Stained By Sin

SEVEN

Ava was walking silently down the hallway of her home, her heart beating fast, her hands shaking from anxiety. Tonight, her brother would meet with the Crow leader and negotiate the release of her mate. She knew that nobody was expecting for this negotiation to bear any fruit, and that it was only part of the strategy her brother had prepared. However, she still hoped that they could resolve this with peaceful talks. She didn’t want anyone to get harmed. Especially not her brother. But since he was the one leading this mission, he would certainly face dangers greater than anyone in his team.

Under the shade of the thick walls that surrounded her, Ava stopped walking and stared longingly at the sunlit forest that was in front of her. She had never once experienced how it felt to be burned by the sun, and she never dared try. But right now, she wished that she had the courage to do the impossible. If she just had the speed and willpower necessary, she could run and hide from shade to shade and infiltrate the Crow’s base unexpectedly. She couldn’t begin to imagine what kind of treatment they were giving Jaiden… her poor Jaiden. He must have been really scared by now. Knowing him, the Crows could break him in mere minutes of torture.

Ava closed her eyes and willed the dark thoughts away.

Maybe the Crow clan showed him some compassion and didn’t harm him that much. After all, he was just a human. The Crow’s anger shouldn’t be directed to him, but to her and her clan instead.

Ava clasped her hands together and prayed to all the gods there was, sincerely asking for their protection. Vampires weren’t exactly religious. They know no gods. But Ava was willing to believe anything and everything, if it could help keep Jaiden safe.

She was still praying when she heard familiar footsteps coming her way.

She opened her eyes and looked over to where the steps were from. After a few seconds, Ava saw her cousin, Thyone, emerged from behind the walls. He was already wearing his armors, his sword neatly strapped by his hip. He looked refreshed, as if going to battle was something that brought him joy. Which was something that was probably true for Thyone.

He looked at her, a smug grin on his face as he continued to walk towards her.

“Ava,” he said. He bowed at her slightly, which wasn’t customary, but was just his way of mocking her and her brother.

“Thyone,” she greeted back. She kept her face neutral, not letting any emotion show on her face. Especially not her pain, which was about to cripple her right there and then.

Thyone raised an eyebrow at her, probably amused.

“Will you join us in our rescue operation tonight?” he asked.

“I would love to, but my brother forbade me to come.”

“Ah, always the protective one, isn’t he?”

Thyone’s smile was so smug, she wanted to punch his face. Not like she could do it. Thyone was the best fighter of their clan, and she was probably one of the weakest. If she tried to punch him, he’d have her on the ground with her throat slit before she could even raise her hand.

Ava ignored his comment. She remained silent, waiting for him to either talk or leave. She’d prefer he leave, though.

Thyone probably heard what was in her mind… or maybe it was just obvious with the way she stood there, stoic, because he began to walk again after giving her a slight bow.

“I swear to bring back your lovely, human prince,” he said as he brushed past her. One could really count on Thyone to mock them any chance he got.

“I sure hope you will, or you will be proving to me that you are no longer the best warrior the Ivory have,” she replied without looking at him.

She didn’t even bother checking on his reaction. Ava went to the opposite direction of where Thyone was walking, gritting her teeth in an effort to hide her pain.

As she walked, a sudden gust of wind brought the scent of the forest to her, along with a diluted scent that must be Thyone’s. The mixture of scents momentarily made Ava forget her pain. There was something oddly familiar with it. Something she just couldn’t place. She was so used to Thyone’s scent that the odd familiarity confused her.

Another wave of pain made Ava gasp, her hand immediately searching for anything to hold on to. Her palm touched the wall on her side, and she leaned on it, trying to catch her breath. Her thoughts about Thyone, effectively forgotten.

As soon as Ava managed to control her breathing and regained composure, she immediately straightened herself, hoping nobody saw her while in pain.

Elara was sitting on the bed Jaiden a few feet apart, talking to him as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She noticed that he still seemed to be tense around him, but at least he wasn’t terrified of her anymore. Elara wondered what the hell it was that Aki told Jaiden, but whatever it was, she was thankful for it. She didn’t know that having someone that reminded her of her little brother would affect her this much. But now that they were - somehow - close, the effect was positive for her.

“Tell me, did the princess really not force you to mate with her?” she asked.

Jaiden shook his head. “Honestly, I have no idea why I drank her blood. But I did it on my own. She didn’t threaten me or anything.”

Elara relaxed a bit. She knew Jaiden wasn’t her brother, but the fact that she decided to treat him like he was made her extremely protective.

There was a moment of silence between them before Elara spoke again.

“Do you want to go back to them? To Ava?” she mumbled.

She heard Jaiden took a deep breath before responding.

“Frankly, I just want to return to my old life.” Elara was surprised at how bluntly he said it. Was he that comfortable with her presence now that he would nonchalantly say that?

But she wasn’t really surprised that he wanted to be free. Nobody would want to be imprisoned, regardless of how well they were treated.

Could Elara gave that freedom to him, though?

Her heart finally felt whole again when she decided to accept that he was very similar to Xian. Something that was proven the more she talked to him. Their habits, their mannerisms… Even the way Jaiden seemed so childlike reminded Elara of Xian.

She realized, if Jaiden wasn’t mated to the Ivory princess, she could let him go. She could visit him whenever she wanted, anyway. But being the Ivory princess’ mate left her with no choice. Regardless of how she felt towards Jaiden, she couldn’t give him any more special treatment. She needed to put her clan as her first priority, and gaining back the power they had lost was the best thing she could do for them.

Not only that, she needed to avenge her family. Even if Jaiden felt like the brother she had lost, he was not Xian. He could never be Xian.

And she had to avenge Xian.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Jaiden seemed surprised at her words. He turned to look at her so fast he could have pass as a vampire himself.

“Sorry?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry that I wouldn’t be able to give you your freedom. Honestly, I don’t know why you are forcing yourself to be nice towards me, but I am now a bit fond of you. And as much as I want to let you go, I need you here, as my trump card,” Elara explained.

“Why me?” Jaiden asked in a small voice, looking at her as if he was about to cry.

“Because you are the princess’ mate. You are the best card I can ever hope for.”

Elara saw fear in Jaiden’s eyes, probably suddenly reminded of just how dangerous she could be.

“What does being a mate even mean?” he asked, his voice shaking.

“It’s kind of similar to being married, but with more negatives than positives.”

“What do you mean by “negatives” and “positives”?”

Elara thought for a moment. Would she tell him all there was about mating? But if she did, it might make him want to stay with the princess. Based on what he told her, the princess didn’t force him into the mating, and it could be because he sincerely feels something for the princess. So if he learned the truth about what would happen to Ava if he ran away from her or if Elara refused to hand him over to the Ivory’s, there was the possibility that he would try to escape and go to the princess. If he ever did that, then Elara would be left with no choice but to bring him down in the basement and lock him there. That was, if she wanted to keep the fear and respect her clan had for her.

Deciding that it would be better for him to not know anything, she just shook her head.

“I need to go and prepare for the discussion later. I’m sorry I wouldn’t be able to give you your freedom, but rest assured that you will be treated better here than at the Ivory’s.”

With that, Elara turned and left the room.

As the door closed behing Elara, Aki appeared as if out of nowhere. He was looking at Elara weirdly, and it made her uneasy.

“What’s wrong?” she asked him.

“Nothing. So, how did it go with the human?” he replied.

“Fine. What did you do? He told me you went to him. Did you tell him something?”

Aki just grinned at her mysteriously before he started walking, turning his back on her.

Elara walked beside him, wondering what the hell that grin meant.

“You did tell him something,” Elara accused.

“Are you happy?” he asked her.

Elara shrugged.

“You could say that. Thank you, Aki.”

“What are you thanking me for?” Aki asked with a smile.

“For whatever it is you did. Somehow, it helped ease the loneliness.”

Aki just nodded.

Now that the emotional moment was over, Elara braced herself for the war that was about to come. Squaring her shoulders and putting on the perfect mask of confidence and strength, she commanded Aki.

“Call the warriors. Meet me in the war room in ten minutes. We’ll be discussing what we’ll do later during the discussion.”

Aki felt the shift in Elara’s mood and responded accordingly. He walked slowly, letting her walk ahead of him. When she turned to face him, Aki bowed slightly, acknowledging her orders.

“Got it, my queen,” he said with a grin.

Then he was gone.

Elara continued to walk, heading straight towards the war room. As she moved away from where Jaiden was, her head became clearer and clearer. She remembered the reason why she was holding him hostage. Remembered the reason why she was seeking comfort in him.

It was all because of that man.

The man that killed her family. Her entire clan. And her brothers.

And now that they were about to meet again, her heart beat faster and faster. In anticipation on what was to happen or just in plain anger, she wasn’t sure. But Elara was sure in one thing. It was that each step she took was filled with purpose, and that was to crush the head of Ivory clan.

To crush the head of that man.  

Nero.