Bound In Blood (Bound In Blood - Book One)

Chapter Nineteen

I awoke to the sound of Cassandra's voice, groggy with a twisted stomach and pounding head. She was standing in the doorway of my room, calling to me, the sound resonating in my skull painfully. "Alex! Get yer arse out of bed!"

I gave her a look of annoyance, pulling the stale sheets over my head. She sighed exasperatedly before walking over to me and tugging the covers away, my body becoming washed over in the cold. I looked down at my unclothed body and rushed to cover myself but she simply turned away.

"'amish is downstairs and demands to know what 'appened to Conner and I cannot tell 'im," she said solemnly.

"I-I... I can't," I told her. It was too difficult to say it aloud. Especially to Hamish.

"Yer gonna have to. No way aroun' it."

I sighed heavily, forcing myself from the cot to pull on my fancy town clothes. My hair was tangled in its messy braid that I had not yet mastered. I tried my best in the mirror to weave the strands tightly but somehow it all managed to fall apart in wispy locks. I wiped at my face, noticing I was due for another bath.

I turned back to Cassandra and followed her into the inn, finding Hamish sitting at her bar. When I approached, he stood from his seat, his brows furrowed. I nodded to him and he took his seat and I proceeded to do the same beside him. It was difficult to ignore that violent churning in my stomach and the throbbing inside my skull.

After many moments of silence, Hamish finally spoke up, "So what 'appened?" I forced my face to remain unreadable as I spoke, unable to even glance in his direction.

"We were meant ta leave together..." It was all I could manage.

"Pesky nightwalkers!" Hamish spat. "Good for nothin', they are." I winced. "How... how'd it 'appen?" he pressed.

"We'd killed every single one of 'em. It was only when we came ta their master that things turned hairy. It... it bit Conner. Drank every last drop of his blood." My voice was becoming strained the more and more I spoke. I was struggling to hold back the emotion building as a lump in my throat.

"Is he gone... for good?" I took many many moments to deliberate my answer, uncertain of what to say. I could not lie but I refused to tell the truth.

"We'll never see 'im again. He's... dead." Suddenly, I could not hold it back any longer and tears began to spill from beneath my eyelids and drip down my face. Hamish pulled me over, enveloping me in his bulky arms, hiding me away from everyone around us.

I felt his huge hand run over my hair, calming me as I sobbed into his hulking chest, not even caring anymore. What difference did it make if I did not remain so cold and statue-like? Back at Sanctuary, it meant everything. To show emotion was to show weakness and I refused to appear weak. I was strong and would not be so shaken by something such as this. It wasn't an option. Here, however, things were different. I could act human without consequence. There was no fear of displeasing my master. It felt freeing but my heart still yearned for home.

Hamish only let me go when I loosened my grip on him, moving away. On the bar in front of me, Cassandra had prepared a steaming pumpkin soup for breakfast. She handed me a wooden spoon and insisted I eat. "I can smell the drink on ya," she told me. "This'll help."

I didn't argue and began heaping it into my mouth. Pumpkin had always been one of my favourites so I had no problem with consuming spoonful after spoonful until the bowl was practically licked clean. Hamish, too had a bowl of his own which was downed in the blink of an eye. The meal helped ease both my head and my stomach, allowing me to think straight.