Stained By Sin

SIX

Nero was pacing anxiously as he waited for the Crow leader’s reply. It had been over a day since he sent the letter, and all his men were already demanding they scrap the “negotiation” tactic, and just infiltrate the Crow base instead.

Nero prayed that the Crows accept his terms. He would really prefer that they keep the bloodshed to a minimum. If they don’t give him a reply tonight, there was no more reasoning with his men. They would scrap his proposition and revise a plan for infiltration instead.

And it’s not only his men that would make Nero shift from passive to aggressive. Since his sister, Ava, was freshly mated, her need for her mate’s blood was more frequent. After a day without drinking the human’s blood, Ava was starting to show signs of hunger. Nero knew she was trying to stay strong, keeping her symptoms from him, but Nero was no fool. He could see the way Ava winced from pain occasionally, and how the tiniest whiff of blood made her growl with want. She needed to be with his mate soon. Else, Ava would be reduced to nothing but a ball of pain.

Nero was still pacing when his ears picked up the familiar sound of wings flapping from the distance. He knew this sound by heart… his most trusted messenger, White.

His heart racing, he went by the window and waited for the bird. After a few minutes of waiting, Nero saw White emerging from the vast leaves of the trees surrounding his residence’s perimeter. After a couple more minutes, the bird finally landed on Nero’s outstretched arm.

Nero’s hand shook slightly, anxious about the Crow’s reply.

With quick movements, Nero untied the letter placed on White’s leg, then unfolded the letter.

White flew and perched himself on Nero’s shoulder, seemingly wanting to read the letter with him.

Taking a deep breath, Nero started reading the letter.

“To the Ivory King,

I am amused that you are now showing me some respect by sending a letter. If I remember correctly, the same kind of courtesy is expected when waging a war with another clan. For someone with strict values, you surely could drop those the moment being immoral suits you.

But, let’s forget about that for a moment and focus on the current matter.

About the human…

You know, I really have no use for this human. While he certainly looks appetizing, I don’t drink from cowards. Your sister surely has a weird taste for a mate. I’ve been trying to think of why on earth she mated with a pathetic excuse for a human but I still don’t get it.

Ah, I got sidetracked again.

I agree with your request. Let’s discuss the future of your sister’s mate tomorrow night, at the forest’s clearing.

Also, I trust that you will be faithful this time to the order your majesty declared -- only the clan’s leader and a trusted adviser will enter the clearing. All guards will be left outside the clearing’s perimeter. I hope you wouldn’t betray our trust this time.

The Crow Queen,

Elara”

Nero’s brow furrowed as he read the letter. He knew the letter was purposefully trying to provoke him, but knowing its intention didn’t help him control his emotion.

The first line and last line of the letter in particular hit him hard.

He remembered how his clan, and the alliance they made with the other clans, broke the unspoken rule: no unannounced attacks.

Ambush strategies were accepted, but first, a declaration of war should be made. Once the state of war between clans were established, then all hell could break lose. And that was something they deliberately broke.

Behind the Crow’s backs, and without any declaration of war, Nero and the other vampires stormed the Crow’s mansion… the very mansion he was living in today.

They knew that if they declared war with the Crow clan, and they fight them when the Crow are prepared, they stood no chance of winning. The Crow clan was standing on top of everyone for a reason. They were the strongest. The most brutal. They fight to kill. Every strike a Crow member deliver could be lethal if one weren’t careful.

And that was precisely the reason why they had to resort to underhanded tricks. They would never win on a fair fight.

But that was before.

Now that they had eliminated most of the original member of the Crow clan, the current Crows were just a weak shadow of what they were before. That was not to say that the rebuilt clan was weak… no, not at all. After all, the vampire the rebuilt the clan was a royalty. The Crow princess herself. She would have trained each and every member of her new clan thoroughly, and she would only have selected vampires that were fit to bring the name “Crow”.

Regardless, majority of the current clan should consist of turned vampires. That alone was a major blow to the strength of the Crow.

Feeling the pang of guilt in his heart, Nero sighed. He folded the letter and immediately started clearing his mind. There was no room for guilt and regret right now. Any sign of weakness, and those who covet his seat would strike.

Once he got his emotions under control, Nero strode out of his room, ordering the first vampire he saw to call his commanding fighters. They were to go to the war room. Now.

Ava clenched her fists as she laid on her bed, wiling the pain burning in her throat to go away.

She didn’t realize that just a day without being able to drink her mate’s blood would be this bad, but there was nothing she could do about it now. She could only pray that what her brother was planning would lead to the immediate rescue of Jaiden.

Her pain aside, there were still so many things she and Jaiden need to discuss.

Apologizing topped her list.

Regardless of her intentions, she inadvertently mated Jaiden to her, and now there was nothing they could do to reverse it. No one in the vampire history was ever able to reverse the mating ritual. Not even the purebloods mating a fellow pureblood. Not that there were a lot of them, anyway. Since mating brought more downside than upside, only a handful of vampires actually did it.

It’s not like Ava wanted to reverses the mating. Inadvertent it may be, she still loved Jaiden so much that she could spend her entire lifespan with just him and only him by her side. But she couldn’t force him into this mating. She didn’t know why he willingly drank her blood, but the way he ran off from her once he realized what had just happened was enough to let her know he didn’t want to be mated to her.

She could understand that. She wasn’t very honest with him, and that was enough for him to hate her. But still, Ava hoped that Jaiden could give her one more chance. If they could just start over, and if she could just show him that it wasn’t that bad living as a vampire, then maybe they could make this work.

Maybe.

Another wave of pain racked through Ava’s body, she almost screamed in pain. It was a good thing she managed to clamp her lips shut at the right time. She couldn’t risk doing anything that would make her brother worry for her even more. Nero was under enough pressure at the moment because of her. Protecting the humans was one thing, but mating with one? She knew majority of their clan, and whole vampire race, would raise their eyebrows at her. She needed to stay strong, if only for her brother.

As the throbbing pain in her throat and stomach surged once again, Ava’s mind went to Jaiden.

What would happen if he really refused to stay with her even after they rescued him from the Crows. This pain she was experiencing was just the tip of the iceberg. As days go by without her mate’s blood in her system, the pain would grow more and more intense, until she wouldn’t be able to move a single muscle without the searing pain torturing her. And because things like old age and natural diseases couldn’t kill her kind, she would just have to beg for someone to behead her. If there was no one willing to do it, then she would live forever in intense agony.

The mere thought of what was in store for her was enough to make her forget the pain she was currently in, and shiver in fear the pain that was to come. No, she couldn’t lose her cool like this. She needed to focus on the present. She knew Jaiden. He wouldn’t abandon her. Worst case scenario, he would not stay with her but would give her his blood when she needed it.

Well… she hoped.

Pushing the fearsome thought away, Ava shifted from her bed, struggling to sit up. As she sat up, she heard the door from Nero’s room slam shut, followed by his rushed footsteps.

“Call the commanding fighters,” Ava heard him said through the walls of her room.

Ava’s heart raced from her brother’s command. Did the Crow responded to their letter? She was with them last night at the war room, explaining to her brother’s top fighters the current situation and describing Jaiden to them. She was surprised that her brother managed to convince them to negotiate with the Crows. She knew nothing of politics and being a warrior, but she could tell that his brother’s top men didn’t like the idea of talking to the Crow clan. They agreed to his plan anyways. How he managed to do that, she had no idea.

Her pain momentarily forgotten, she rushed out of her room and followed her brother to the war room.

Elara stood outside Jaiden’s room, her hand was raised in front of her, paused in a mid-knock gesture. She didn’t know why, all of a sudden, she was nervous of meeting this human. Just a while ago, she was flirting with him, teasing him, making him tremble with fear. Now, she was the trembling even without him doing anything.

Why was a single mispronunciation of her name affect her this much?

Elara shook her head, forcing herself to forgot what happened a few hours ago.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Elara knocked thrice before opening the door.

Jaiden’s confused face greeted Elara as soon as she entered the room. He was looking at her cautiously, his heartbeat fast and erratic.

“Why?” Elara asked, confused at his confusion.

“Why?” Jaiden repeated her question as if he had no idea what it meant.

“Why do you look so confused” Elara clarified, raising an eyebrow.

Somehow, her nerves settled as soon as she entered the room. And with a sudden awareness of Jaiden, Elara began to observe him more closely, noticing things she hadn’t realized was there the first couple of times they met.

“Ah, nothing,” he said, averting his gaze from her, looking at the candle on the bedside table as if it was something interesting. “I was just surprised that someone gave me the courtesy of knocking before entering the room. I thought it was a new face.”

Elara was surprised at his response. He was calmer now than the last time they met, and his statement made her realize that she did knock before she entered his room. Which was weird because she never knock. Not even when for Aki.

There was an awkward silence between the two of them, with Elara confusing herself with her actions, and Jaiden waiting for her to speak.

As Elara frantically thought of what to say, she realized that Jaiden was wearing different clothes now. And those clothes looked like… Aki’s?

“Your clothes...” Elara mumbled, surprised.

“Oh, this?” Jaiden replied, looking down and gesturing at the fresh set of garments he was wearing. “The guy with you yesterday brought it to me. Actually, it was more like, he tossed it to me,” he continued, rolling his eyes.

Elara’s heart skipped a beat at his action. That eye roll… it was very much like Xian’s whenever she teased him or forced him to wear the clothes she made for him.

Elara felt her heartbeat quicken, her breath becoming more erratic.

Now captivated with human sitting on the bed in front her, Elara summoned a servant and asked for a chair. Once it has arrived, she placed it in front of Jaiden and sat on it. All the while, Jaiden was curiously watching her, his eyes glinting with interest.

She wondered why he was suddenly calm when up until a few hours ago, he was trembling with fear for her. So she asked him just that.

“The guy I told you before --” he began, but Elara cut him off with a wave of her hand.

“His name is Aki,” she said.

Jaiden nodded, then proceeded with his story. “Aki. He went here a few hours before you did. He gave me these change of clothes. He also talked to me for a bit.”

Elara’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

”He talked to you?”

“Yeah.”

“What did he say?”

“Nothing much. We mostly talked about you,” Jaiden said with a shrug.

“Me?” Elara was confused. Why would Aki talk to Jaiden about her. Did he…

With a gnawing suspicion in her mind, she asked Jaiden, “What did he tell you?”

“Nothing, really. Just that I don’t need to be scared of you, regardless of how you teased and scared me yesterday,” Jaiden answered, his eyes suddenly focused, studying her.

“And why is that? Did he tell you?”

Jaiden shook his head. “He didn’t. But he promised me you would never harm me. Or at the very least, you wouldn’t kill me.”

Elara’s brows furrowed. Why would Aki do that? She explicitly told him that nothing would change in their plans, no matter what. And that included how they treat the human. Why did he suddenly declared to Jaiden that she wouldn’t kill him? How did he even think about it? Of course she could kill Jaiden if she wanted to.

And as if in an attempt to prove her own will, Elara quickly grabbed a couple of knives from her hip pocket and threw it to Jaiden. Jaiden didn’t even flinch, but he did look like he was surprised. His eyes wide, his lips slightly parted.

“Well?” Elara asked, taunting him.

She was taunting him, but her hands were also shaking from what she did.

She subtly hid her hands, trying her best to maintain her facade of nonchalant.

“You didn’t hurt me,” Jaiden shrugged.

He was clearly shocked. His eyes were tearing up, and his voice shook when his spoke, but he stood his ground. He was trying his best not to be afraid of her.

What, exactly, did Aki told this man? It’s impossible that he would be this resolute to not show fear just because another vampire told him that she wouldn’t hurt him.

But even while Elara wondered about why the was so insistent on being brave, she couldn’t help but notice how adorable he looked like right now. In her mind, the image of Xian trying his best to look brave and forcing himself not to cry intermingled with Jaiden’s.

Her heart melted at the vision. Would Xian look like this had he survived the ambush? Would he still be a scaredy-cat even after he had become a grown man?

These thoughts broke all the defenses Elara had built against Jaiden. What had once been a pawn for her game to reclaim her throne had now, suddenly, become a piece that would bandage her broken heart.

A piece that she could force to fit the gaping hole her younger brother had left.

A single tear escaped her eye, sliding from her cheeks down to her chin. She didn’t bother wiping it. She prayed that her the darkness could hide it, but she knew it didn’t. Jaiden’s eyes followed the tear as it trailed down her face. As if he knew exactly what was going on in her mind, Jaiden relaxed. His stiff posture loosened, and his shaking subsided.

Elara didn’t move. She knew that even the tiniest movement could cause her to break down. She didn’t want to be this vulnerable just hours after her last crying session, and she most definitely didn’t want this human to see her cry. She’s supposed to be a strong, unbreakable queen of her clan. The Crow clan. The strongest clan there was. But as Jaiden meekly approached her, the exact way Xian used to do whenever she’s sad, and gently… awkwardly hugged her… she didn’t care anymore. She knew this must be her brother, finally returning to her after so long.