‘This is supposed to be the vampire king? Yiselda. I’m not handing Nina over to that monster,’
Alec pauses, stares at Magnus, and snarls his fangs. Magnus expands his wolf teeth, and he growls in response.
‘Now is not the time for a snarl off,’ Yiselda says to Alec and Magnus. Alec drops his eyes to Nina lying weak in the arms of Magnus. His expression softens, and he reaches out to touch Nina, but Magnus steps aside and pulls me closer to his chest. ‘It burns,’ I gasp, biting my lip. It bleeds. My skin feels as though it is on fire. I open my eyes and tilt my head to see Alec looking at me longingly. His skin is red and covered with blisters, and I can see blisters forming on my arms. As I weep, the pain becomes unbearable.
‘It’s okay, Nina,’ Magnus replies as he prepares to remove the blanket he’s using to hold me.
‘Alec, you must stand aside so we can place her in the cell with you,’ Yiselda commands. Alec moves to the cell’s rear, where he can’t be seen.
‘There is a spell in place at the entrance of his cell. Do you see the line of salt here?’ Yiselda asks Magnus.
Magnus nods.
‘Do not break the line. Place Nina over it and then step back immediately.’
Yiselda unlocks the door, and it creaks as she pulls it open. Magnus hesitantly stands at the entrance, his hands tremble as he is about to give me to the person he loathes, the very one he doesn’t want me near, my second mate. Removing the blanket, he ignores the burn that heats his flesh and gently lays me on the other side of the line. A tear falls from his eye and lands on my cheek. My hand touches his cheek. ‘I love you, Magnus,’ I say.
‘I love you too, Nina,’ he says and steps back.
Yiselda closes the cell door and locks it just as Alec swoops in like a flash of light and snatches Nina up, returning to the shadows of his cell swiftly. The moment Alec swooped me up, the burning pain immediately subsided and was replaced with sweet, warm tingles. Alec cradles me in the corner. His back turned to the cell bars. As he caresses my face, I can see his skin is healing. I cup my hand over Alec’s, and he pulls me closer to him. We gaze into each other’s eyes. His aren’t his usual light brown but primarily black. I can see he is straining himself from doing something, but I’m not sure of what. Our lips draw closer to one another, the blood from my lip drips down my chin, and his eyes momentarily light up. And I realise he wants blood, my blood, and is fighting himself from taking it. I smash my lips onto his and kiss him fiercely as he savours every drop of blood from my lips. He tenderly grips and sucks onto my bottom, bleeding lip with his as we eventually separate, not wanting it to finish.
As I instinctively submit to Alec, my head tilts up. On my unmarked side, his teeth skim across my nape. The tingling sensation that floods through my body cause me to gasp. His teeth suddenly sink in, and he moans from the sensation of drinking my blood. He withdraws his teeth and looks endearingly into my eyes. Raising my hand to his face, I gently wipe the blood drips from Alec’s lips.
‘My, Nina, my darling, my Queen,’ he says.
Reaper caws and looks pleased that Alec has become my second mate.
‘Alec,’ I say and wrap my arms around him. We spend some time in a loving embrace before Alec licks the puncture marks he made on my neck. My body arches and I gasp at the thrilling feeling that soars through my body.
Magnus had walked over to the Shadow Reapers before we had kissed as he couldn’t bear to watch us. Usually, a mate would feel horrendous pain when the other mate became intimate with another person. He thought it was odd he felt no physical pain, just jealousy.
We kiss passionately again, and when we part, I notice my skin has completely healed along with Alec’s. Magnus storms over to the bars.
‘That’s enough, now give me back, my mate,’ he scowls.
‘Magnus,’ I say, standing up. Alec grabs me and holds me to his chest.
‘She is my blood flame,’ Alec says firmly.
They glare at one another. ‘Alec, it’s okay. Magnus is my mate, and I need to go back to him,’
Alec cups my face with his hands, ‘When will you be back?’ he asks.
‘Tomorrow,’ I say. Alec looks at Magnus for confirmation. He squeezes the bars.
‘Nina is my soul mate. She is my whole world. If bringing her back here each day keeps her alive, then so be it,’ he growls, clearly not pleased with the concept but also knowing he has no other choice for the time being.
As I approach the cell door, Alec immediately spins me around and kisses me gently one final time before I see him again. Magnus is emitting a deep growl. Yiselda unlocks the door, and I gently walk over the line to leave the cell. Magnus quickly throws his arms around me and kisses my forehead and the opposite side of my neck, nuzzling into my nape. Alec is the one who lets out a deep growl this time.
‘I’m sorry,’ I say to Magnus as I look at him.
‘It’s not your fault. It had to be done,’ Magnus replies softly, attempting to mask his pain.
‘Let’s go home and spend some time together. Just you and me,’ I say.
He nods and grabs my hand in his as he leads me out of the dungeon. We enter the portal and spend the afternoon swimming at Shadow Crest Lake and climbing the most prominent trees we can locate, just as we did as kids.
We don’t spend a single moment apart till we return to Pandora’s Box the next day.
Knowing how to access the dungeon, I don’t wait for Yiselda.
‘I’ll wait here at the entrance,’ Magnus frowns, not wanting to see me near Alec.
I cup his face and kiss his lips. ‘I’ll be back soon,’ I say.
I take the key hanging on the far wall, unlock the cell, and step over the salt line. Before I see Alec, he has already swept me off my feet and smothering my face in kisses.
‘Alec,’ I giggle.
‘I’ve missed you,’ he says.
‘I missed you too,’ I say.
We kiss, and he strokes my face with his thumb. ‘I wish I could take you somewhere wonderful, like for a picnic on a mountain top or a dance beneath the stars,’ he says thoughtfully.
‘I wish I could just get you out of this dungeon,’ I sigh. ‘Did you really set those creatures onto the humans all those years ago?’ I ask.
Alec looks away for a moment, then nods his head with regret.
‘Can you tell me what happened? Can you tell me about Juniper?’ I ask.
‘It might be easier if I show you instead,’ he says.
I’m confused until he shuts his eyes and hovers his hands slightly over each side of my head. Then, a ball of light appears and blinds me. When I open my eyes, I’m no longer in the dungeon but travelling along a cobblestone path in a village. There are individuals on horses everywhere and ladies on foot, holding shoals over their heads and baskets packed with bread and fruit.
A beautiful young woman runs into me, shouts, ‘Sorry,’ and keeps running. I chase after her as she rushes up the road and into a little cottage dwelling. ‘Sorry, I’m late, grandma,’ she apologises.
‘Juniper, will you ever be on time?’ her grandmother says.
Juniper laughs, ‘Probably not, Grandma,’ she says. I raise my head over the window sill to peer through it.
Juniper stuffs a loaf of bread and a couple of small bottles into the basket. They look just like potions.
‘You need to hurry along Juniper, and get these healing potions to the Hillsbury home. If you go now, you will be home before dark. I don’t want those creatures of the night capturing you,’
‘Creatures of the night, really Gran. I think you’ve had too much rum,’ Juniper smiles.
‘Perhaps, Juniper, but I heard more people were found dead this morning with those markings on their necks. You can never be too cautious,’ she advises.
‘I’ll be cautious, grandma, and I’ll leave immediately to be home before nightfall,’ Juniper replies, kissing her grandmother on the forehead.
‘Juniper, remember, we may be witches, yet even humans can burn us at the stake. So, who knows what these creatures of the night are capable of doing to us.’ she worries.
I feel the same trepidation as Juniper does at her grandmother’s words.
