desire.

“I want—” he begins, then stops himself. “Is it too soon? After everything tonight?”

I shake my head. “We’ve waited long enough.”

His mouth captures mine again as we fall back onto the bed, limbs tangling.

“You’re magnificent,” he breathes, tracing the curve of my hip.

I smile. “So are you.”

We take our time exploring each other, undressing each other, learning the landscape of our bodies.

Rolling us over, I straddle him and take his stiff cock in my hand, tugging on him gently before I rise and tease myself with the head.

“Fuck,” he groans. “I want you.”

“I want you too,” I murmur, and slide him over my slippery clit to my entrance. I guide him inside with a soft pant and he grips my hips tightly.

“Fuck,” he groans again. “That feels so good.”

“Felix!” I cry out as I sink down, sheathing him completely.

The sensation is overwhelming. Everything is amplified through our bond. I can feel his pleasure echoing inside me, doubling mine. His fingers dig into my hips as I ride him, rising and falling in a rhythm that makes us both pant.

“I feel everything,” he whispers, his eyes locked with mine. “You, me, us. It’s incredible.”

I lean down to kiss him, my hair falling around us. His hands slide up my back, exploring every inch of me. When he flips us over in one fluid motion, I’m reminded of his vampire strength and grace.

“Mine,” he murmurs against my throat, sliding deeper inside me.

I wrap my legs around his waist, urging him deeper, faster.

“Gaida,” he groans, his fangs dropping involuntarily as pleasure builds. “I can’t?— ”

“Let go,” I whisper, arching beneath him. “I’ve got you.”

His rhythm falters as he drives into me harder, and I meet him thrust for thrust. The bond between us flares brilliantly, connecting us in ways I never imagined possible.

I cry out as my orgasm crashes through me, clenching around him. He follows immediately, his release triggered by mine.

“Gods,” he groans into my hair. “That was incredible.”

“I’m glad we waited, ritual aside,” I say with a small smile.

“Same,” he chuckles. “Although I will always wonder how it would have differed before.”

“I know, but this is special, Felix, and it’s ours. No one can ever break us now.”

“I love you,” he murmurs against my lips. “I love you.”

His cock stirs again, already his vampire constitution showing. I giggle and roll us back over, climbing on top of him to ride him into oblivion.

We make love for hours, exploring each other’s bodies with a freedom we’ve never had before. Felix’s new vampire stamina means we can push each other to dizzying heights. Every touch, every kiss, every movement is amplified through our sire bond.

***

Afterwards, we lie tangled together, his head on my chest, my fingers tracing idle patterns on his back. The quiet hum of our bond fills the comfortable silence between us.

His expression grows troubled. “When Mashtar was destroyed, and that power returned to you... what do we do about that?”

I tense slightly. “I’m still processing that part.”

“What does it mean, Gaida? All that power returning to you?”

I sit up, drawing the sheet around me, suddenly feeling exposed in a way that has nothing to do with physical nakedness. “I don’t really know. We just destroyed Mashtar. The immediate threat is gone. We have time to research, to understand this fully.”

A knock at the door interrupts us. “Gaida? Felix?” Luke’s voice carries through the wood. “We have a situation developing.”

We exchange concerned glances. “What kind of situation? Draken?” I call out, leaping off the bed, sheet and all and opening the door to him.

“Draken has passed,” he says gently but powers on quickly. “Your mother has arrived at the academy gates. She’s demanding to speak with you.”

My blood runs cold. “Oh, fuck,” I whisper.

“That is an understatement.” His face is grim.

“Fuck,” I mutter, then louder: “Give us five minutes.”

Felix is already moving, gathering his clothes with a grimace. “Not exactly presentable for meeting your mother.”

In a flash, I retrieve fresh clothes from my wardrobe. “Luke, sort Felix out, would you?”

In a flash of magick, Felix is clothed, and I’m not far behind.

“Your mother doesn’t know about your father yet, does she?” Felix asks with a raised eyebrow at the urgency as Dante arrives in a rush.

I shake my head, dread pooling in my stomach. “I doubt it, and she certainly doesn’t know Dante was the one who killed him.”

“She’s demanding answers about Aurelius’s disappearance and the magickal surge that every vampire in Europe must have felt.”

Felix straightens his magickal shirt. “So, what’s the strategy?”

“Partial truth,” Luke decides after a brief hesitation. “We admit to destroying Mashtar but frame it as a necessary intervention to prevent catastrophe. We say nothing about Aurelius unless directly questioned.”

I nod, but anxiety churns in my stomach. “She’ll know I’m hiding something. She always does.”

“She doesn’t need the details,” Luke says.

“What about you?” I ask Dante, suddenly terrified for him. “If she learns it was you…”

His expression darkens. “I’m not hiding from the consequences of my actions, Gaida. If she asks directly, we tell her the truth.”

“She’ll try to kill you,” I say, panic rising.

“She can try,” he replies simply. “If she wants to take on the vampire who killed her husband, let her try.”

“Dante,” I groan.

“Look, I know that I can’t really kill your mother unless you want me to,” he says and with a soft smile. “But if anyone comes for me, all bets are off.”

“I know,” I say and squeeze his hand. “And I will be there with you.”

Luke hesitates. “It might be better if Felix stays back initially. His transition is too recent, his control untested.”

Felix bristles slightly, but he nods stiffly. “I get it. I’ll stay close but out of sight unless needed.”

As we make our way through the academy toward the main gates, I’m acutely aware of the power burning inside me, magnified by Mashtar’s destruction. It simmers just beneath my skin, responsive to my emotions in a way that feels dangerous.

“Keep calm,” Luke murmurs beside me. “Your mother will be looking for any sign of weakness or instability.”

“I know.” I straighten my shoulders, channelling confidence I don’t entirely feel. “I’ve faced her disapproval before.”

Dante snorts softly. “Disapproval might be putting it mildly. Aurelius was last seen here. Several creatures know it was me who killed him. I think we are in for a serious confrontation.”

As we approach the main entrance, I reach for both Luke and Dante’s hands, squeezing briefly.

“We’ve got this. Luke, you’ve got Dante’s back, right?”

He gives me a sour expression. “You have to ask me that?”

“Well, you are Headmaster of MistHallow. If it had been anyone else, they would already be in the stocks waiting for sunrise.”

“Sunlight won’t kill him,” Luke says.

“Not straight away. It will if he’s left out in it!” I shriek. “Answer me!”

“Untwist your knickers,” Dante says with a laugh. “Luke won’t hang me out to dry because his sire would be displeased with him. Right, Professor?”

“That is not the only reason,” he replies with a huff. “You are safe under my watch, Mr DuLoc.”

I squeeze his hand. “Thank you.”

They flank me protectively as we step out to meet my mother.

The power inside me snakes through my veins, a constant reminder of everything we still need to do. But for now, that worry can wait. We have a more immediate problem to solve.

As we approach the gates of MistHallow, I see my mother on the other side, not allowed access due to the wards. It’s probably safer that way.