Veins of Magic - Bloodbound Sorcery

The Meeting

The night had fallen, and Olive had yet to leave her room. She had heard Zed and Ava talking in the living room, but Eli's voice was nowhere to be found. Olive kept catching herself thinking about him, wanting him to be out there talking with the others. She wanted to let it go, she really did, but something was holding her back from doing so. Olive barely slept that night, lying in her bed turning from side to side, thinking of everything and nothing at the same time. Dawn was now approaching. Olive got up from the bed and pulled the curtains aside to see the almost blinding sight of the new morning sun.

She put on a casual black dress, as well as a bit of makeup. She had a strong desire to look her best today. Maybe it was because of the meeting with the lesser vampires, or maybe it was something deeper. She walked out of her bedroom and into the living room. A thought of her first time in this room, and her dramatic entrance with the scissors, popped into her head, but then quickly left again. Ava and Zed were sitting on the couch, Eli was nowhere to be seen. He must show up for the meeting though, right? Olive thought to herself. Still not letting go of the thoughts about him. She sat down on the couch next to Ava. She had nothing against Zed, she just felt more comforted by Ava.

"When will the meeting begin?" Olive asked, but there was more to the question than she made it seem

"Soon. You should be able to grab some breakfast first If you'd like. I set some up in the kitchen for you" Ava said and smiled calmly.

As Olive entered the kitchen, she saw that Eli stood by the counter, with his back turned to her.

Olive hesitated for a moment, her eyes tracing the familiar lines of his silhouette. She cleared her throat, breaking the stillness.

"Hey," she said, her voice softer than she intended.

Eli turned to face her, his expression guarded. Dark circles underlined his eyes, betraying a restless night. His gaze met hers,

"Morning," he replied, the word carrying a weight that lingered in the space between them.

A tentative smile touched Olive's lips as she approached the counter where Eli was standing.

"I, um, heard there's breakfast. Ava mentioned it."

Eli nodded, his eyes briefly avoiding hers. "Help yourself," he mumbled

Olive reached for a plate, her movements deliberate yet cautious. The atmosphere crackled with unspoken tension, and she wrestled with the desire to bridge the gap that had widened between them. "Eli, about last night—"

He cut her off with a curt shake of his head, his jaw tensing. "We don't need to talk about it."

Olive sighed, her shoulders sagging with a mixture of disappointment and understanding. "I just... I want to say I'm sorry"

"It's fine," he replied, and turned away from her, and walked out of the room.

Olive shook her head. There was no point, Ava was indeed right. She needed to let it go. Olive grabbed the plate now with a piece of toast and an egg on it. She briefly considered eating it out in the kitchen, to not have to be in the room with Eli, but she decided that that would be dumb. She walked back into the living room, where all three of the vampires were now sitting on the couch talking once again about something called "the ball of darkness".. Silence struck them as Olive sat down on the couch next to Ava, and began eating. It was pretty awkward for a while then Ava, Zad, and Eli continued their conversation.

"Are all you guys' lessers showing up?" Eli said with a hoarse voice

"All my guys are coming," Zed said and straightened his back