“Please, Isobella! You’ve got to do something, Bethel, Helga, Aurelia, Rose, Melanie, even my mother has tried to get through to her! She’s been like this for weeks now. She’s completely catatonic, the only time she moves out of bed is to feed Leo and then its just back to staring at the walls.” Achilles ran a frustrated hand through his hair as tears pooled in his eyes.
His clothes were dishevelled, he had started to grow a scraggly beard and dark circles sat under his eyes.
Isobella sighed as she extended her hand to give Achilles’ a gentle, reassuring squeeze.
“Your highness, she is grieving. She is allowed to grieve, there is no right or wrong way, she su
The sun had set completely and the first stars were visible in the sky before Seraphina returned to the DeBeaux Angelo manor.She landed in the garden where Achilles and Aurelia were sat waiting for her. She quickly shifted back to her Dhampir form and hurled her naked body at the two. Her eyes were red and swollen and her voice raspy.She wrapped her arms around each of their necks pulling them into her, her body shook with sobs.They held her like that for a long while until the moon bathed the garden in a faint white glow.Seraphina finally drew back, “I-is Leo o-okay?”
Seraphina bolted upright in bed startling Achilles awake. He turned to face Seraphina and froze as he took in her appearance.The blue and purple eyes he adored had turned a terrifying silver and her dhampir markings as well as her familiar marking were all glowing a bright white. Even from a distance, he could feel the heat radiating from them.“Seraphina, what’s wrong?” his voice laced with panic.She turned slowly to face him, her head slightly titled. The sight sent a shiver across his body.“De-Buccleuch, I’m going to kill them all,” she spoke in barely a whisper, her voice sounded hollow as her gaze bore into Achilles.
Seraphina and Aurelia readied themselves for another attack as further footsteps could be heard in the distance. Aurelia picked up a sword from one of the dead soldiers as Achilles burst into the entrance hall. He paused, taking in the piles of dead bodies around him and turned to look at Seraphina, a pain stricken look on his face.“Seraphina…Did you do this?” he gestured to the charred bodies.She gave him a single sharp nod. “You should be at home with Leonardo.”Achilles frowned at her, “He is with Isobella… Seraphina, I understand your need for revenge but, why didn’t you bring me?”
“B-b-Briseis? I don’t know where she is.” Lord Stevano trembled under Seraphina glare.“LIES!”The terror in Seraphina’s voice froze him.Her hot gaze bore into him, boiling him from the inside out. A sardonic smile appeared on Seraphina’s lips as Lord Stevano tried to squirm under her hold to get away from her burning eyes.Achilles soft hand came to caress Seraphina’s arm.“My sweet flower, are you sure you want to do this? Aurelia and I will happily take over… If you do this, there won’t be any coming back from it.”
When Seraphina awoke, the sun had just begun its descent in the evening sky. She clutched the sides of her head as the events of the morning flashed through her mind and tears stung her eyes as she tried to shake the memories away.“Are you okay my sweet flower?” Achilles whispered against her neck as he pulled her back against his chest.She opened her mouth but, no words came out. Shaking her head, she pressed herself closer to Achilles, revelling in the contact that she had been longing for more than she realised.Burying his face in the crook of her neck, Achilles breathed deeply inhaling her scent.“I’ve missed you, I’ve missed this,” Achilles whispered as he tighten
“Aurelia isn’t going to be happy that she missed Leo’s first shift,” Achilles mused as he tucked Leonardo into his crib.
Seraphina threw her head back as a cry escaped her lips. One hand gripping the side of the bath and the other firmly holding Achilles’ shoulder, she arched her back and thrust her hips forward to meet Achilles’ searching tongue.Finger nails dug into her hips as Achilles pulled her closer, his tongue flicked out and danced over her swollen bud, exciting the nerves. Seraphina tightened her legs around his shoulders, steadying herself as her cries echoed through the bathroom.Achilles moved a hand up to massage Seraphina’s breast whilst the other moved down from her hip to tease her dripping wet entrance.He sucked her excited bud into his mouth as he plunged a finger into her depths;
*A light breeze drifted through the hallway twirling Seraphina’s sk
“Do you think it will work?” Seraphina’s eyes followed Isobella as she paced back and forth.
Grief. Bone chilling, stomach turning, blood curdling grief. That’s all Seraphina could feel. She collapsed and let out a wail that sounded almost demonic. She clawed at her naked skin and screamed into the night. Her screeches loud enough to disturb the heavens. Raging fires encircled her like a protective wall.She wrapped her arms around her stomach, feeling empty, hollow, lost. She could hear the sound of laughter, a cruel, demented laugh. Turning her head towards the sound, her eyes reflecting the flames dancing as they were slick with tears. Stepping through the flames, she stalked towards the person laughing at her, her hands partially shifted into the claws of her dragon. Ready to tear out the throats of whoever had dared to mock her.
It felt as though a lifetime had passed by the time they arrived back at the manor. All the while, Seraphina had been calling out to Achilles in her mind, hoping and praying she would hear from him. A response, a whisper, a cough, anything…but nothing came.As the courtyard came into sights, she came to a halt as she hovered in the air, gently allowing herself to descend onto the ground.Cheers erupted as soon as they landed and she was immediately surrounded by anxious and tearful faces.As the mages dismounted with the children, Matteo came rushing over to Seraphina holding a robe open in his arms. Nodding her head at him, she shifted back and shrugged her arms into the robe before tying it in place.
The two older girls looked at each other before settling the babies down and stepping forward, careful to keep the younger girls behind them. Crouching down, they dug their hands into the dirt before looking up at the crowd before them, their eyes glazed over as roots and vines shot out from the ground and began to wrap around the legs of the soldiers, winding their way up around their torso and arms.The vampires among the soldiers made effort to free themselves though, the humans for the most part were completely stuck in place fighting against their little cages.Freeing herself from the vines, Seraphina bent down to get onto their level and opened her palm out skyward. Whispering words in the air, a small handmade doll appeared in her hand as she
A wave of nausea passed over Seraphina as she approached the circle of mages. Swaying on her feet, her hand shot out to grab Aurelia’s arm, steadying herself.“Is everything okay Seraphina?” Aurelia whispered under her breath.She gulped audibly before nodding and gesturing for them to continue forward.The circle of mages parted as Seraphina, Achilles and Aurelia came to meet them. Isobella opened her arms out to embrace Seraphina, as they parted she paused momentarily and cast her eyes over Seraphina’s body. An unsettling look came across her face before she shook it away and gave a solemn smile.“Are you sure it is wi
“Violence will be avoided if possible, our main priority is to get in, get the children and get them out. The mages along with Princess Seraphina will be entrusted with bringing the children back to the manor. Magnus?” Aurelia addressed the solider.“Yes Princess,” the aforementioned stepped forward with a salute.“You will stay here with your men to await their return in case anyone tries to follow. The children will stay the night here with their families, they will be seen to by the palace doctors, Helga and Bethel to see if they require any treatment. You are to guard them at all times. I want 2 soldiers stationed inside each of their rooms and an additional 2 guarding the doors.”
An electric buzz coursed through Thea as the mages chanted their syphoning spell. Seamus had warned her that she would feel the absorption of the magic but, she had no idea it would feel so…thrilling. Butterflies, more akin to flying rocks, danced around in her stomach, a radiant sensation passed through her body, warming her from head to toe.The notion that she was absorbing her father’s magic suddenly occurred to her. She had never felt connected to her parents, having no memories of them whatsoever. Moving to the DeBeaux Angelo manor, she thought she would’ve felt a connection, a spark, something but, she didn’t. It just felt like a house.Now, for the first time, she felt connected, she felt the love her father had for h
“I should have known your father would’ve kept an alter hidden somewhere,” Isobella grinned as she walked into the secret room.
*A light breeze drifted through the hallway twirling Seraphina’s sk