“To ask for my permission, yes, I thought you would. You have always been a man of honour, even when you do not realise.”
Xander raised an eyebrow at her and tucked his gloved hands into his pockets as he wandered over to where Striga stood. She smiled up at him as he offered her his arm.
“I am going to assume you approve so I do not have to go through the awkwardness of that again.”
Striga laughed at him as they walked arm-in-arm round Amara House gardens under the evening sun. Adriana was upstairs getting ready for bed, hopefully keeping her window unlocked like Xander had asked so he could climb through later during the night. He had dropped her off after they had spent a pleasant day together in town and though it had only been an hour or two, he couldn’t wait to see her again.
“Are you not usually asleep by now, old woman?”
“Watch your tone, boy,” Striga snapped. “I can still set your breeches on fire if you continue to annoy me.”
Xander feigned a look of concern as he walked them back to the front of the house.
“I know you have been drinking her blood,” Striga abruptly announced. Xander stilled, unsure of what to say. “Do not fret, I am not here to scold you for that, if that is what you have both chosen to do. I just wanted to know if Adriana has also been channeling her power to you, to keep Lilith at bay.”
Xander clenched his jaw and said, “I may ask her in time, if I need it, but not yet. I do not want to take any more from her than I already am. I will find my own way to keep my mind safe, as I should have done before.”
Striga paused, and Xander assumed she would lecture him about asking for Adriana’s help sooner rather than later. To his surprise, she let out a long sigh and nodded in agreement.
“I understand. Providing you her bloodandmagic would be too much for her. But I will not be here forever, we all know that. I only wish for you both to be prepared for when I go.”
Xander sensed an underlying tone to her words, but before he could even attempt to peer through the gates to her mind, Striga disappeared inside Amara House, leaving him to wander round the lake alone.
He knew that she was right. When she died, and they all begrudgingly knew that age was fast catching up to her, the magic she channelled to Xander would die with her. And when that day came, Lilith could very well step back into his mind. Without a strong enough force to counter the curse, he could lose himself indefinitely.
Feeding from Adriana took its toll on her, and Xander hated it. Her skin was always paler for a day or two and she tended to sleep for longer, even when Deion did heal her with his Medici magic. But the thought of feeding from anyone else made him nauseous, and he knew that Adriana would certainly have an issue with the idea, for she was perhaps even more possessive than he was. He was already taking so much, he wasn’t sure he could ask for anymore… not yet anyway.
The thought of Adriana using her power all because Lilith wanted Xander in her clutches, to make her do anything for the sake of that poisonous woman, set his blood boiling. Adriana shouldn’t have to protect him, shouldn’t have to defend him at all. Though he knew it was irrational, it made him feel weak to need that help.
By the time Xander made it to Duran Manor, his mind was racing. He sat on the decking, his feet hanging over the edge of the lake, and looked up at the stars that had begun to shine in the sky. It was going to be a long night.
Adriana
Adriana tossed and turned in her bed for hours that night, unable to fall into a deep sleep but unable to fully wake up either. She fisted at the sheets as she was plagued by nightmares of a red eyed serpent, slithering its way towards her in the darkness.
She tried to outrun it, but it was fast—too fast. It wrapped itself around her ankle, tripping her over with ease. It’s cold body continued to coil around hers as she collapsed on the ground, seeming to get larger and stronger every time she struggled against it.
Hello, Adriana.
She heard a voice ring through her mind. It was a soft, sensual voice, singing to her in the most alluring tone.
There you are. I have been looking forward to meeting you, little lightbringer. The woman who managed to capture his heart.
Adriana felt the snake crush her bones one by one. She was in so much pain, but she couldn’t move, couldn’t fight. She could only endure.
He sees you as his saviour, but he will not save you in return. He does not want to save you, he does not want you.
She sobbed as the voice inside her head brought forward all of her darkest thoughts. This thing, this being, it seemed to understand every fear, every painful thought she’d ever had.
You don’t want to be in pain anymore, do you? You want the pain to stop?
“Yes,” she cried.
Do you want me to help you make it stop?
“Please, please make it stop. Please, no more.”
Almost immediately, she felt a sharpness tear through her mind, as if claws were slashing her apart from the inside. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out as theserpent slithered into her mouth and down her throat, claiming her body as its own.
