A Crown of Gold

Where She Belongs

I didn't sleep at all after Nik had left. I stood on the balcony, finding comfort in the cool breeze. How many times could I keep doing this? Eventually the balcony wouldn't calm my constantly turning mind. I looked up from the crashing waves below just in time to see Darius soar silently overhead. He'd gone out hours before, flying to keep his own rampant mind at bay. 

I met him in the great room. Together we stood with no words shared, our eyes everywhere but on each other. 

Darius said the words before I could, "I'm ready now. If you are." I nodded, eyes flickering up to meet his. "Do you remember how you bonded with my mother?"

That had been the first time in awhile since I'd heard him refer to Sephraim as his mother. I felt a jab in my chest at the mention of it. As my eyelids fluttered and my tongue passed over my lips, I nodded. "We share in each other's blood." I explained. 

I walked over to the table, grabbing one of the empty silver bowls. I set in on the ground in front of him. "Sephraim pricked her palm. A drop or two should suffice."

Darius stared down at the bowl for a moment. I approached him, resting a palm on his leg. You don't have to. 

I know.

He lifted one arm, folding his talon in so it pressed hard into his palm. The tough skin resisted before breaking open. Holding the puncture over the bowl, blood dripped messily into it. He pulled away, shaking his hand a bit before placing it back on the ground.

Are you ready? I asked, my eyes moving from the bowl to Darius. He pulled a deep breath of air in through his nose, nodding as he exhaled. I cleared my throat, my attention moving back to the blood. This would change everything. One drink, and both of our lives different forever. Yet, it must be done, Nik said it himself. I crouched down, resting on my knees to better grip the bowl. My hands shook as I reached for it. Finally, my skin met the cool silver, sending a chill throughout my body. 

I lifted the bowl, the dark liquid sitting idly, yet practically buzzing with possibilities. With a deep breath, I placed the edge of the bowl at my lips, slowly tipping it until the blood inside flowed into my mouth. It still had the same metallic flavor as blood usually did, only it was a bit sweeter, and warm, like it was a delicacy one of the traveling merchants would sell from their carts when they came through the village. 

I swallowed the thick liquid, chills erupting from my body as it traveled down to my stomach. We stood, facing one another. 

"I don't feel anything. Do you?" I asked. Darius shook his head, his golden eyes watching me intently. "Maybe you need to drink mine-" A sharp gasp left my lungs, stopping me mid sentence. I dropped the bowl with a clang, blood flinging itself onto the stone floor. Darius opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the same feeling I'd just had coarse through every fiber of myself a moment before. 

Suddenly, Darius's eyes were alight. The molten gold of his irises looked as though they were made of the actual metal, being stirred in a hot forge. I felt it in my own eyes a second later. I stayed on my hands and knees panting at the rushing feeling now flurrying in my head. 

Everything came together. Darius didn't have to speak a word to me, telepathically or out loud for me to feel his intentions. I knew he could feel the same thing through me. I pushed myself to my feet, eyes slowly dimming back to normal, their crimson color reflecting in Darius's. Without sharing anything other than a feeling, Darius pushed through the doors of the great room, with me directly behind him. We found ourselves out on the bluffs beside the Fort. I climbed onto his back, my body melding to his with ease.