Bound to the Shadow Prince

Chapter 10 -Burning

I dropped the metal torch onto the ground. The faster I returned to my castle, the better. I couldn’t wait for Erevus any longer. I glanced again at my pale skin. Perhaps I could claim sickness or fatigue from my harrowing journey. That would certainly give me a day or two to figure out how to disguise my pale skin.

I glanced behind me briefly, but I had to take a second look. This was no ordinary home, it was a castle. The dark gray stone walls went high into the sky with its glistening steel tops that gleamed in the afternoon sun. The castle was positioned in a valley, hidden from view from the world and from the sun that fell early behind the mountain and didn’t shine on it until late in the morning.

But the question that pounded through my mind again and again was exactly who Erevus was.

Spinning in a circle, I searched for some landmarks. As I looked among the trees I was astonished at how far I was able to see and with clarity. I was able to see the bark and its rough texture. The little birds nest high in the trees of another. I was able to see further into the forest and could see and hear a deer walking through the forest crunching on the dried leaves.

There were too many elements to look at, my head hurt trying to take in so much at once. I spun around again and again feeling overwhelmed with where to go and where to look, what to listen to.

Erevus said to focus on one thing. In the myriad of noise, I did pick out one thing: ocean waves. I closed my eyes, focusing on that sound. It came more distinctly. Behind the castle through the small valley. I turned towards the noise, finding I could see a small portion of the ocean peeking through the two mountains.

I now had a general sense of which way my kingdom was. Turning my back towards the ocean, I started running through the forest. As I climbed over the ridge, I could see daylight streaming through the trees. I continued to run, feeling little pricks of intense heat on my arms. Unsure what this meant, I continued to jog until I came across a meadow. I paused to look at it. From the meadow I was able to see out into the far distance. It was extraordinary for me to be able to see the tallest tower of my castle.

I had my direction. I stepped out into the meadow, feeling both exhilaration and panic.

What did King Torrin do with my absence? Had he harmed Miralia?

I started to run, but as the sunlight hit my pale skin it shined as it would do when a sunbeam hit a glass chalice. I winced in pain and stopped running. My exposed skin felt aflamed. The intensity of the heat immediately turned my skin red, burning it before it began to blister. I twisted away, but the sun was everywhere, burning me. I sprinted towards the trees, but the meadow was too open and too wide.

The sun continued to burn me, now blazing deeper into my skin. The pain was so intense I fell to my knees seething at the pain, trying to hide any exposed skin with my cotton dress, but parts of me continued to get hotter and hotter. I felt like my skin had now ignited, and I was being burned by fire from the outside, in.

I looked up, still, I had a ways to go to reach the other end. But I was more than halfway through the meadow. Forcing myself to stand, I staggered towards the trees.

I gasped again and again at the pain I was experiencing. I fell to the ground, rolling as I struggled against the pain searing over my body, as I truly felt as if my body had been set on fire, burning every nerve of me as it burrowed deeper and deeper into me, killing me in a slow agonizing way. I arched my back, yelling at the pain I was in.

As I started to see black spots enter my vision from the pain, a blanket fell on top of me, completely covering me.

The flames I felt immediately died and all that was left was the intense stinging of my skin. An arm went under my legs while the other went under my back. I felt myself rise into the air. I fell against a solid chest. I immediately could hear their heartbeat and smell their fragrance. Pine and spice, Erevus was with me. I was safe.

I knew we had made it back into the valley of the castle when I felt the cool air wrap around me, soothing my aching body.

We rose a few steps and I heard the click of a door opening. The cool air inside only furthered my relief. Despite being inside, Erevus didn’t take off the blanket wrapped around me until we entered another door.

Once again, I was placed on his bed. He carefully pulled the blanket away from my body. I seethed at the parts of my raw skin that had clung to the blanket and were being pulled off.

Erevus had no expression as he finished pulling the blanket away and lying it on the ground. He didn’t speak to me when he left the room.

I looked down at my arms, burned and blistered. In some areas, the burns went even deeper into my skin. It frightened me to see it. Could vampires not be in the sun? I knew the Dark Kingdom was in control of the night, but I didn’t realize it was for a reason.

Erevus entered the room holding bandages and a jar of some sort. He sat on the chair he had earlier and opened the jar.

He dipped his fingers in, lifting out an almost clear thick liquid. Gently, he took my left arm and started to apply the ointment. At first, it stung, but the cold ointment quickly soothed my burning arm. After he finished, he carefully wrapped my arm up in a bandage, including my palm.

Silently, he began to administer my other arm and hand. I couldn’t read his face. I didn’t know if he was upset, relieved, annoyed, or even happy. There was absolutely no expression written on his features.

I couldn’t handle his stoic silence.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

His eyes shifted upwards to mine. He held them for a long moment, before he continued his task.

He said, “You’re going back to the castle tonight.”

My breath caught. I was? Relief flooded over me. Perhaps I could find a way to salvage what I had done before King Torrin destroyed everything.

“Thank you,” I whispered back.

He bandaged my arm.

Gently, he brought his fingers up to my face, rubbing the ointment across my jawline. I closed my eyes as it soothed away all the pain, as if it had the ability to soak up the heat, leaving only a cooling sensation.

“You should have listened. I told you I needed a moment to figure this out.”

I opened my eyes, watching him as his focus remained on putting more of the ointment on my neck and exposed shoulder where the vampire had ripped my dress.

I didn’t want to admit it, but I knew why I felt such a frantic sensation about returning to the castle.

I quietly said, “I am scared.”

He paused, and looked at me. He dropped his hand. “Torrin?”

I nodded. “He told me no slip-ups. No loopholes. If I disobeyed him, he would take it out on my little sister.” I looked down at my bandaged arms and hands. “He wants me to be his. Last night, I laced his drink and returned to the ocean just to prove to him, he couldn’t control me. He couldn’t truly have me even if we were forced to marry.”

A tear slipped. When I rubbed it away, I realized this wasn’t a normal tear. It was a blood tear. Shocked, I stared at it.

Erevus wiped the remnants away from my finger. I closed my eyes and dropped my hands.

“You were all right. I thought I understood, but… I don’t know.” I opened my eyes to find his patiently on me. “This is a whole other world, isn’t it? And I’m scared.”

Erevus closed the lid of the jar. He wiped away the remnants of the ointment with the leftover bandages from his fingers. He set them aside. He intertwined his fingers and rested his forearms on his legs, looking right at me.

When he finally did speak, it was gentle and calming. “Isadora, you don’t need to be afraid of the night.”

I remembered our conversation days ago by the oceanside. I asked him if I should be afraid right after telling him that I saw the night as a calming place that shows me the hidden beauty inside of it. I was a vampire now, but I could sense that this was a galaxy twinkling with new constellations.

Erevus held up a ceramic jar.

“Drink this.”

The moment he opened the lid, I immediately could smell it was blood and it intoxicated me. My tongue tingled for it and a sudden craving erupted from my stomach.

Still, I hesitated. This was someone’s or something’s blood. Blood. How wrong this was in so many ways.

Yet, I desired it and in the end that desire for it overpowered all logical thought. I took the ceramic jar and sipped the contents. It was more salty and less sweet, but still tasted divine. After another drink, I couldn’t take it anymore and I hungrily, possessively gulped down the rest.

I set down the jar, sighing in satisfaction.

“Thank you.”

He took the jar from me and placed it by the ointment and bandages. I glanced around again at the room. It was far too fancy to be anyone’s but a counselor or higher in the castle.

“Erevus?” When he glanced back at me, I asked, “Who are you here?”

There was a small hesitation before he said, “Erevus Ciaus, I am the King of the Dark Kingdom.”

My breath caught. I covered my mouth as I stared wide-eyed. The king?

He lifted his eyebrows and tilted his head as if he found the whole situation ironic and absurd.

Fates truly were toying with them.

Erevus stood. “Sleep. Tonight, I’ll show you some of the hidden beauty of this world, and then I’ll return you to your castle.”

He left the room, leaving me once again alone. I glanced at the broken window, realizing I could easily escape again, but when I felt the subtle sting of my wounds, I realized I needed to understand the new me. Cautious of my skin, I pulled the covers over my shoulder and allowed the black of my dreams to engulf me.