Blind Love( Completed, Kings Series, Book 4)

Outside

I felt empowered by my decision. I would not display weakness. Not beg him to take my blood. I would be the conqueror. I would make him pay for each time he took my blood in the past. Those times, I'd endured it. Definitely not enjoyed it. My heart skipped for a second as I voiced that out loud. I ignored the warning. If I was now entertaining the idea of him taking my blood, and me taking his...that was because...well that was because things had changed. With the mating ritual. He'd admitted as such. Things were out of my hand. I'd tried. I'd accepted defeat. Under the circumstances, till we could figure a way of divorcing one another, I would do the only dignified thing. I would bite him myself.

Revenge was a sweet bitch. My pride would be intact. My thirst would be gone. It was win-win for me. For him? I simply didn't care. I opened the door. Heard the door close behind me with a slam. I wasn't aware of doing it. That made me pause. I turned the knob. It wouldn't budge. It was stuck outside. That was weird. Things got worse when I noticed the object in front of me. The pieces of the cane stood a few feet away from my feet. Oh, damn! Why had Samuel left it here? The cane blocked my way in an army of black colors. I tried to kick the pieces away with my foot. When my foot came into contact with them, I felt I'd done something terrible. Something I was not able to take back. I heard a deafening roar like it belonged to the sleeping monster who was now awake, thanks to me. The floor shifted right under my feet. My heart beat so fast that I wondered how the whole Mansion didn't hear it. I tried to open the door to my room again. Didn't work. My other option was to flee. I didn't know whom I'd disturbed. But, I didn't want to stay back and find out.

I tried to run even with my limited vision but the hall was like a charcoal sketch, getting darker and darker under my feet. The moment I felt it in the air, heavy, thick, forcing its way through my nose, mouth, skin, lungs, I knew I was in trouble. It was dust, drifting around me ominously. When had something so innocent as dust turn to something sinister? I covered my nose, coughed to spit it out. Breaking the cane had been a terrible idea. Samuel had opened the door and I'd let loose whatever was inside.

I shrieked when I felt the chilly touch of a dark shadow on my shoulder. And, another hit me from the right. Dark shadows walked on the walls, crawled on the floor, the ceiling, celebrating their freedom. They were everywhere. I felt the piercing pain as one tried to force its way beneath my skin. It felt like a thousand electric shocks. I swatted it away with my hands. But, more was coming. I felt the stretching of my skin on my arms, thighs, my neck. Pain shot through me. How resilient was my skin? What would happen if one managed to enter? Would I be like Alessandro? Turn into a soulless creature? Cold sweat soaked my shirt. My breath rose before me as the only remaining white color around me. Soon, that would go, too. I had to calm myself. I couldn't outrun them. Fear meant mistakes. I couldn't afford to make any.

I threw myself on the floor, held my breath. Lay like that, immobile. Like I didn't even exist. A shadow touched me, I tried very hard not to make a sound. To shut the pain out. I concentrated on myself. Forget the external. Focus on the internal. That's what mattered. It was then I noticed the fluffy colors, the frivolities inside me. I had accumulated so many of them throughout the years. I peeled the colors inside me one by one like I was peeling the thick skin of a fruit. It was an arduous process, but it calmed me down. First, the immediate browns of fear were gone. Then, I cut the yellows of loneliness which had accompanied me my whole life. The greens of worry came next. The blues of rationality. The silvers of boredom. With each layer that was gone, I felt more vulnerable yet more powerful at the same time. I no longer felt the shadows. I was in a different world. I was untouchable. I was safe cocooned in the depths of my inner self. The real me. The one I had buried underneath so much emotional luggage smiled. I was looking at the color of an amethyst violet. Happy to be born. Happy to be noticed. I smiled back. I felt as if I could stay like this forever. But, I snapped out of it as swift as the shot of an arrow. Lost my focus. Just like that. The layers came back. The heaviness was back. Fear, once more, took the front seat.

I noticed the darkness was gone. And, so were the shadows.

I had to find Samuel. The shadows were now loose and they were probably looking for hosts. Would he believe me? How would I even find him?

What was the best way to find Samuel?

It suddenly dawned on me. I had to uncover his inner self. I had seen him hidden in greys, blacks, greens, and reds. But, I really didn't know his core color. His real self. I captured his latest image in my mind, paused it, and started peeling it off. I didn't know how I even knew how to do this. The anger, the irritation, the passion, the stubbornness, the power came off, one by one. None of that surprised me as much as the gainsboro of insecurity I discovered as I dug deeper. Why would a devilishly handsome powerful vampire feel insecure? I had no answer. I continued peeling it off. And, then there it was. Samuel in his barest most vulnerable state, displaying his true self, as he was born into this world. I gasped as I realized I was looking at.....amethyst violet. The same exact replica of my color. We were both violets of the same shade. What did that mean?

I didn't have any time to ponder on it. I just had to find it. As I passed through each door, I noticed I could now do the peeling for the inhabitants on automat. Azure blue, Android green, Auburn, black bean, honeydew, icterine... I couldn't believe the variety of colors I discovered in this process. But I was looking for one color only. I felt there would only be one more amethyst violet in this Mansion and that would be Samuel. I didn't know how I knew that. But, I just did. As I walked and eliminated the doors that sprung before me, I was getting impatient to reach Samuel. When I finally saw it, shining like a beacon in front of me, I wanted to cry from happiness. The shadows were not here. I still had the time to warn him.

I turned the knob and entered inside. I found myself dragged to a corner, a hand clamped over my mouth while another squeezed my neck threateningly. Fear held me in its grip. The scream rose and died before I could let it out.

The familiar amethyst violet surrounded me. Mine, his and the medallion's. I'd found him.

"Diana, what in the blazes...."He slowly loosened his hold on me. Turned me around. "I could have killed you, woman!" The changes in him came suddenly. Anger washed away. A crimson red swirled around him. "Have you changed your mind," he said, his voice hoarsened by lust. "I was hoping..."

"They are here!" I said.

"Who is here?"

"The Shadows. The Soulless Ones. The dust monster."

"You don't need to fabricate stories, Diana. Just tell me the magic words," he chuckled. The ass was making fun of me. His thumb moved down so slowly, so agonizingly slowly towards my chest. I felt my nipples harden. Desire pooled down my legs. How was he affecting me so fast? And, without my will. This mating ritual should be made illegal. His hand entwined in my hair and he held me still as he nested his neck next to mine. From this close distance, his scent drove me crazy. I didn't remember my fear. Didn't remember the dust, or the shadows. The medallion heated over my skin. Gallons of water wouldn't douse this scolding fire his touch created. I was on fire. I was thirsty. The veins bulging in his neck drew me like an oasis in a desert. I opened my mouth. Kissed his neck. Within the nectar of my lips, my teeth emerged, grazing his skin. And, I did it. I bit him. But, it wasn't enough to draw blood. I felt the shudder in his body. He didn't object, he didn't pull back. I tried again. My teeth weren't sharp enough. I wanted the damn blood. And, I wasn't getting it. I was getting impatient and aggressive.

"Di, honey. You need blood?" he drawled. "All you need to do is ask."

Damn. That stupid ultimatum again.

I knew how it would end. Me unsatisfied, with pride getting the better of me.

"Shit. Something is wrong," he said and he dragged me behind him. The honeymoon was over. His muscles strained tight.

I knew why.

The door had blackened. They were outside.  

As always, thanks for reading

Alena