Thirty-Seven

Vali

“What happened today?” Dallas’ voice echoed through the landline phone in my parents home. I had been relegated back to my old bedroom, where there was still only a king single, and Anne had managed to get the guest room which had a queen double. To say I thought the situation was unfair would likely be an understatement.

“I took out more of the forest.” I answered, running a hand over my face. Learning to control this power was harder than I thought it would be. Telekinesis and telepathy were supposed to go in hand, so why the fuck couldn’t I get the hang of it?

“You need to be careful, soon enough and the forest gods will have a vendetta against you.” The only way that sentence was wrong was the fact that the forest gods likely already had a vendetta against me.

“I’m getting close, I can feel it. Every day I am getting better at restraint, I’m taking out smaller sections of the forest. Anne says I am struggling because I cannot clear my mind…” I trailed off.

“She’s probably right, V. You were working with the Vampire Prince to take out his dad, you locked in the Bond with him and then the next day…”

“He chose to be taken from me.” I said, and I heard Dallas sigh.

“Maybe so, but he has a point. We do need someone on the inside. The eyes we have on Bran Castle aren’t able to get any real information that can help us. No one knows how many are inside or who or what they’re capable of. He is the best choice to be in the castle and steal information.” I hated how everyone agreed with this idiotic plan. Was I the only one who saw it would end badly? That it could end up with Mir dead? With Jackson and Marcy dead? “Has he reached out to you yet?”

“No.” That was the part that worried me the most. Anne had explained that Mircea would give me the information through telepathy, that Marcy and Jackson would help him hone in that skill. But nearly a week has gone by and still I’d heard nothing. I didn’t know if they were okay, if they had any information or if my Second and Third were even alive. At least I knew Mircea was still alive, the mark was still all over my right hand as proof of that.

“I’m sure he will soon. We’ve been gathering the wolves that are willing to fight in Slovakia. The information from Derek has arrived and we’ve been going through that. The scent inhibitors have arrived from Ianthe, we’re getting distributed between the wolves of which there’s just under a thousand of us. The Fae arrived this morning, only fifty, but they should be more than enough from watching them train this afternoon.” Dallas caught me up, and I nodded before I realised he couldn’t see me.

“Thank you, I know you likely don’t want to be doing this because you just got out of imprisonment-”

“V, there is nothing else I would rather be doing. This could solve all of our problems, and we all know that.” I didn’t know what to say. I scratched the back of my hand as I leaned against the wall, staring out of the window into the forest. “If Anne thinks you need to clear your head, then you need to clear your head. Go for a walk, dip your feet in the river near your parents house, meditate if you can and if that’s too much then try journalling or something.”

He was right. I needed to go for a walk, connect myself back to nature and then I could connect to myself. Just like I had after the initial meeting for the Summit.

“Thanks Dallas. I’ll give that a try.” I said, my right hand turning from itchy to warm.

“Okay, call me again tomorrow. Hopefully by then we’ll have everything sorted out on our end, and we’ll just be waiting for your okay to move forward.” He replied.

“Talk to you tomorrow.” I said as I hung up the phone and looked at my hand. Why was it so warm? Why was it getting hotter? “What the…” I trailed off as the warmth suddenly turned to fire burning beneath my skin, and I screamed as I fell to the floor in pain.

“Vali!” I heard my mother’s voice as I cradled my hand to my chest. Why did it hurt? Why was my mark burning?

I screamed again as my eyes squeezed shut, and I saw flashes of something.

Of bed sheets and black hair.

Of a black mark and a black ring.

I heard his voice, heard him repeating ‘no’ over and over in his head like he couldn’t say it aloud.

“They’re hurting him…” I whispered as ice cooled down the skin on my hand, it helped just enough for me to get my thoughts together.

“Is he going to be okay? How much blood can you see?” Anne’s voice reached my ears.

“No blood…” I trailed off, realising exactly what they were doing to him. “They’re not hurting him like that.”

“Then what are they doing to him?”

I felt like I was going to throw up. No, I was going to throw up. Even though three people were around me, none of them stopped me from throwing up all over the floor, in fact someone held my hair back instead of moving me to a bathroom. Between the vomit and the tears and the sweat I couldn’t stop the nausea, the feeling that something was so completely wrong and there was nothing I could do to fix it.

“Oh, that’s how they’re hurting him…” Anne trailed off as she put together my bodily reaction and the situation at hand. “You need to help him, tell him it’s okay. Tell him we’ll be coming for him.” I didn’t project any of that. It didn’t feel like it would be enough. Instead I chose my own words, my own intention through the pain and the sickness.

Mircea, I’m here with you. I’m sorry about what I said while we were in Hell. I’ll be with you every second of every day if you need me to be. Just ask, just pull on our string and I’ll be there.

There was only silence and pain from his end of the connection, just a vibration through the string that showed he was struggling to hold on. No. I knew what they were doing, what they were trying to achieve. I wouldn’t let them.

If you can’t hold onto the bond, Mir, that’s okay. I can hold on for both of us, I’m not letting it break. I won’t ever let it break. I promise they won’t take you from me that easily.

There was silence for a while longer, but the struggle from his end eased. The string was loose, but it was still there which was all that mattered.

Well that and one more thing.

Mircea, I love you. I love you and I’m going to make them pay for this.

And there was a whisper that reached my ears. Broken and faint, but there and clear.

I love you too, Vali.