Blood of the Thorn

6

Ramona looked at Dracen, a rare look of shock on her face, "Well she certainly is feisty, isn't she?"

He was gripping the side of the table, fighting off the urge to flip the table across the room and cause a scene of terror in front of the humans within the dining room, "What am I going to do now? I have not been able to keep her out of my head since I tasted her last night. I feel like I am breaking into pieces not being with her. And it is making me incredibly thirsty."

"Oh Dante, I cannot imagine your torment. Though I must admit I do envy you in a way. Falling to Bloodlust is such a rare thing for our kind, especially for a royal of pure blood. But I have heard that it is a wondrous feeling that cannot compare to that even of true love between humans. Such magic you must be feeling in your heart.", Ramona was looking at him with amazement in her eyes.

"Well right now it's shit. I have never before felt so much pain within me. How can this be possible for a being which has no soul, no heart? This ache in my chest, it is such torment.", Dracen placed his hand over his chest and squeezed tight, "It is torture, I would not wish this on anyone. Not to mention I have already consumed three quarts of blood this morning, and I am still craving more.", he looked between the humans sitting in the café, fighting the thoughts of draining each of them dry.

Ramona scrunched her face in thought, a few moments later she answered, "That must be due to the bloodlust not being fully bonded. Did you notice the mark on her neck? The mark was only half of what I have seen in drawings from the ancient texts, you need to complete the marking, complete the bond. Then you won't feel so ravished."

Dracen looked into his sisters' eyes and whispered, "Deo."

"Wait...", Ramona spoke before her younger brother was able to stand, "Are you sure this is what you want to do? The bond is not complete...maybe we could find a way to release you from this humans' hold. It would make things a lot less...messy."

Dracen settled back into his seat and looked conflicted, searching his thoughts for the right choice to make, "I don't know what to do. Being with Andrea last night, it was... once I bit her, I was in a frenzy, I thought for certain that I would drain every drop and end her life. I had no control as I usually would, clearly due to the bloodlust. It is amazing any humans have been known to survive the bloodlust bite, I had no control..."

"But then she spoke my name...Dante...I pulled back and she could see her own blood dripping from my lips. But she was not afraid of me, of the monster that I am, she still... wanted me. That was the first time I have ever truly felt that there is a heart buried inside my undead body. Her very existence confuses me and intrigues me. But I hate this lack of control that I now feel within me. I cannot stay away from her, nor can I slay my thirst. Being away from her now is giving me physical pain. I long to do every single thing imaginable to her, with her, and for her...and I don't even know her, or a thing about her."

Ramona's face perked up with a thought, "Dracen... do you remember that vision mother had when you were born? She mentioned a great war over the woman blanketed in roses. That a woman would tear you apart and be your salvation. Do you think...it could be this girl?"

Dracen drew his eyes together in frustration, "But how could that be? 'Blanketed in roses', none of it makes sense. We both know mother's visions don't always play out as true as she paints them." 

Of course, Dante had already been thinking of this possible connection between Drea and his mother's vision, but it did not quite match up. The symptoms of the bloodlust came in waves. His thoughts would flash back to the previous evening. Drea alone in the cemetery, lightly illuminated under the moonlight, she looked like a gothic Goddess. He was immediately drawn to her, she seemed different from other humans, more aware of the world.

Whenever he would remember the way she felt beneath his touch, pressed up against his body. How her fragile lips molded perfectly into his, the sweat scent of her blood that was pulsing through her quickened heart. When his mind went to these thoughts, he felt the most out of control, like he had a thirst that would never be quenched. He needed her.

Ramona spoke, more to herself than to him, "If you follow this path, you will start a war between the kingdoms. Father will not be pleased; his son and heir being tied to a human instead of to your betrothed. This will cause conflict with the Mostafa. Though you and Sirona do not want the other, she will not take you choosing a human over her lightly. You know if you chose the girl, you would have to change her, she must be vampire to become your Queen. You need to decide if she would be a good fit as Queen. And what of Deo? How could that possibly work out well? A pair, mated for one?"

Dracen slammed his fist on the table, "Enough, I have already been thinking all of this over and over again."

"So then, what will you do?", Ramona asked gently.

He looked to his older sister with sad eyes, "I do not yet know, sister. But this did not happen for no reason...I must seek all the answers before I make a choice."

She gave a light comforting smile, "No matter what you choose, I will support you and fight every battle by your side. Though until your mind has been made up... I believe it is best to keep Deo at a distance, any closeness to Drea might be too much physically, and the bond could be completed without a second thought."

Dracen looked out the window and met eyes with Deo who was looking in at him with an equally pained expression, "It is painful for him, but her blood has not yet flowed through his veins as it has in mine. My hunger for her is twice what his is right now. But you are also right. It is best that neither of us is truly alone with her...for now.

For Deo the pain was slightly different. Being Ibeji twins, Dracen and Dante were one soul divided between two bodies; one consciousness shared between them. Since Deo had not yet tasted Drea's blood he was not yet feeling the full effects of the bloodlust. Together, they were Prince Dante, heir to the Dubois Throne. And together, they hungered for Andrea with incredible lust.