The Elven King's Consort

Chapter 50: Transportation Stones

"I've been suspecting something for a long time now, princess," the low-bellowing growl slipped slightly from his mouth dangerously close to me, shaking me out of my daydream.

It was Demetri speaking to me, his firm, unmoving stare scrutinizing me, making my skin crawl as I stared at the target for longer than needed, coming out of memory lane. Frowning, not meeting his eyes, willing whatever it was he needed to say to make it quick so I could escape under his assertive, suffocating scent. I wished Cesteil was here. His scent was warm, enveloping, and inviting, shielding me from the realness of the world. But he remained distant, watching the two of us, and I dared not stoop down to weakness in front of the enormous Alpha next to me. Willing my fear to settle, not wanting the oppressive beast to get high off it, I shot him a warning, eyes red, bloodthirsty. He smirked, unphased, fueling the irritating bubble of annoyance within me, drowning away the fear.

"What," nearly hissing back.

"Keep that blood-thirsty gaze for Cesteil, vampiress. That won't work on me."

Rolling my eyes, I looked away and concentrated on the target while reaching for a new arrow, pesky wolf, I sneered under my breath.

"It's been on my mind for some time now, but I have to wonder if we could attempt something?"

My eyes snap back at him, confused mid-pull the strain of the wire biting deep within the crevices of my digit. It strangled, but my attention was stolen, unable to register the near painful experience.

"What is it?" I asked, more curious than anything now.

"The time you came to stand trial, you entered while my warriors used the stone. I want you to use the stone."
The arrow faltered and wobbled slightly, and I let it relax, pointing to the ground, now hanging loosely unused.

"Why do you want me to use the stone?"

"When you use the stone, what happens exactly?"

Tilting my head to the side, I thought, staring out towards the miniature castle; the clouds rolled in, making the dark stone almost look black, reminding me of home. My heart ached a bit; I miss Maylyn. Maybe I could get away with sending a letter to her? I hadn't been able to for so many months because of the never-ending tiresome, terrible ripple effect since stepping outside the Vampire Kingdom borders.

"I rub it, think of the place I mean to go and appear. What else is there? It's the same for everyone else using it."

He shakes his head, his golden brown medium length slightly straight hair shifts with the movement, and says," No, I think there's more to it. You arrived in the middle of the court instead of nearby. I think your magic is the result of it."

"Oh!" I reacted surprised and nodded vigorously, looking absolutely foolish, but I didn't care. Sucking in a deep breath, I continued," Yes, that's right, I forgot about that since it's been so long since I used one."

"Hmm," he rubbed his growing beard, which was littered with silver between the golden brown.

"Why do you ask?" I said, stepping closer than I had intended. Immediately, he stepped back, overly exaggerating the space between us, softly snarling, warning me to keep a respectful distance. I rolled my eyes, my hands turning into fists and resting atop my hips, accentuating my curves. He's so sensitive.

Cesteil came to stand slightly ahead of me, just barely shielding me, giving the Alpha a soft warning to calm himself and understand that he was not going to let anything slide if I was hurt in any way. The beast flared his nostrils, irritated but calmed, and brushed a muscular vein-rippled hand through his slightly dampened hair, brushing it out of his face and setting it back in place.