NOVPUBAila kept her features emotionless and let her thoughts turn to the vampires who were yet to die, the vampires who acted so cruelly to the humans and one of the lycans. She couldn’t allow herself to become panicked.
She stared back at the white-haired vampire; she couldn’t work out if Cassius really knew Damon and the others were near the castle or if he was merely suspicious and wanted to confirm it by her reaction. It was even harder keeping Malia at bay, but after her wolf read her thoughts, she too quietened and even put a wall up between them.
Instead of reacting how he’d expect, Aila arched an eyebrow at Cassius and crossed her arms against her chest. "I can assure you that I am glum because these leeches are still alive," She retorted with a tint of sassiness to her voice.
Cassius tilted his head to the side, then a smirk grew on his features, and his eyes flickered in amusement. "Is that so?" He drawled, taking the last step of the stairs until he stood in front of her.
"Are you more fond of them than you claimed earlier?" Aila asked in amusement, her eyes glinting dangerously back at her master. "Do you need any help getting rid of them?"
Cassius grinned back at her, his fangs now on show, his tongue moving from one fang to the other as his eyes moved over her features. "Hmmm.. Why not? If they have made you this sad, then the quicker we rid ourselves of the insects, the better. But are you up to it? It seems you are still..
drunk off my blood." Cassius raised his hand to her face and wiped some blood from the corner of her lip as his eyes softened briefly.
He was entertaining her. She could tell.
"Aila, why don’t you rest? I will help Cassius," Davian suggested, stepping forward and glaring at where Cassius’ thumb was still lingering on the side of Aila’s mouth.
Cassius flicked his eyes at her ancestor, and he chuckled under his breath. "Such the protector.." He smirked, then looked back at Aila. "Will you be fine going back to your room?"
"I can take her." Another voice called from behind her.
Aila turned her head back swiftly and suddenly stumbled to the side from a sudden onset of dizziness, making her lose her balance. Cassius’ hands went to her waist while Davian steadied her shoulders. Aila placed her hand on her head and clenched her eyes shut, inhaling deeply while room spun around her.
"Take her back," Cassius ordered; then, as she opened her eyes, she found him staring at her, his eyes hardening. "We will have a little chat when I am done here."
Aila pursed her lips together, but then her attention was diverted after feeling another hand going around her waist to steady her while placing her arm around their neck. Aila looked back into the deep chocolate-coloured eyes belonging to Harry. Her eyes widened at being helped by the lycan and Cassius allowing this little exchange to happen.
She didn’t say anything, though, as he helped her up the stairs. She didn’t feel unwell, just more unsteady with this surge of power pumping through her veins.
Aila was drunk off of Cassius’ blood, and she enjoyed how she felt with it in her system. It was apparent from how her body still swayed, but it was also the perfect opportunity to get away from Cassius’ scrutiny. She could feel through their bond that he wasn’t entirely convinced that Damon was not nearby.
It made her wonder how Cassius figured it out. Did he somehow feel Aila and Damon’s mate bond? A shiver ran through Aila’s body, inciting goosebumps along her skin as they walked around the corner and away from the stairs. She hoped that was not the case. Maybe Davian saw them? He had already told her about Ajax’s appearance.
But he protected his mind from not being read, so she could not figure it out.
Aila shook her head, ridding herself of these thoughts that would really give her away. But in doing so, she stumbled to the side.
"Woah," Harry chuckled, his features alight with amusement that did not reach his eyes. "What did they do to you?"
Though Harry’s voice came out nonchalantly, she could feel his inquisitive gaze on her, trying to gain an insight into what happened. Aila sighed and looked to the windows to their right as they passed down the corridor.
"Thank you for helping me, Harry. You really didn’t need to," Aila replied instead. She was still reluctant to tell him she was a hybrid and the reason she was in this state right now was from drinking her master’s blood. Unless Harry already heard Cassius’ commentary about his blood? But Aila had a sneaky feeling he would not be reacting so calmly if he did.
At the moment, Harry wouldn’t be so understanding. They barely knew each other, and what he had seen so far made him more than curious for the rogue to stay.
"I said I’d help," Harry replied with a shrug. "And I don’t like that vamp near you-"
Screams erupted through the castle, making the lycan and hybrid tense for a moment before they dashed to the side and looked outside the window and to the ground below where one of the vampires was screaming. Their body was on fire, and they kept trying to get back to the shade, out of the sun, but Davian blocked their path each time until he threw them further back under the afternoon sun.
The vampire struggled some more, their speed slowing down to a staggering walk until they collapsed to their knees, their hands clutching at their head while their skin and flesh burned away until the bone. Their scream died, and they collapsed into a heap of ashes on the ground.
"It’s not every day I get to see a vampire BBQ," Harry muttered, his joke losing its jest from the flatness in his voice. "You ordered this?"
Aila nodded, then stopped, her dizziness coming back. Aila didn’t say anything more as they stayed a few more minutes to watch the vampires being thrown outside of the castle. She wasn’t sure why she was in so much of a daze; it was disgusting and brutal but satisfying to see that they got their ’just desserts’. Watching them flail on the ground gave her a sickening sense of joy.
The moment she realised the sensation, Aila shuddered and looked away, ignoring Harry’s burning gaze as she walked away.
"They deserved it," Malia piped up. Aila knew her wolf would say that, but it still disturbed her sometimes by how much she was getting used to seeing bodies. More disturbingly was how she felt during those moments of seeing the arrogant vampires burning on the ground.
Aila wiped her hand down her face and sighed. It was only a year ago that her worries were about practical exams and coursework, and now she was giving out orders to burn vampires after they abused their power on those poor humans and the lycan they saved.
"They did deserve it," Aila murmured aloud, and Harry nodded, confirming she was correct.
Aila and Harry continued walking through the castle, acting as though the sounds of screaming and slaughter were the average day to day routine. The pair didn’t speak until they were in her quarters. She was now by the windows, leaning on the ledge with her arm on the cool stone while Harry slumped back on the sofa, his feet on the cushions.
"So, what happens now?" Harry asked. "Your friends are just outside of the gardens."
Aila tensed at Harry’s questioning. "Harry.. It is never safe in these halls to speak so freely. If you want to help me, first do so by mind-linking me," Aila replied sternly, her back still to him as she watched outside the window where the sun shone brightly, and her blue eyes roamed the scenery in search of her friends.
Although it was pointless, Aila knew she wouldn’t be able to see them from where her quarters were based in the castle, but she couldn’t help herself. Her mate and her friends were so fricken close to her it made her eyes tear up. She could still feel the tugging of the mate bond telling her Damon was so, so close it was almost unbearable when she focused on it.
But now was not the time to become soft, she held her own earlier, and now she needed to continue being strong.
Aila cleared her throat and focused on the lycan in the room.
"You may be a rogue, but now you are a lycan. We can mind-link one another now. It was how I could speak with Aldric in the cells. But even this isn’t reliable; Cassius can read minds, so we can’t use this when we are around him. You will also need to try and control your thoughts around him." Aila mind-linked Harry after feeling his gaze burning into the back of her head.
Aila could hear Harry tapping his fingers before he mind-linked her back. "Don’t worry, your majesty.. I have a list of swear words and names I can call the bloodsucker when he’s near."
That made Aila’s lips twitch into a small smile as she looked back at the lycan relaxing on the sofa. His nonchalance and casual manner somehow calmed her from what happened earlier. She turned to look back at the castle grounds again, blinking when she thought she saw a shadow dart across her vision on greenery, but it was gone within seconds.
Her thoughts, however, moved from what she believed to be her imagination to something of more importance.
Soon. Soon they would all get out of here.
That was if Cassius fell for her little act earlier.
* )) 0 (( *
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