Chapter 3

Alec links his arm through mine, and we leave the room. As we reach the large set of stairs, he lifts me, and with a flash, we appear at the bottom of the staircase.

'Figured it would save us an hour walking down those steps,' he shrugs.

I laugh as he lowers me onto my feet.

We enter the hall, holding hands. Everyone is already in here, including Magnus, who stands by the fire holding two goblets of wine. He passes one to me and places a kiss on my cheek.

'You look like a goddess,' Magnus smiles.

'Thank you,' I reply and sip the wine.

Musicians are playing the flute and the gittern with two ladies who dance gracefully to the music.

Reaper perches himself on the chandelier above King Damon and Queen Maia, who sit in their chairs at the smaller table. Maia catches my attention and waves us over.

'You must sit at the table here with us,' Maia says. She looks Alec and Magnus up and down, 'My, my, do your men scrub up nicely,' she giggles.

'Thank you so much for the clothing. They are incredibly elegant,' I reply and take my seat.

Alec and Magnus sit on either side of me. Fern, Ela, Ria and Lilac join in the dancing and drag Kadva along.

Yiselda and May approach and bow. Sabre, May's Fennec fox, sits between May's feet.

'Good evening,' Yiselda says to all of us.

'Please, pour yourselves a drink and join us,' Maia says.

A huge feast is spread out along all the tables. Trays of roasted meat and vegetables, platters of bread and cheeses, and bowls of berries and grapes fill the tables. Sir Hugo, Eric and Troy join us and fill their plates. I swear Sir Hugo already had a whole jug of wine to himself. I smirk as he refills his goblet. The hall is filled with laughter, chatter and music. I feel something run across my feet, so I discreetly look under to see Nibbler eating the remnants of food that have fallen onto the floor. She lets out a strange sound like a hiccup and turns into a small turtle, then hiccups again, transforming into a ferret. I giggle as I watch her run to Yiselda's feet and climb her leg. Now sitting back up again, I see she has made herself comfortable on the back of Yiselda's chair. She hiccups again and turns into a seal causing the chair to fall back with Yiselda. I cover my mouth to hold my laugh. Nibbler claps her flippers together and makes short bark that sounds like it's laughing at Yiselda.

Yiselda, with the help of May, gets herself up off the floor and pulls her wand out. Nibbler scoots away quickly as Yiselda angrily chases her, but to her luck, she hiccups again and turns back into her mouse form, making it hard to catch.

'May I have this dance?' Magnus asks with his hand reached out. I take his hand and nod. He pulls me close up against his body, and we waltz.

'It's been such a wonderful night, don't you think?' I ask.

'Yes, it's been one to remember, that's for sure,' he smiles, 'Are you looking forward to boarding the ship and going to Emerald Island tomorrow?'

Other couples that have joined the dance floor accidentally bump into us. With so many people now dancing, Magnus leads me outside into the garden.

'If I was to be honest, I'm partly nervous but also excited about Emerald Island.'

Magnus finds a stone bench, sits down, and pulls me onto his lap. He discreetly plucks a flower from behind us and presents it to me. I accept the daisy and take in the subtle sweet smell. Magnus takes the daisy and places it behind my ear.

'I'm nervous and excited too,' he says.

'Really?'

'Yes, but as long as I am with you, I know we will be fine,' he reassures me. My hands gently squeeze his tighter, and we silently watch the moon for a while.

Alec approaches, 'Nina, will you dance with me?' he asks.

'And here I thought you were coming to ask me for a dance,' Magnus smirks.

'In your dreams,' Alec says.

'We should have another dance,' Magnus says to me.

'It's my turn. You already had a dance with her!' Alec snarls.

'Well, I want another dance.'

'Get in line then.'

They glare at each other, growling, hissing and snarling. I roll my eyes and stand between them, 'Gentlemen, I will dance with you now, Alec, then I will dance with Magnus,' I say.

They both gaze at me and instantly relax.

'Okay?' I say,

'Okay,' they reply and nod.

Alec and I dance throughout the hall. He smiles endearingly at me, but I can't help but feel something is wrong.

'Is everything okay?' I ask Alec.

'Mhmm,' he mumbles, not giving me a proper answer.

We finish the dance, and he kisses my hand, 'You go and find Magnus and give him his turn,' he says.

'Oh, okay, are you sure you're okay?' I ask, his forehead is sweating, and he looks more off-colour than usual. He nods and walks away, leaving the hall. Instead of finding Magnus, I follow Alec but lose sight of him.

'Reaper, can you fly ahead and find Alec? I think there is something wrong,' I mind-link.

Reaper launches from the chandelier and flies out into the garden. I can't see Alec anywhere.

'This way,' Reaper says.

I see him flying in the distance to the right. I race towards him and find Alec on his knees, pulling at his hair, fighting himself.

'Alec?' I whisper.

He jerks his head back and looks at me in surprise. He has taken on the wild appearance when deprived of blood. 

'Alec, you said that you had been living off the blood of deer. I don't understand why you are like this?'

Alec struggles to speak, 'Not working,' he manages to say.

'If drinking animal blood isn't enough to sustain you, then what is?' I ask.

His eyes briefly gaze at my neck.

'You have to have my blood, don't you?' Alec gives me a look of worry. 'You know you can-'

'No!' he says, 'Worried, I won't stop.'

Reaper mind-links me.

'Luna, vampires can only drink from their blood flames once marked. Any other blood is equivalent to starving themselves. He hasn't been able to stop thinking of drinking your blood, the taste and the adrenalin it gave him since the moment he first tasted you. He is afraid of harming you and may kill you if he cannot control himself while drinking from you. It has happened with many blood flames before, where half of them have died, drained of blood.'

Reaper's words send a shiver down my spine, but I love Alec too much for him to starve himself.

'Alec, look at me,' I say, gripping his face in my hands, 'You can't control yourself as it is unless you have my blood anyway. I will stop you from taking too much, okay?'

Alec gives me another worried look but nods hesitantly. I can see he is in pain as he holds his head again. A moment later, his face draws closer to my neck. His hands wrap around my waist, and he pulls me in against his body as his fangs sink into my neck. A minute goes by, and I feel faint, but Alec isn't slowing down. My hand reaches into my pocket, and I pull out my wand, 'Repeliate,' I say, an invisible force repels him back into the air, and he lands a dozen metres away. He sits up in a panic and wipes the blood dribbling down his chin.

'Nina! Are you okay? I'm so sorry,' he says, and with great speed, he appears right in front of me. I sway a little.

'It's okay. You couldn't help it,' I say, falling to the side.

He catches me and discreetly carries me upstairs to my chambers. I'm placed gently on the bed. Alec then fills a cup with water and helps me sit up and drink.

'Thank you,' I say to him.

'You shouldn't thank me, Nina. I didn't want this to happen,' he frowns.

'I know, Alec, but you should have told me that mating only then allows you to drink my blood. If you drink a certain amount each day, perhaps it will be easier to control, rather than starving and making a glutton of yourself?' I joke, but he doesn't laugh. Instead, he kneels by the bed and clasps my hands in his.

'Why are you so forgiving? I could have killed you. Why have I been blessed with the most loving soul as my blood flame?' he asks, 'Sometimes. I think I don't deserve you.'

'Alec, sometimes I think I don't deserve you, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love you, Alec,' I smile.

His face lights up, and he kisses me passionately as Magnus walks into the room.