King

CHAPTER X

I looked in front of me and saw Zynrick attacking whatever he sees. I stood up and walked towards him but I was thrown back by a strong gush of magic. I stood once again and released lances. I motioned my hands towards him and the lances were direct at Zyn. It seems like he was able to sense it because he turned around and dodged. Upon his jump, strong pressure was directed everywhere so I blocked my eyes to avoid getting debris in it.

The moment I removed my hand away from my face Zyn was already in front of him. He kicked me and I was thrown a few meters away from him. I stood up and released a magic ball and directed it towards him. He was fast enough to dodge it so I quickly formed another one and directed it at him. He wasn’t able to sense it because he was too busy with the first one. The second one was able to hit him but it seems like it only angered him.

He glared at me and lunged towards my direction but I teleported a few meters away from him. I was relieved that I was able to teleport in time. If I was a second late he would’ve been able to lung at me. He looked at me and I saw him smirk. I created the lances that surrounded him. He glanced at them and grinned. He released a strong gush of wind and it was able to dissolve my lances.

I had no choice but to create my weapon. I held my hand out to the side and formed a bow and arrows. I directed it at him and quickly released but he was able to catch the arrow. I groaned in frustration and he took it as a chance to approach me.

He was in front of me the moment I returned my attention to him. He kicked me in the abdomen and punched me in the face. My bow and arrows vanished the moment I was hit so I had nothing with me. I created a small knife in my hand and slashed his chest. He stopped for a while so I took the chance and placed my hand on his abdomen before releasing powers. This was able to send him flying back.

“Elle, take this!” I heard Al yell so I looked towards him. He threw a gun at me which made my eyes grow wide.

“I can’t shoot him,” I said and when I looked at where Zyn landed he was already on his feet. He was preparing to attack so I prepared to dodge. He lunged at me so I moved to the side.

“It’s a tranquilizer,” Al said. Zyn turned his head towards him when he heard his voice. He focused on Al and was ready to lung at him so I quickly pointed the gun at Zyn and shot at him.

I released a sigh when Zyn fell on the ground. I didn’t see any blood so I guess it did work. “Al, you alright?” I asked because Zyn fell on top of him.

“Of course, I’m not,” Al answered and pushed Zyn off of him. Al quickly sat up and looked at me with his squinted eyes.

“Where did you go?” He asked while looking at me. I took a deep breath and answered, “I’ll tell you later,”

“Let me heal you for now,” I said and let him lay down. I held my hand on top of him as I ask him, “What happened?”

“We were under a tree when we realized that you vanished into thin air. After that, we tried to follow which direction you took. We encountered animals, I don’t even know if they should still be called animals, and it attacked us. Zyn was doing fine not until he got tired. We were both starting to get wounded. Then all of sudden Zyn went berserk. I guess it was a natural reaction.” He answered calmly. I looked around and saw that there were a lot of animal carcasses around.

“What do you mean natural reaction?” I asked after returning my attention to him.

“He usually goes berserk when he’s life is in danger. He was probably losing too much blood and was about to die that’s why the vampire side of him had taken over his body and mind for him to survive.” He answered. I looked at Zyn and it made sense. He did have a lot of wounds but it seems like they were already healing.

I continued to heal Al when he suddenly said; “I’m fine already,” After saying that he immediately sat down and looked at Zyn.

“Look after him,” He said and took his bag.

I approached Zyn and healed all of his wounds but he still didn’t wake up. Al noticed this so we decided to just wait for him to wake up.

“Hey, Al, tell me something about the forbidden book?” I asked making him look at me suspiciously.

“Did something happen while you were away?” He asked and I nodded.

“I found out about what happened,” I answered and he nodded. “Yuriko showed me her memories of what happened. She also mentioned that my powers were sealed.”

“I see,” Al answered and stood up. “To be frank, I don’t know anything about the forbidden book. It’s something that the government kept in the archive but I’ll try my best to take a hold of it.”

“Thank you,” I said and he nodded.

“You can still teleport us back, right?” He asked and I answered with I nod. I snapped my fingers and we were immediately transported at the chateau.

“Hey, Al,” I called out after we placed Zynrick on the couch.

“What is it?” He asked while looking at me.

“I want to help in searching for my familiars,” I said. I saw how he contemplated. I waited anxiously.

“Alright,” He said which made me smile. At first, I thought he was going to reject my offer.

“It’ll make things easier if you help,” He added before fixing all of his things.

“Are you going to the lab?” I asked and he answered by saying, “Yes,”

I watched him fix his things and thought of whether I should go with him or not. After a few minutes of thinking, I opened my mouth but before I could say anything Al stopped me.

“It’s better if you stay here with Zyn,” He said while holding his hand up.

“But I want to help,” I said but he shook his head.

“I know but you need to look after Zyn. He just passed out from being shot by a tranquilizer.” Al said making me look at Zyn. He was right.

“Alright, but tell me when will I be able to help,” I said and Al nodded before leaving.

I was left in the living room with Zynrick. I was looking straight at his face for a full minute before leaving to go to the kitchen to eat.

Once I was done eating, I went to the living room to check on Zyn but when I arrived he wasn’t there anymore. I looked at the couch and there was blood on it. I turned my gaze to the floor and saw that there were drops of blood. I quickly followed the trail and Zynrick on his bed.

“Is there something wrong?” I asked when I saw him half-naked. He turned his gaze towards me and I saw how he winced when he attempted to sit down. I went towards him and saw that there was a huge wound on his abdominal area.

I looked at him and it was obvious on his face that he was suffering. I placed my hand on top of him and attempted to heal him but minutes have passed and nothing was happening.

“Damn it! What’s wrong?” I asked while continuously trying to heal him. I could feel the beads of sweat on my forehead. Even my magic was running out but I needed to heal the wound.

“It’s not working, Elle,” Zynrick said and held my wrist. “Don’t push yourself,”

“That wound should’ve healed an hour ago,” I said while looking at it.

“Have you been drinking blood?” I asked and he answered by shaking his head.

I went to the kitchen and looked for blood. I checked every cabinet there was and rummaged the fridge but there was nothing. I was contemplating whether to let Zyn drink my blood. But something might happen if he does. He’s an artificial vampire and I don’t know if drinking a magical person’s blood would affect him.

“s**t! What if my blood reacts to the tranquilizer?” I asked myself but when I heard a loud thud coming from the second floor I immediately ran to Zyn’s room.

I saw him lying on the ground so I pulled him and made him lay on my lap. “Open your mouth,” I commanded and he obeyed.

I slashed my hand with the knife I took from the kitchen and let my blood drip in his mouth. He sat up and pulled me close to him. He was hugging me. I felt him sniff my neck and I wanted to push him away but the thought that he hasn’t drunk any blood made me stop myself.

“Hurry up,” I whispered and he bit into my shoulder. I clutched my hands on his clothes as he sucked my blood.

“Zyn, stop,” I said when I was starting to feel dizzy. When he didn’t stop I pushed him and slapped him.

“s**t! I’m sorry,” He apologized when he saw the blood on my shoulder.

“It's fine,” I answered but he shook his head.

“No, it’s not,” He said and gulped. I saw how his expression showed how horrified he was that he tasted my blood on his mouth.

He wiped his mouth with his arm and I saw how he balled his hands into fists. “I’m sorry for sucking your blood,”

“Don’t be. It was my decision,” I said but he still looked guilty. He looked so mad at himself so I cupped his face and made him look at me.

“I was the one who made you drink blood while fully knowing that this could happen. So, stop being mad at yourself,” I said while looking straight at his eyes.

I thought that those words would be able to soothe him but I was wrong. He averted his gaze and looked at the ground. “It was still wrong,” He whispered.

“Could you leave me alone for a while?” He asked and I nodded. I walked towards the door but before I left I said, “I wanted to heal your wound so I let you drink my blood. Don’t be too hard on yourself, okay? It was my choice.”

After saying that I walked out and closed the door behind me, I heard him lock the door so I decided to stay in the living room.

I was thinking of becoming Zynrick’s new blood companion when I heard the door open. I saw Al enter and he sat on the couch in front of me.

“Did something happen while I wasn’t around?” Al asked with his eyebrows furrowed. His gaze was on my shoulder so I instinctively held onto it.

“Ah, Zyn had a wound that wouldn’t heal and I figured that maybe if he drank blood it will heal,” I answered. I didn’t want to tell Al everything but he just kept on staring at me so I continued, “I couldn’t find any stock of blood so I let him drink mine.”

“f**k, I’m sorry,” He apologized. He looked at me and I could see that he was stressed. “I was just too busy with work that I forgot to restock the fridge.”

“It’s fine,” I said. He looked at me for a while before nodding his head.

He sighed and whispered, “Don’t worry she was the right hand of Athaeas. It’s fine.” He walked to the single couch and sat down.

After that, we were both silents for a while. I kept on glancing at Al but he was just quietly leaning against the single couch. His head was thrown back and his eyes were closed.

“Hey,” I whispered. I wanted to ask him about the progress in the search of my familiars but he seemed so stressed and I wanted him to rest.

“Al,” I called out once again because I couldn’t stand not knowing how things are going but he didn’t answer so I sighed.

“I guess I’ll talk to you tomorrow then,” I said and stood up. I was about to go to my room when he suddenly spoke.

“If you have something to say just say it.” I turned towards him and he was still resting on the couch.

I bit my bottom lip and took a deep breath. “Is there any progress in the search for my familiars?” I asked. I knew what I was asking for was difficult to do but after what I found out at the fairy realm I couldn’t help but feel restless.

Al opened his eyes and looked at me intently. “There’s none,” He answered. I could hear the disappointment in his voice as he answered me. I nodded because I understood that it wasn’t easy for him.

“Okay, but when can I help?” I asked. He didn’t answer immediately.

“Tomorrow,” He answered and I nodded.

“Okay,” I said. I stared at him for a while and thought of whether I should ask him about personal things but I held my tongue back.

I reminded myself that the relationship between the three of us wasn’t a normal one. The set up was only created because it benefited all of us in different ways.

“I’ll give you the time to rest then. I’m heading to my room.” I said instead and proceeded to my room.

I was looking out of the balcony and was thinking of what had happened with Zynrick earlier. I’m sure that it’s heavily weighing on his mind.

I sighed and whispered, “Why are things so damn difficult?”

I looked at the view in front of me. I was wondering about how I would face him after what had happened.

I was busy admiring the view in front of me when I heard someone knock on the door. I furrowed my eyebrows and opened it. I was surprised when I saw that it was Zynrick. He was standing in front of me with his head bowed down and his hand on his nape.

“Hey,” I said when a few seconds had passed and he still didn’t say anything.

He looked at me and opened his mouth but nothing came out. “What is it?” I asked playing it cool. I knew what he wanted to talk about but he couldn’t say it.

“About what happened earlier,” He started and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for kicking you out of my room.”

I nodded, “I already said that it’s fine,”

“I know it’s just that it doesn’t settle in well with me because I have a bad memory of drinking people’s blood.” He admitted. I showed him that I was listening to him. I wanted him to know that I was interested in whatever he’s saying.

“Could you tell me what happened?” I asked and he immediately shook his head as an answer.

“I’m sorry,” He whispered, “I’m just not ready to talk about it.” He added and showed me a small smile.

“It’s okay,” I said. As much as I wanted to know what happened to him. I didn’t want to pry.

“You do know that I am willing to be one of your blood companions, right?” I asked making him clench his jaw.

I saw how he took a deep breath and looked away. His hands were balled into fists as well and that’s when I knew that I reminded him of something unpleasant.

“If you don’t like it you can just tell me,” I said and he gave me a small smile.

“I’ll think about it,” He said and looked towards his room. “I have to go,”

“Alright, but we’ll start training again tomorrow,” I said and he nodded.

“Okay, goodnight,” He said and smiled before walking away.

“Hey, Zyn,” I called out and he stopped. “What is it?”

“If you’re having a hard time, Al and I are always here,” I said and he nodded.

The next day came rolling in quickly. I went out of my room and saw that Al and Zyn were talking in the kitchen. I was surprised because this was the first time I saw them talking kindly to each other. Most of the time I’d just see them being quiet or talking to each other with a heavy atmosphere.

“How are you?” I heard Al ask Zyn. I was silently eavesdropping from outside. I know that it’s wrong but I was just so curious about what they’re talking about.

“I’m fine,” Zyn answered shortly.

“How do you feel about what happened with Elle?” I heard Al ask. My heart started beating when I Al’s question.

“Can we please not talk about this?” Zyn pleaded. Silence enveloped the two of them. I was waiting for what was about to happen next. The silence was killing me.

“You need to learn how to talk about it,” Al answered before silence enveloped them once again.

“I know but you weren’t the one who was forced to do such horrible things, Al. You can’t tell me to just get over whatever happened because I just can’t. Do you know how everything I did haunt me?” I could hear the pain in Zyn’s voice and I didn’t like the idea that I was eavesdropping in this kind of situation.

I decided to sit on the couch in the living room instead. I was feeling guilty for eavesdropping so I distracted myself by watching television. I wanted them to have their conversation properly.

An hour had passed and they still weren’t coming out so I walked inside the kitchen. I didn’t know if I interrupted something but I was hungry so I just went in. Besides, I already gave them an hour to talk.

“Hey, Elle,” Zyn greeted with a smile on his face I was confused by the sudden change of demeanor but I just ignored it.

“Hey,” I greeted back and took some salad from the fridge. I also prepared my coffee and while doing all of that I could feel them watching me.

I turned around and they didn’t even bother to pretend that they weren’t staring. “Stop staring it’s creeping me out,” I said honestly and Al sighed before taking his coat that was on the chair.

“I’m leaving. You guys make sure that you train properly,” Al said and I nodded.

“I’ll visit the lab later this evening,” I said and he nodded. He then looked at Zyn so I looked at Zyn as well.

“And you, you better keep in mind what I told you,” He said and Zyn nodded.

I thought Al would leave after that but he just stayed there. He was looking straight at Zyn. Zyn still had his head bowed down so I decided to elbow him. He looked at me then looked at Al.

“What do you want? A response?” Zyn asked and Al nodded as an answer. “I don’t need your nod. I need your response.”

“Okay, I’ll keep it in mind. I promise.” Zyn said and Al nodded. “That’s good to hear.”

“I’ll wait for you in the evening,” Al said eyeing me. “Okay,”

Al then left after that. I was left with Zyn and we were both quiet. I was feeling awkward so I asked, “What do you want to practice?”

“Anything you can teach me,” He answered and took some bread before sitting in front of me.

“Didn’t you eat?” I asked and he nodded. “I just need to calm myself.”

“I’m glad you were able to handle what happened in the fairy realm,” I said making him freeze.

“What made you feel so proud? I attacked you and Al,” He said after scoffing at me.

“I know but at least you were able to protect Al while I was away,” I said and he clicked his tongue.

“Right, what if you weren’t there? What if you came back late? I probably would’ve been the one that killed Al.” He said. I could see how burdened he was by the way he looked. I pitied him.

“It wasn’t your fault,” I said but he just scoffed.

“You both keep saying that,” He said so I stood up and slapped him. I could see his surprised expression.

“What the heck?!” He yelled.

“I don’t know what happened to you in your past but if Al said it himself then you shouldn’t feel sad or burdened by it. If you want to make up for it then you better train well so the same things wouldn’t happen.” I said making him smile.

“Alright,” He answered and I nodded.

“Let’s go,” I said making his eyes grow wide.

“Aren’t we currently eating?” He asked and I nodded.

“I lost my appetite,” I said and walked out.

"But I'm still eating," He complained. I turned around and looked at him with a glare.

"It's your fault I lost my appetite," I said and he sighed.

"Fine," He said and took a piece of bread with him before following me to the field.