Forbidden Tragedies

Chapter 16

-Lucien-

I spun my pen between my fingers, laying my head back against the backboard of my bed.

I was thinking through the details of how I felt throughout the day, making sure that I'd written down everything accurately.

Living like this, and with the assistance of Erik for accuracy and realism purposes, I'd fabricated this type of percentage system pertaining to instinctive presence and ability. Where the typical, normal vampires sit at fifty percent, and Lords and Ladies sit at one-hundred. With royal children funneling down the middle.

Then of course, variations for nights like the bloodmoon or life-threatening situations.

I think I remember even explaining it to that second Vanderwood son once after Layla mentioned it in front of him.

From there I used it to gauge to what percentage I felt like I fell in. Since with each new day, or fall from am instinctive focus dropped me somewhere random, I got into the habit of tracking it in these journal-type things.

I diagnose myself with a percentage and jot down the symptoms that came with it, from the internal pestering and aches, to the chills, my energy level, my ability to sleep, all of it.

Then I'd hand them over to Erik. He said he'd been trying to look for some kind of pattern or inconsistency. Something to help him make sense of it when I'd given up hope for sense a long, long time ago.

I faced back down to what I'd written.

Today was... fine. Better than yesterday for sure, but I still classified it at around a 54.

Deeming it good enough, I shut the book and set both it and the pen on my nightstand.

It was late, but I didn't see sleep being attainable for a few more hours. That, and Kira hadn't yet come back from... wherever she'd been hanging out all day.

Which was good given that it meant that I got a full day of relative peace and privacy.

Maybe she got in Evie's way somehow, and was now going through hell for it.

I sagged into my spot with a long breath, stretching out my arms and redying my attempt to warm up using just these blankets alone.

The ringing of the phone ruined my planning and worked to further dampened my mood.

I just stared at it through the narrow slits of my eyelids, finally deciding to pick it up after the third ring.

The thought that it may have been Kira's alleged boyfriend worked up enough curiosity to make me just not let it ring until it went to voicemail.

"Go ahead," I spoke into it.

"Prince Lucien," Derryk's voice greeted from the other side of the line, "I uh... I have Kira here in the dining room with me and she's," he paused for a long few seconds, "Very intoxicated."

My brows furrowed at his words, feeling a roll of my eyes approaching.

Though, I suppose I did tell her to direct her wide range of emotions somewhere else.

"Right now she's out cold, and I can't get her to wake up. I've tried all I'm permitted to do, but nothing worked. I mean this as respectfully as possible, it's late and I'd like to go home... and I don't want to just leave her here like this."

Glancing at the clock, it was well after his typical work hours.

He had a wife and young daughter to get home to. Most of us here had the decency to respect his 'unofficial' hours.