Bloodlust

Chapter 3

After Serephina joined hands with Nicolas, she felt as if the air in the room had ceased, her heart stopped for a second, and she gasped stupidly wasting her last breath. She didn't understand exactly what was going on but she knew it was the Bloodlust ritual.

I feel like I'm dying. Will this always be like this?

Serephina wished she could ask Great Willa about it, but it didn't seem to be the most fitting time, considering the fact that she couldn't breath either.

We're going through the same, she kept telling herself, He's feeling this too. Serephina kept telling herself that if only to keep from pulling away.

This kind of magic was consuming, like every cell on her body was being ripped apart. And, call her crazy, but she felt as they were uniting themselves with Nicolas' cells. She gritted her teeth. Every bone in her body ached and judging by the way Nicolas hissed, he, too, was in pain. But they couldn't pull away-- not now when it was almost complete. Not when the bond was sealing itself.

I can feel it, deep within my bones. I...I felt him.

Nicolas sucked in a sharp breath, shaking her  to the bones. That was when it hit her: she could breath again. She snapped her eyes open, not remember when she closed them, and gazed into the ballroom. Light shimmered from the open ceiling revealing the stars up in the night sky, and she found herself searching for the Sixth Constellation. She couldn't find it; Serephina could always find it. Serephina didn't know where to look: Rohana, who looked at her as if she were a stranger, to Nicolas' friends who all wore wolf grins as if what had just happened was something to be eager about, or Great Willa, who was now speaking to the crowd. Serephina could see her from the corner of her eye, see that her lips were moving but Serephina could hear nothing. Her pulse suddenly quickened as she found herself swaying from toe to toe. She blinked once—twice, trying to steady her breathing.

I feel sick, she thought as the temperature in the room rose. And then she was falling forward not having time to react before she slammed into Nicolas' arms. He had moved fast enough, making sure not to push Great Willa aside as he caught her. Some people gasped others (Nicolas' friends to be exact) wolf-whistled.

Guys, she scoffed but the sound was barely a whisper.

"Take her inside." Serephina heard Great Willa murmur to Nicolas, who dipped his head in agreement. Serephina threw her head back to look at her Aunt, but she couldn't see her. She wanted to say goodbye; she knew once Nicolas' carried her through the those wooden doors she wouldn't see her Aunt again.

"I-I have to say g-goodbye," she whined, throwing her arm as if to reach for her. Nicolas tightened his grip on her. Not now, he appeared to say to her. You'll have time later.

"No, I won't," she retorted back, digging her nails into his shoulder. He reached down and swung her arm around his shoulder and reached with his other hand under her legs. She tried to resist but he was stronger than her. Serephina didn't want to make a scene in front of everyone not after the ritual. She knew it was meant to make her stronger but she had never felt weaker. She almost passed out in front of the people who had come all the way from across the country to presence what—her lack of strength?

"Nicolas, please." She peeked from over his shoulder, but all she could see where white spots. "Please." She looked up to see his eyes full of sympathy before everything went black.