Stained By Sin

TWENTY-TWO

Jaiden stared at Ava, who was breathing heavily as she laid on the bed. He saw her suffer in some kind of pain for like a dozen of times throughout the entire day. When he told her to sleep, she really did fell asleep instantly, which was understandable since she was hurt. However, she would constantly woke up clutching the bed sheet, gritting her teeth and suffering in silence.

Jaiden had asked her what was wrong again and again, but she would always answer him with a sad smile. Jaiden thought it was only because of the wounds she had when she fought Aki, but all her wounds were almost healed. He had even watched in amazement how some visible wounds in her arms would heal themselves in front of his eyes. Not really fast like in some kind of magic, but it was still inhumanly fast; all her wounds were mostly healed when the night fell again.

Even though Jaiden had been living in a vampire’s room for the past week, he hadn’t really seen their “powers”. The only encounter he had with their supernatural abilities was Ava’s blood-sucking and Elara’s baring of fangs. And honestly, he wasn’t sure what to feel about what he had just witnessed. Jaiden was a naturally curious man, and so, observing Ava’s wounds heal by themselves while she slept was something very, very interesting for him. But at the same time, he was also a scaredy cat. As he watched Ava’s wounds heal, he also couldn’t help but face the reality of his situation. All this time, he had viewed his situation from afar. But now… it was so real, he couldn’t help but wonder how much more difference Ava and him had.

And so, Ava’s continuous fits of pain made Jaiden realized it wasn’t just because of her wounds. It also made him wonder what was the cause of it. In the past, when they weren’t mated yet, Ava and him would be together for hours straight, yet he had never seen her act this way. She was just always happy and shy. It made him think whether her condition was related to their mating.

He had ask Ava that question, but she didn’t reply. She did look quite shocked by his question though, and it made Jaiden wonder if he had hit the bullseye.

And so now, as he watched Ava writhe in pain on the bed with no idea how he could help her, he just waited patiently until she could speak again.

“Do you need anything?” he asked, cautious not to approach the bed too fast else it might trigger her pain again.

“I’m okay. I just need to lie down,” she replied with a slight smile.

Jaiden nodded but still decided to pour her a glass of water. Aki had brought him a pitcher and a glass a while ago, which he greatly appreciated.

He gava Ava the glass of water, which she received with a more genuine smile.

“Thank you,” she said, sitting up so she could drink. After downing the glass, she looked at the it for a long time, her expression confused. “You know, I still can’t think of why the Crows are treating you this nicely. Why they are treating me this nicely.”

Jaiden sat beside her on the bed and gently massaged her back with his hand. “Don’t think too much about it. Maybe they really are just nice.”

“No, they shouldn’t be nice. They are the Crow clan! They are savage, barbaric… they only ever relied on their brute strength,” she said in a voice that was tinged with fear.

This was the first time Jaiden had seen Ava this way. She was always the gentle one… the kind one. And so it surprised him to see her this judgemental of Elara’s clan.

“Maybe they aren’t really like that. Maybe you only see them that way because that’s what you wanted to see. Maybe you weren’t able to see the reality because you’re so busy being blinded by the illusion you made.” Jaiden didn’t mean to snap at Ava. He just wanted to defend Elara and Aki because they have always been nice to him. True, they did scare him at first, and they were even holding him captive at the moment. But they had reasons for his captivity, and after his first encounter with Elara and Aki, they had been nothing but nice to him. Well, okay. Maybe not Aki, but Elara was. And Aki at least had yet to hurt him, even after Elara was captured. And so it made him feel bad that Ava was talking bad about them.

As he said those words, Ava looked at him in shock. She scoot away from him, the glass she was holding trembling with her hands.

“Why are you defending them? Don’t you know that their clan killed humans for fun? Oh, of course you don’t know that. But they do. They kill humans for fun. They suck humans dry just because they can. Back when the Crow clan was in power, they even encouraged everyone to be overly aggressive with humans. And yet, you, a human, is defending them? Why?”

Jaiden was the one shocked this time. Of course he didn’t know the history of the Crow clan. The only history he knew of the two clan was that Ava’s clan killed Elara’s real family… her brothers. He could believe what Ava was saying though. It’s not like Elara and Aki had always been gentle and caring to him. He felt their murderous aura the first time he met them. But at the same time, he just couldn’t imagine them killing humans for fun.

Jaiden shook his head, running a hand through his hair.

“Okay, look. I’m not really defending them. But I don’t like it when you judge them that quickly. Have you even had an actual interaction with anyone from the Crow clan? Aside from the Aki, of course.”

Ava stared at him blankly before answering.

“Yes. Yes, I did. I already met their leader,” she replied.

“Elara? When?”

“When she got captured. I was there when they arrived from the clearing.”

“So… how was it? What did she do when you two met?” Jaiden asked.

“She didn’t really do anything but even when she was hurt and in pain, she still managed to intimidate me just by her words.”

Jaiden didn’t mean to, but he chuckled a little. He just thought how real that scenario was. Elara, even without talking, was already intimidating. Ava, on the other hand, can get scared with just about anything.

“What?” Ava asked.

“Nothing. But hey, look. Ava, I’m not defending the Crows okay. Just know that I’m very new to your world, and I know nothing about it. Just the things I experienced firsthand. And that is, Crow’s… leniency to me. For the past week, even though I am a prisoner, I was kept in a room instead of a dungeon. I was fed properly. Back when Elara was still here, she would always come here and talk to me. Sure, they weren’t the nicest people… vampires, but I haven’t seen their savage and barbaric side yet. So I don’t want to judge them based only on stories. Am I making sense?” Somehow, it felt like he needed to assure Ava that he wasn’t siding with anyone. With how he reacted a while ago, she might think that he was siding with the Crow against her own clan.

Ava nodded slowly. “I guess that makes sense. I still don’t know why we are being treated this way. But, I understand what you mean. But please, also know that even though I have never seen their cruelty firsthand, I lived through their era. I know what they are capable of, and that’s why I’m being very wary of them.”

Jaiden nodded. “Fair enough. Now come here.”

Ava smiled and scooted closer to Jaiden again. He opened his arms for her, which she gladly accepted. Ava laid her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Her throat had been burning with thirst ever since they got separated after their mating, and even more so when she was thrown into this room with him. That was why her painful fits were happening more and more frequently. However, she didn’t want to tell Jaiden about it yet. She didn’t want him to think that she only went after him just to sate her thirst. She would bear with it a little longer, and tell him all about it after they were free. What’s important to her was that he was safe.

As she snuggled closer to Jaiden, listening to the steady beat of his heart while fighting the intense urge to drink his blood, Ava slowly drifted to sleep.