Shadow Rider (Vampire Academy Fanfic)

Chapter 25 - Thanatia

Shadow was taking me deeper into the forest when I felt a nudge in the bond. After my last two Strigoi kills, we hadn't come across any more for some time, and I deemed it safe to quickly slip into Casimir's mind.

He was feeling particularly cheerful, once more in the company of the royal Moroi. He had grown particularly close to Christian, which was no wonder, both of them being defiant and headstrong, adamant about teaching the uses of offensive magic. They were practically best pals now.

They had all had a nice dinner together, and Jenny was now asking Casimir to accompany her to her room.

I felt my blood boil.

Jenny's actions had Casimir feeling a blend of - somewhat muted - puzzlement and excitement, she not being much of a take-charge kind of woman. He gazed at her deeply, trying to understand what she wanted. Her aura shone and pulsed, a quivering burgundy. She looked...expectant.

I could tell that Casimir didn't love her, but he was determined to convince himself that he did. And this little...date, or whatever the hell it was, was the challenge he'd taken upon himself to prove he could feel real love, for just one person.

And he could. I could feel his need, his eagerness to love, to nourish. He wanted so desperately to cater to someone. He felt he'd been taken cared of all his life; he'd been pampered and loved, his guardian spending every waking moment of her life making him feel like he had nothing to lose. But he wanted to know that feeling, he wanted to have somebody who he was afraid to lose, somebody that needed him.

And as Jenny held his hand and guided him towards her bed, while she carefully kissed his cheek, his lips...he thought she could be that person. Jenny was smart and gentle, but she wasn't strong, or brave, or particularly impressive - she felt no duty. But as he felt her hands on his forearms, his shoulders, his chest, he knew she wanted one duty: to love a man, to pledge herself to him.

Jenny kissed him again, and Casimir responded in kind. Suddenly, her intentions dawned on me.

I convulsed, trying to claw myself out of Casimir's mind, but the strength of his emotions trapped me there, keeping me prisoner in a body that wasn't mine.

Jenny's kiss turned from delicate, almost inquisitorial, to needy and clingy. When she opened her eyes to gaze into ours, she looked dazed. She was completely overwhelmed by Casimir's presence; his magic completely enthralled her. However, when her hands moved restlessly towards his lower body, he had to gently disentangle himself. Casimir was not one to rush into things.

'Oh...sorry,' Jenny breathed, seeming quite breathless. Her hands flew to her ginger head, trying to put her hair to rights.

Casimir smiled, reaching forward to caress her cheek. She blushed, looking down into her lap.

'I thought you wanted to...' she murmured, clearly embarrassed.

Casimir chuckled, wanting to keep the mood light. 'In due time,' he murmured, voice like dark silk. He touched her chin, to turn her face up to his, and gazed into her eyes. She forgot whatever she'd been thinking. I thought she forgot to breathe, as well.

As the strength of Casimir's emotions subsided, so did my connection to him. When his hold on me loosened, I relaxed, relieved to be by myself again.

Normally, when Casimir was in the company of women, he shielded his mind from me like crazy. But Casimir, and all spirit users in a bond, no doubt, forgot that distance meant nothing. He thought that, since I was far away and doing my own thing, I wouldn't be attuned to whatever he was doing. But I was. I always was.

This is why he always moved out of our room when he had something going with a girl. He thought it distanced me from him, allowing me some privacy.