Acceptance

Chapter 43

Pyrus's POV 

I was at the future sight talking with my crew about how things were going to be when we began to build. We had a lot of land to work with and I wanted to build something they all loved. I saw Drake flying above us, enjoying the freedom of the open skies. I smiled softly before going back to talking with them over the plans. As we were walking over the land shots began to fire. We all ran to the woods. I noticed Drake trying to maneuver in the skies to avoid the bullets, but from the pain I felt in the bond, I could tell he was hit in at least two places. I felt a bullet go through the back of my leg, blowing out my knee cap. I hit the ground, unable to move. "Prince Pyrus," I heard someone call out to me. My eyes were on Drake as he tried to stay in the air. He then shifted back and began to fall. I tried to get up, to try and catch him, but my knee was so damaged. "NO!" I screamed out in fear, helpless to save him. I then saw Qin, using the air to send him to Drake who was falling hard and fast. Qin managed to catch him, but with Drake in his hands, he had no way to control the air to stop their fall. 

Then Alice was there using her magic to slow down their fall till Qin was able to land on his feet as he held Drake. More shots began to be fired, one of the bullets going through Qin's shoulder, causing him to nearly drop Drake. They rushed to be behind trees as the bullets shot at them. I tried to crawl, to get to some kind of cover, but I was stuck. Alice glanced at me from where she was at. Don't be the hero my phoenix, I wanted to tell her, but I was in too much pain to focus on our mind link.

I covered my head when I heard more bullets start to fly past me. "Alice, dont," I heard Qin yell as Alice came out from behind the trees. Her eyes were red in anger and her speed was lethal. She ran as fast she could, using her magic to shield us from the bullets. I watched in horror as a bullet landed in her side, causing her to drop and roll. She struggled to stand, and used her magic to start freezing time as she tried getting closer. I could tell she didn't have it mastered because it only held for a few seconds at time, but those few seconds helped save her.

She moved swiftly, locating the assailants and took them out as fast as she could. Her shields around us began to waver and crack, a sign she was running extremely low on magic. By the time she took out the last one, the shields dropped entirely. She walked, holding a hand over her wound, looking extremely pale. Qin rushed over to me, holding Drake as best as he could. Alice put a hand on each of us, and teleported us back to the castle.

She was now completely drained of magic now, using anymore will surely cause her to burn out. Healers were then on us, and I was beginning to loose consciousness. The last thing I saw was Nathaniel crying before everything became black.

Shelton's POV

Nathaniel held a crying Cindy, trying to get her to calm down. Alice and Qin would make complete recoveries, both just needing to rest. Pyrus will heal, but he will feel the occasional pain in his knee, and although Drake lost a lot of blood, we were lucky it didn't hit anything vital.

"Why would they attack them," Cindy asked us. "Because they're against having a unified kingdom," Nathaniel replied. "But why is that such a bad thing," she sniffled as she wiped her eyes. "Because if we unify then many things will have to change and that change scares them," I told her. "It was clear they weren't expecting Alice to show up though or they would've used silver bullets," Nathaniel said. I nodded, "Their lack of planning fell into our favor, but we have to be more careful next time we leave the castle."

"How did they even know they were there," Alice said, leaning in the door way of the room she should be resting in. "You need to lay down," I told her. "I need to feed," she said. "I used all of my magic." Her voice was hoarse and she looked ready to collapse at any moment. I picked her up, and carried her back into the room. "I'm scared I'm gonna hurt you. I'm so hungry I don't think I'll be able to stop myself," she whispered to me. "Don't worry about that," I told her while taking my shirt off. She licked her lips hungrily before sinking her fangs into my neck. I ran a hand through her hair soothingly as she fed. I was beginning to grow a little tired as she fed. It was a struggle for her, but she managed to pull away. She had a look of intense hunger in her eyes, and I know she wont be sated until she fed from all of us. However I know she refuses to feed from Cindy out of fear she hurts the twins. Nathaniel only ever takes a few drops from her to satisfy his need to taste all of us, but he never feeds from her.

"You did good," I told her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Are they okay," She asked, her voice broken. I nodded, "They'll all recover. Pyrus will feel pain in his knee every now and then, but that's the worse of it for us," I told her. Her shoulders relaxed a little, "I fear we have a traitor in the castle." I nodded in agreement, "I think we do as well." After all, only those at the castle and Pyrus's team, knew where they were going to be. Luckily all of his team will make a full recovery as well.

Qin then came in, his arm in a sling. "I didn't lose a whole lot of blood. I can feed her next," He said. I nodded and felt a slight wave of dizziness, but didn't let it show. With her intense magic she has always had a large appetite. When she uses her magic sparingly she doesnt have to take as much. It was clear though, those time spells plus her shield spells drained her. It didn't help that her and Qin had been training before hand either.

I put my shirt on and left to go sit back down next to Nathaniel and Cindy. "I wish I could help her," Cindy whispered. "She can barely control herself right now Cindy. She wont have full control until she feeds a little more from us," Nathaniel told her. She pouted, "I know, but she doesn't feed on me anymore and I hate knowing that she's starving herself." Nathaniel kissed her cheek, "It's okay. She knows you want too, and that's all that matters to her."

Qin then came out, looking slightly dazed. Nathaniel moved Cindy from his lap and got up to go feed Alice. Qin sat down. "How do you feel," Cindy asked him. "She helped the pain meds kick in really quickly, so I feel fine," He told her. "I just hate that now I can't do much until its healed. Makes me wish I had Nathaniel or Alice's healing abilities."

Alice's wound healed as soon as the bullet was removed, but she still lost a lot of blood. Drake and Pyrus will both heal quickly as well but not as fast as Alice. Qin on the other hand will be the slowest to heal. "I just got done being injured," He muttered. "At least it's only your shoulder and it wont take as long to heal," Cindy told him sweetly. He smiled softly, "Yeah I know."

Soon Nathaniel came out with a small smile, "She's now resting and will hopefully be out for a while." "That's good," Cindy said happily. She then turned to me, "Can we check on Pyrus and Drake now? It's been hours since the healers said to let them rest." "As long as you're quiet," I told her. She got up and went to the door that lead to Pyrus's room while Qin walked to Drake's. He swayed a little, but managed to stay upright.

I sighed softly as Nathaniel sat down beside me. He leaned his head on my shoulder and I kissed the top of it. "What if the traitor tries to finish the job," he whispered. "We'll be prepared for it," I told him. "We know they're here somewhere, we just have to wait for them to reveal themselves." And who knows how long that will take. I just prayed we really were ready next time.