Chapter 57

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Ryder's POV

Six fucking days. It's been six days since I've brought him back to the Palace and called the doctors to check his condition.

He was still unconscious and unmoving no matter what we did. I grew impatient as white robes kept on going in and out of his room to get blood from his veins.

Sleeping like this, Liam looked so peaceful, like he was still safe from the reality of our world. Running my knuckles along his face, I noticed that his skin was as pale as the first snow and there was a new allure to him that everyone noticed.

"He isn't awake yet?" Raegan asked as he opened the door and checked on Liam's condition.

I slowly shook my head in response and his mouth turned into a grim line.

"The doctors can't understand what happened and what is happening to him. They said the nature of his blood was now different, more..." I trailed off and ran a hand through my face. I still couldn't understand how it was possible.

"Vampire." He finished for me and I nodded my head once.

Silence settled over the room as he sat down beside Liam's bed.

"I can't say I didn't see it coming. I knew that there was a chance his immortal bond would surface...but not this way." He frowned.

"He wasn't himself." I told him what I saw the moment I opened the door. I described the chaos Liam brought, and the power humming beneath his skin.

"His first gift came from the blood of our house. The flames that incinerated the compound was Vermilion fire."  There was a proud look in his face as he gazed down at Liam.

I could never forget that. The scorching whip that he conjured to wrap around his enemy's neck and electrocute them.

"How?" I swallowed before turning to meet Raegan's eyes. There was sadness in his expression, and I already knew what he was going to say before the name even left his mouth.

"Chris."

Grief weighed down on my shoulder when I learned of his death. He was  among my trusted and strongest soldiers. Being Liam's guard and... friend, made it harder to deal with.

I thought of the pain in Liam's screams before darkness swallowed the skies. Learning of what transpired before that moment was the answer I already knew.

"His death was the trigger." Raegan concluded.

"Liam didn't recognize me. He tried to bring me down but his gift denied him. It couldn't hurt me."

"The bond between the two of you, it must've been the reason why. His vampire nature recognized you to be his other and it acted on instinct."

I was awed and thankful that it did. Because even though I knew my strength was unmatched, the fucking whip made me shiver. Still, the power in his voice could make me yield.

"His emotions may have invoked the turn. Relying entirely on the grief and rage inside of him to break all human barriers must've affected his mind somehow." He sighed and then I noticed that tiredness lingered to accompany us these days.

Liam's absence affected us and the whole Palace. The lights looked dim and the halls too quiet. Even the residents and the whole Legion was waiting for his recovery.

"His parents...I didn't know what to tell them so I sent someone to persuade their minds and made sure that Hannah's memory of what happened will be locked away. The less they know, the better." It seems like he and I agreed on this one.

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