The Twisted Tribrid Queen

Chapter 9 - Aurora

I stare grumpily at the diamonds hanging from my ears. Sure, they're stunning, but at what cost?

"If you take them out for longer than a couple minutes, they will heal over, so make sure you always have a pair in," Harlow says cheerfully.

I nod at her in the mirror, turning my head from side to side; they are gorgeous and the pain was minimal so I'll get over it.

There's a knock on the closet door and I freeze as the scent of fresh blood hits me. My fangs ache painfully and Danika rears her head, throwing herself at the barricade in my mind. I'm strong enough to keep her locked away, until Heidi opens the door and I come face to face with Inez.

I see the jar in her hands but it's the vein in her neck that catches my eyes, and I zero in on it, licking my dry lips, imagining her blood soaking them.

Danika takes advantage of my momentary distraction and shoves me to the side; I can feel her fangs breaking through my gums, joining my newly permanent vampire fangs and the ache in them doubles painfully. My hunger grows with Danika at the surface, and both of us give in to it at the same time.

We latch onto Inez, sinking two sets of fangs deep into her throat. She lets out a piercing scream, the jar slipping from her hands and smashing to the ground, the blood staining the carpet and going unnoticed.

My claws extend, keeping a tight grasp on her shoulders so she can't get away, and I gulp her blood desperately. Her legs give out and I follow her down to the floor. Hands grab at me, trying to pull me off of her, but they have little effect and I continue draining Inez of her blood.

His voice, the only one that could pull me out of my frenzy, whispers my name, "Aurora." My body goes rigid and I slowly pull my fangs away from Inez's throat. She makes a gurgling sound, and I look down at her in horror.

"No..." I whisper hoarsely. She stares up at me in panic, her face is completely drained of colour and her eyes start to flutter shut. "No!"

Samael kneels down beside us, "Let me take her, Aurora. I can bring her to the infirmary. We have healers in the castle who can help her."

"No," I say again, firmer this time. "I did this to her."

"We could still save her, just let me-"

"NO!"

Samael grabs me by the jaw, forcing me to look away from Inez, who has fainted from the blood loss, and into his eyes instead. "You saved her from Gregory and Petra, are you also going to be the one who kills her? You begged me to take her to safety, are you now just going to let her die?" He pauses for a moment and I blink rapidly, forcing Danika into the back of my mind and shaking my head back and forth, squeezing my eyes shut.

"I can do it," I say quietly, sitting up and leaning over Inez. "If she keeps bleeding like this she won't make it to the infirmary." I place my hands over the gaping wound in her neck still gushing blood, and concentrate on the blood that's still flowing through her veins. With my thirst quenched, my magic seems to come easier, I feel no pain as I slow her blood just enough to keep her from bleeding out.

I don't remove my hands, afraid it will start bleeding again if I do. I stare down at her, shame coursing through me and tears blurring my vision.

Samael places his hands over mine, "Ok my love, I need to take her now. You saved her, but we need to get her stitched up." I push myself away, nodding and following Samael as he picks her up and speeds from the room.

She wouldn't have needed saving if I didn't almost kill her, I think to myself as we run through the castle, arriving in the infirmary within a few minutes. Samael brings Inez straight into a room filled with medical equipment I can't make any sense of and a team of witches in white coats rush in after us.