Struck (A Vampire Novel) ✔

Forty

Darsana was patiently taking a sip from a coffee cup, though I wasn’t sure if it was actually coffee. I had so many questions, but my previous idea of her being an entity of destruction made me hesitant to proceed with them. She watched me for a moment, then looked behind me in the direction of the door and waved her hand slightly. A figure appeared, holding out a coffee cup in front of me. I looked from the cup to the figure, meeting Deacon’s serious features before quickly taking the glass so that he wouldn’t get pissed off.

“Thank you, Deacon,” Darsana smiled sweetly and I watched as Deacon’s face softened considerably in response. He nodded, moving away into the darkness. I looked at the coffee cup, watching the steaming contents of what appeared to be hot chocolate. My body reacted to the scent, having felt deprived of nutrition due to bustle of recent events. I took a cautious sip and breathed a sigh of content at the responding rush of adrenaline that filled my limbs. “Deacon put something extra in there, to help with your strength.”  

“Something extra?” I asked in confusion. Had I just been drugged?

“Don’t worry, it’s just a bit of replenishing magic,” Darsana told me, taking a drink from her own cup with a wink. I was still just as confused, but I took another drink to show that I was trying to trust her.

“Is he your… butler or something?” I asked curiously. “Aveline referred to you as his lady.”

“Deacon is my claimed human. Though, like you, he isn’t a typical human…”

“A hunter?” I inquired immediately, spinning around to try to spot him again. I hadn’t felt that familiar pull that came when I met Clio.

“A witch,” Darsana giggled most girlishly at my reaction. Had I really been within touching distance of an actual witch? It was very intimidating. “Witches don’t tend to affiliate with our kind, but you know that old saying: love knows no bounds.” I blinked at her. I hadn’t really expected much, being that I’d never met Darsana in the first place. But I had expected the usual anger and hatred that the vampires showed towards me. A pleasant, vibrant girl sat here instead, acting as though she were exactly where she was meant to be and talking about silly things like love.

“You’re not what I expected,” I told her bravely.

“Oh, that much is believable. I imagine being a vampire hunter prisoner to vampires doesn’t give you much expectation for exciting company,” She laughed then, but paused as if she saw something cross her vision. “You met my granddaughter, Zelda. She was there when you were Jacobi’s punishment. I’m sure you’re unhappy with the Royals you’ve encountered so far, but they’ve been quite lost since Eve passed away.”

“She said you were in Germany, dealing with foreign coteries,” I said slowly, “Are the Royals different there?” Darsana paused, glancing at the teen vampires sitting in front of the fireplace. I hesitated, but looked at them as well.

“The Royals there are different in the same way any culture is different in other countries. I’d say they’re less corrupt than ours, but at no less risk of extinction. The hunters have connections across the world and they’re very… skilled,” Darsana answered cautiously before indicating to the young vampires. “Those are the children of the leading Royal bloodline in Germany. Karsten and Katja Diederich; they’re twins. They’re under my protection right now, until some threats are eliminated in Germany.” The girl glanced at us, probably hearing her name being mentioned. Darsana smiled lightly at her, but she watched me intensely with those large doe-eyes. Her gaze was infinite, pulling away the world at the edges as if we were the only ones in existence.

“Katja,” Darsana scolded again, causing the girl to look away quickly. The boy, Karsten, looked back at us curiously before whispering something to his sister. He looked almost identical to her, with his caramel eyes and sandy brown hair, but something in his expression was more intelligent and serious than his sister. “Sorry about that. They wish to play with you.”