Page 53 of Blood Lord

"You've never made that face before when eating my food."

She shovels another bite into her mouth, not even paying me any mind as she says, "this is delicious!" She takes bigger bites, enthusiastically eating now, and pride swells in my chest. I'm glad that she loves it.

I open my mouth to tell her that it is from my childhood when it hits me. If this food is delicious and she's never reacted like this before…

"You hated my cooking."

Selene stills, looking up at me with a guilty expression. "No, I knew you tried really hard-"

I shake my head, but a smile cracks through. "You hated it, but you ate it anyway."

She reaches out, taking my hand. "I couldn't hurt you like that. It wasn't really your fault with such limited options, anyway." She takes another bite. "This, though, this is amazing."

I chuckle, coming around to where she is and kissing her temple. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She peeks at me out of the corner of her eyes. "And if you keep cooking like this, I'll love you even more."

She blushes as I burst out laughing, but her shoulders ease. My heart swells knowing how much she wants to make me happy, and I know that I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can for this woman.

Holy First, I love her more than I ever thought was imaginable.

30

Soren

Brinda's fiery hair shines above everyone else, drawing the eye to the Matriarch. But my gaze is focused elsewhere, on an unlikely pair that no one can stop talking about nowadays: Raziel and Selene.

I am still in shock about their mating. Everyone knew the Elder before. He rarely left his room, refused to take part in anything with the Council, and was overall aloof toward the general population of the vrakken.

He had fooled us well during his report, seemingly remaining the same, but I was in the cavern when they took Selene from him, when they sentenced her to death. I've never seen a single vrakken tormented. Not blistered in the sun. Not starved for weeks.

It was like we had taken the air out of his lungs and withheld it.

When the Matriarch announced that an above ground base would be built, I knew I had to be here. After seeing what happened to Raziel, and growing quite complacent underground myself, I had to get to the surface.

It has lived up to expectations. I had forgotten what the sun felt like, and with the glamour in place, I love walking outside just before I go to sleep after dawn. It makes me realize how much I've hated the dampness of the caverns.

When it was announced we'd be having our first Council meeting, dread flooded my body. I feared having to go back below ground, but to all our relief, the Council came here. I think they wanted to stretch their wings, too.

"While everyone is still a part of our coven and must live by the rule of the Council, there will be assignments to maintain order until we all are moved above ground," Brinda announces. "We need the vrakken to take on more roles, specifically in human recruitment. You will be beneath Selene, who has a detailed plan and will guide you through the recruitment process."

She continues on, adding a few more roles that need to be filled and what each will entail, but I'm having a hard time focusing on any of it. I'm still staring at Raziel.

It's like the Elder has been Made again as he looks down as his tiny blood bag. It makes no sense to me what she did to him. Is her blood poison, muddling his brain? It's the only conclusion I can draw for why someone of his role and prestige would lower themselves to mate with our prey.

What stumps me is that she has remained human. I understand that it is for the role in the Council, the only reason she is still alive, but what is the point in him choosing to tie himself to a rapidly aging, weak creature that might last a few decades? Now that he's been mated, he can never be with anyone else, even after she's gone, which will be in the blink of an eye for most of us.

I've always been envious and enraged by Raziel. He holds so much power, and seemingly a lot of sway with our Matriarch, and he squanders it. There are many of us like me who deserve that power, who deserve to turn heads every time they enter the room.

Maybe he once was great, but I don't believe that Raziel has deserved the kind of reverence he's received for some time now.

Here, on the surface, there is an opportunity, though. New roles are being given, and there are so many chances for me to finally carve out a name for myself. I've already started, being one of the first to ascend to the above ground base.

In the caves, I always felt inferior. I was another faceless scout for the Council, sent to summon vrakken for them. I felt that many looked down on me because I do not have wings, and they believe it makes me less powerful.

But the Council chose me to come above ground over some of those winged bastards, so who are the powerless ones now?

I was never stupid enough to believe them anyway. Wings don't give a vrakken power, nor do they make anyone smarter or better.

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