In the Shadow of Azkaban

Volume II: XVII

Ominis' Point-of-View

She had not even stirred while my fingers combed through her hair. No noise escaped her, but I supposed her vocal cords were strained.

The guilt formed a pit in my core. At least Kassia had tended to her first. I still did not quite understand why Sebastian believed kissing her to be necessary. My teeth smashed together at the thought. I breathed deeply to ground myself.

I twisted the salve Marat had given me in my fingers. The balm should lessen the bruising around her neck. I audibly sighed. Milton would pay for this.

I opened the bottle and rubbed the cream in my palms to activate it. My hands methodically moved against her skin. I pressed lightly, my fingertips barely grazing her.

Her throat vibrated softly against my forefinger.

"When...?" Her voice was extremely quiet, like dandelion fragments whisking in the wind.

"Shhh," I smoothed my palm against the top of her head, "Choose your words carefully. I do not need your injury worsening while Kassia is away." My own voice felt strained just thinking about her enduring  more pain.

"Blood," her voice wheezed in between breaths, "Pur—"

I finished the word for her, "—Ification. When Kassia returns, we will begin the process. I had wanted to explain the procedure previously, but, alas, things went south." I kept my voice low to avoid overstimulating her.

She had been asleep for an entire two days. I wondered if her eyes were open, peering up at me.

I had hoped she would be able to follow as I began describing the Behrakis history, "Blood purification has been around for centuries. The term "pureblood" truly means something to the Behrakis, but these witches and wizards in Great Britain do not understand the significance."

She hummed gently against me, letting me know that she was indeed listening.

"The blood running through our veins is part of the reason Xilia was able to pull off her ruse as a Burke." I smoothed my fingers against her brows and cupped her cheek in my hand.

"Greece harbored the original wizard: Zeus. He was considered the most pure, and his wives birthed many demigods. I am sure you are aware of the stories." I tucked some of her hair behind her ear while she softly moved under the covers.

"These demigods possessed what Zeus had in his system. Ichor. It was a fifty-fifty chance, but most of the demigods had it pulsing through them." I took my wand in my palm and burned a small hole to show her the golden tinge of my blood.

"It is known to be toxic to muggles, and most pure wizardkind do not know they even have the ability to wield it." Her fingers intertwined in mine, covering the wound, and she brought our hands to her lips. Her skin was warm against me.

"Nicolas Flamel had tried to recreate Ichor but failed miserably. Instead, he had coined the Philospher's stone." Her humming sounded intrigued. I was thankful she had listened and not tried to speak. She must have truly been hurt.

"There was a massive war where the British purebloods, who were mainly descended from demigods lacking Ichor, went after the Greeks. Thus, the majority of the male Grecian demigod population was wiped out. The women were brought over to Great Britain to bear children for prominent families. And Salazar Slytherin himself had led the efforts, and that is precisely why Xilia favored the Gaunts."

I swallowed loudly and clenched my jaw at the idea that Xilia had not cared about us. She only wanted power.

"She knew that if she combined her Ichor with Slytherin blood, that she could produce some of the most powerful mages the world has ever seen." She gripped my hand tighter.

I divulged further, "Kassia has worked with Grecian hematurgy for many years. She was the one who discovered we had possessed Ichor. Turns out she and my mother were direct descendants of Medusa." I raised my eyebrows and smiled to myself.

I chuckled before I continued, "I find the whole situation quite comical. She was the only Greek Goddess who turned men to stone by controlling snakes. But then her own lineage infiltrated their way into a family full of men who resembled them." She began to laugh, but it turned into a wheeze fairly quick.

I smoothed my hand against her throat to attempt to calm her. "Kassia will draw my blood and thread it into your veins every day up until the wedding. If the blood takes, you will become a Gaunt. If not, you shall be killed." Her sharp inhale at that information was followed by hoarse stridor.

My hand curved against her cheek while my thumb moved on her skin. "But it truly is no matter. I shan't let it happen. We would abscond together if necessary." I could feel her pulling herself up in the bed.

Her hands reached my cheeks, and she pulled me closer. The heat from her face radiated against me while her lips hovered over mine. I pressed softly into her, our lips dancing against one another.

Her voice was faint when she breathed into me, "I long for you,"

I ran my finger across her lips to prevent her from continuing as I finished her sentence, "I love you."