Veritas

Chapter 56

The nurse, who had so cheerfully advised the family that Aislinn was awake, stood fearfully in the corner of the room. Uncertain if she was needed or not, she just stayed as still as possible.

"You. Get us drinks" Darius commanded of the nurse without so much as looking in her direction.

She squeaked out an acknowledgement before scurrying out of the room, leaving Aislinn alone with the man she hated more than any other. Her mate.

"I have come to a decision" Darius began, staring at Aislinn's tired face.

Unwilling to give him the satisfaction of acknowledgement, Aislinn let her eyes flutter closed again. It amused her when the King let out a snort of disgust.

"Lone wolves...Pathetic. A step above rogues" he muttered, clearly intending for Aislinn to hear him. "Eyes open, boy. I have a deal to make with you" he ordered.

Interest peaked, Aislinn opened her eyes again to stare into the handsome face of her King. She hated the triumphant smirk on his face at having her obey his command. How she wished she had the strength to claw his face off in that moment.

Unaware of her treasonous thoughts, the King grabbed a chair to sit at her bedside. It was in that moment that the nurse scurried in with two bottles of water. Anxiously, she handed one to the King without looking in his face, while the other she dropped in Aislinn's lap and hurried back out of the room. Darius seemed to consider saying something as he watched her run off; but, decided he had better things to do. He cracked the bottle of water open and took a long drink before settling back into the chair.

"I owed you a life. It seems after today, perhaps I owe you another, since my staff's ineptitude nearly cost you yours. So...I have two options for you" he said, reaching forward to grab Aislinn's bottle of water. "First, I offer you and your brother a place in the Royal pack, turning your lives around. You would be given positions of nobility, which would come with wealth and prestige" he continued, opening her water and holding it to her lips for a drink.

Aislinn took a few sips of the cold water, some of it spilling down her face as the King was unused to helping others. He had just tilted the bottle back as if Aislinn would chug it, ignoring that she was so weak. Recognizing his mistake, he pulled the bottle back to give her time to swallow before offering it again. As she took a few more sips, surprised by the King's kind gesture, he spoke again.

"As for your father, I'd let you choose. He could be banished as a rogue, or imprisoned in the dungeon" he said with a laugh, causing Aislinn to choke on the water and splutter water on him. "Ugh! Disgusting!" He growled, throwing her bottle at her and letting it spill over her lap. He grabbed his and downed the rest.

Aislinn was confused by his sudden cruelty. Where had it come from?

He chuckled at her confused expression, continuing with his offer. "Alternatively" he began, letting out a lazy yawn. "You can choose to use one life to stop me from beheading your father, and the other to save him from a life of imprisonment" he explained with a smirk, leaning forward with his elbows on Aislinn's bed.

Aislinn glared at him, her raspy voice demanding "why?"

The King shrugged, although it looked off to Aislinn. Sluggish, not his usual confidence or dominance in the motion.

"When he asks why your chance at a good life was ruined" he started to explain; but, his eyelids were beginning to droop. "Tell him...He's an ass" he said, before losing consciousness altogether.

His head dropped down on Aislinn's bed, causing her to sit up in alarm. He appeared to have simply passed out; but, that still meant that there was a problem. The motion of sitting up so abruptly made Aislinn's head feel woozy, so she sagged back against her bed and shut her eyes.

What's going on? She wondered to herself, before realizing that they must have been drugged. Why both of them? And how?

The water!

She opened her eyes with difficulty, and looked down at the water in her lap. She hadn't had much; although, she wasn't as big or as strong as the King. It probably wouldn't take near as much to knock her out. Those few sips of water, combined with her existing medical state were a good explanation.

She tried to focus, tried to reach out through mind-link; but, found herself unable to voice even the single word "help". As she tried again, desperately hoping to catch Ryan or Rei's attention with her attempts, she heard a door open. It was the same door the nurse escaped through swinging open wide, with two doctors walking through it wearing surgical masks over their faces. Her world spun around, a single focal point being all she noticed as the darkness once again consumed her. Round and round her world spun, like she was water circling a drain, only the doctor's eyes were the drain she floated around. There was something about those eyes; but, her exhausted brain just couldn't make it out. She told herself to focus, there was something important about those eyes!

Those eyes set in a face as pale as snow.

Those eyes that moved closer and brought a chilling sensation to her body.

Those eyes the colour of the blood their owner liked to drink.

Vampire.