Nicon

V

V

    ELYSIE COULD HARDLY keep her body from shaking.  She was surrounded by darkness, but she was entirely sure her eyes were wide open.  Flashes of color danced across an endless black screen, but none stayed long enough to be distinguished as anything but vague shapes.

    Her legs weren't cooperating with her, either, but they felt heavy and Elysie could tell she was lying on a long sheet of metal, which gave her hope that all function in her legs hadn't been lost after all.

    "She stabilized this morning at nine, Your Highness."   

    Elysie imagined the unfamiliar voice belonged to a frowning man with thick eyebrows and wide brown eyes, just like her father had.  "Thank you, Doctor.  When will she wake?"

    There was a tense pause.  "We don't know yet if she will."

    Elysie frowned, or attempted to.  Were they talking about her?  She desperately attempted to move any part of her body.  She was left feeling more powerless than she had in the woods.  At least then she could see the dangers she was up against, here, it was futile.    

    "If you do not succeed, Doctor," Elysie recognized the man's voice as the person who had spoken to her the last time she was conscious in the cell, "You will die.  I thoroughly urge you exert all possible scenarios."

    Another man grunted, followed by the clattering of metal materials before it was quiet and a soft gasping could be heard.  "Do I make myself clear?" 

    Choking, the man responded with a weak affirmative response.  "Yes, my King."

    My King?  If Elysie could move at all, she would have scoffed.  They hadn't had a King in her area since generations ago when her great grandmother was an infant.

    "Very well.  I expect another report by midday tomorrow."   

    "Yes, Your Highness."

    "You are dismissed, Doctor."  His voice was followed by scurrying footsteps and Elysie was thoroughly confused.   Was he the King because of some Shifter hierarchy? 

    "I believe I will regret this tomorrow." 

    Elysie's mind was left in utter confusion, until she could feel her lips being parted forcefully and a smooth, delicate softness brushed against her bottom lip.  A crunching noise followed.  Elysie could feel a few drops of liquid dripping onto her tongue, although the area felt numb otherwise.

    Nicon furrowed his brow in an expression of disapproval as the rich deep liquid dripped into the girl's mouth.  He pushed her jaw back to its previous position and glanced at his previously bitten wrist.  He had sank his large canines into his vein in an attempt to force a few drops of blood out.

    The girl's condition wouldn't change for another few hours with his healing ability largely diluted.  Her body might even reject it.  He blew a large breath out of his mouth in disdain, walking away from the girl and slamming the door behind him.

    Blood sharing with a mundane being, or any creature of a different race, was an offense in itself.  It was sacred, reserved for mates during the process by which they claimed each other.  His only comfort resided in the fact that she was in a comatose state, drifting into oblivion within her own mind.