Walking with the Vampire |COMPLETE|

62. Blury Eyes

'My Lord.' Erik and the other guards bowed to him.
'We have orders to bring you back to the manor.'

Nicholae pressed his lips trying to focus beyond the throbbing in his head and in his chest.
He licked his dry lips in concentration and widened his eyes hoping that he looked normal.
'I will return when I wish to. Please tell Lady Sonya that.'
Erik said nothing more and then he left with the rest of his men with the exception of Fauna who chose to stay behind.

'What the hell are you doing?' Valentina placed her hands on her hip marching towards him with fire and fury in her step, ready to jump him.

Call him delusional, but her anger didn't come off as the hatred kind but came off as the worried kind. And so he must be dreaming because she hated him, he sensibly concluded.
The others, however, reacted as he'd expected.
'How do we know it's really him and he's not possessed by some other creature?' Cayden pulled Valentina further back.

'Yes.' Nicholae smiled not sure if the answer sufficed but he was speaking over the fire in his chest and a growing thirst. He wasn't even sure what question Cayden had asked come to think of it.

The others looked at one another and then back at him. Well, he didn't blame them for not trusting him he wouldn't trust him either, not after what Harris has done with his body.

'Holy water.' Fauna supplied the answer they all needed.

'Clarissa might have some holy water from our
run.' Danielle quickly fetched Clarissa per Cayden's revelation and quickly returned with a bottle.

She handed it to Osei who wasted no time in splashing it on his face without warning.
They waited, closely watching for a reaction or an explosion of sorts.

Nicholae painfully wiped his face with his tunic sleeves 'Now that we're all...'
He exhaled, squinting in concentration.
The spinning scene made it difficult for him to focus on what he needed to say. He was ready to apologize to all of them- right there for the heartache and distress he'd caused.

'I...' Nicholae grabbed the porch rails for support when his legs threatened to buckle.
'...need to sit down.'

'Let's get him inside. He's bleeding again.' He didn't notice when Fauna snuck up to his side with Cayden supporting his weight and moving him back up the stairs.

'I'm fine. I'm fine.' His slurred words and yet perspiring body spoke of the opposite.

'He's running a fever.' Fauna touched his head as Cayden carefully placed him on a soft bed, the same one he'd woken up in.
It was a very comfortable bed of Nicholae had to honest, very warm against his cold body, perfect for a long rest.

'Why isn't he healing.' He heard the disembodied voice belonging to Valentina's query.
'He's been out for weeks, he hasn't been feeding since. His body needs blood.'

The room fell silent. The silence was conducive for him to fall back asleep. He didn't realize just how tired he was, maybe it wasn't blood he needed. Maybe if he just slept a little more...
His goal was cut short with a number of soft slaps on his face.
'No, don't sleep. Here drink.'

'Later.' He tried turning away from Valentina's voice but the small movement pained him.

'You need to drink this and I'll leave you to sleep. Just a little.' Valentina tried lifting him and only succeeded in slightly propping him on her stomach.

Nicholae groaned. He tried the chore of opening his heavy eyes but he immediately gave up when the effort yielded no results.
So he simply opened his mouth in obedience.
His fangs elongated at the faint whiff of blood but before he could even create a protest, Valentina stuck her wrist in his mouth and instinctively, he bit into it.
He moaned the second her warm blood poured into his mouth, coursed down into his throat and sent him heavenward.
And he couldn't get enough so he sucked harder and squeezed her arm straining for every drop he could get.
And not once did Valentina complain when he kept drinking.
He heard her heartbeat quicken and a sharp intake of breath.
Nicholae, with all the self control his weak body could muster, turned his head away from her offered wrist.
'Enough. I'm fine now.'