He tried to scoff off, but it came out as a cough and a weak one, his breath shortened. "You drag me into a castle out of a dream, and that's your idea of a compliment? Can't you slow down!" After living for thirty years, it was the first time Christopher Parker found himself in such a situation and at the mercy of this unknown woman.
"I have dragged men into worse. You should be glad it's none of it." Selara was a century old, Luna, nothing mattered to her apart from peace and ruling.
That shut him up. This was better than getting caught up in that hut, not knowing what your future entails.
They entered a chamber bathed in silver light, moonlight filtering through a dome of crystal high above. In its center sat a stone basin filled with a liquid that shimmered like mercury.
Selara stepped into the circle around it and faced him fully.
"You agreed to my request. Do you still want to or do you have a change of mind?"
Christopher hesitated a little, his heart pounding while gazing at her. This was new to him, this was something he knew nothing about, couldn't he be afraid of what the consequences could be after the deed?
"You said I'm your antidote," he calmed down, and said, slowly recalling each and every word she spoke up early. "What happens if I say no now?" The nurses and his sister were left outside the room, standing in the corridors, to wait for him.
"You will leave here, and I actually won't stop you," Selara responded, her voice was calm and cold, nothing would change, and she wasn't going to beg. "And the next time that poison rises and disturbs me, I will lose control, all rationality, and the entire human world will burn down into ashes before I can come back to my senses. As a kind from a human race, you should know what kind of choices you want to make... Let's say it would be a peace treaty, I would guard the human race and let my race hide its claws and fangs from the human world." This was what she could offer, and if she couldn't get a solution, she didn't mind destroying everything, bringing it into ashes with her.
"And what about my sisters?" He wouldn't let anything happen to them.
"I will protect what's mine, and if that's what you want. But I don't lie, I will keep my word."
His jaw clenched; it seemed like he would be the sacrificial lamb tonight. He was at a disadvantage; if he didn't agree with her, he would only perish with other humans, which included his other family members, his parents, and siblings. "So I either let you drink my blood or let people die."
She said nothing. She had said enough for the night, and she was exhausted.
Christopher Parker heavily exhaled; he didn't want to anger her. he slowly stepped forward, getting closer, "Then take it." He stretched his arm out to her.
Selara lightly nodded her head and pulled a dagger from a wooden counter, its blade obsidian and etched with runes. It gleamed, hungry and sharp.
Seeing the blade, his hands shook, but he still stretched his hand out, feeling nervous and waiting to feel pain.
Before he could register what was to happen next, Selara had already acted; the cut was clean and sharp. Blood welled instantly.
Selara didn't lunge at him or bite it. She knelt on one of her knees, reverent as though this were a sacrament she was being offered by the moon goddess.
Her hands were soft, and she cupped his forearm gently and brought her lips to his skin; they were now touching skin to skin.
She began drinking his blood, and when she drank, it wasn't violent; it was intimate and calming, warming her nerves.
And it was terrifying at the same time.
Her eyes fluttered as they closed with contentment, and her body shuddered as his blood entered her system.
The black silverfire poison that had twisted inside her for years recoiled again, this time thrashing before it dissolved, scattered into ash beneath Christopher's blood, making her feel fresh for the first time. She felt like she had gone back to her childhood years before getting poisoned.
A soft, keening sound escaped her throat. It was full of relief, power, and a heavy craving.
When she pulled back, her lips were stained crimson, her breathing shallow.
Christopher stared at her with a different, warm gaze; he didn't seem to be as nervous or frightened as he had been earlier. "Did it work?" He calmly inquired.
She lifted her head and looked up at him.
"Yes, it's kind of miraculous," she hoarsely spoke up, her voice raw. "And at the same time, no."
"What do you mean?" Were his stakes too high! He became nervous. This woman before him didn't look like someone the human race could take on.
"I need more of your blood regularly, and I will get someone to work on an antidote that can be a long-term solution." Her voice dropped to a near growl, she also understood it wasn't healthy to lose two litres of blood every month. "And the bond has started."
"Bond? What's that?" His breath hitched, shocked, and scared. His shoulders fell as his eyes gazed at her with panic.
Selara rose to her full height, facing him, "Your blood isn't just a cure. It's calling to something deeper in me, dragging it out. Something I thought had long been dead. It has just woken up and violently stirred... Let's say you are the lucky one."