The Two Kings (Afterlife Saga) (121 page)

“Vous êtes le seul homme qui j'ai confiance pour toucher son de cette manière sans avoir besoin de vous tuer à cause de cela
 
» (Means “You are the only man I trust to touch her this way without the need to kill you because of it.” In French) Draven’s words, even though in perfect French tongue had been icy cold, even I could tell that without knowing the meaning behind them. If I was a betting
woma
n, I would put money on
the fact that
Draven had just seen all that Vincent had, including him healing me. One thought...oh shit! Draven let go of his hand and instead of hitting him like it looked like he wanted to do, he shocked me and grabbed him behind the neck and pulled his forehead
closer
to touch his own.

“Frater”
(Means “My brother” In Latin) He whispered and Vincent repeated the word. It was such a touching moment that I found my eyes tearing at the sight of such a strong unbreakable bond. This action was the very translation of the word Brother. A love that did
n’t need words to describe, it
was just enough, singled and defined by its purity. It made me realize just how much strength the word Brother had. Brother at
arms, Brotherhoods and B
l
ood B
rothers all had the same thing in common...they all represent men as comrades.

My feelings must have been giving off signals as bright as Las Vegas because when I looked up they were both looking at me with odd expressions painted on their handsome faces.

“What?
” I said burning red.

“
Viena veida” Vincent said (Means “One of a kind” In Latvian)

“Yes she is
.
” Draven said beaming with a pride I didn’t know the cause of.

“Hello, right here remember!” I said getting fed up of the mixture of languages I would never understand and the conversation that was going on above my short head!

“Oh I know, I would never forget that my little one
.
” Vincent smirked at my
given
pet name and I scowled making them both laugh.

“I will leave you alone a moment
.
” His brother said bowing his head slightly to us both, a sign of deep respect. Draven then took my wrist in his over sized hand making me feel like the doll his sister joked about me being earlier. I felt so breakable in his grip that I should have been scared by it not turned on as I was. He gently led me to the balcony and took off his suit jacket
before letting the doors open
even though I was touching them. He eased the soft fabric over my shoulders and then let me through the doors onto the cold, late November night.

“Are you alright?” He asked me without looking at my face. He was still behind me holding my shoulders from where he had placed the jacket.

“I’m fi...”

“Please don’t say
fine
. Not to me Keira, trust me enough not to placate me with Fine.”
He interrupted before I coul
d say the word that he knew was
not true.

“What do you want to hear me say Draven?” I said regretting how snappy it sounded.

“I want to hear you say how you actually feel and not what you know I want to hear
.
” Well he was being honest maybe I could be.

“You’re not going to like it
.
” I reminded him before committing to anything.

“I’m a big boy
.
” He mocked impatiently.

“Yes a very
angry
big boy
.
” He waved his hand around dismissing this notion without words.

“Alright
,
but don’t get mad
,
ok
?
” He nodded keeping his lips in a firm line.

“I feel guilty, I hate myself for what I did and I’m ashamed for what everyone saw. I don’t know if I can face any of my friends again now they know the truth about my past and I don’t want the pity that comes with it. I HATE pity! And now they have something to pity me for I can’t stand it. I want to bury myself in a hole and never come out. It’s like when I found out you knew all about my past and how I wanted to
hide that from you forever and i
f there was any way I could take the information back then that would be one of my three wishes!” I was almost left breathless by the time I had finished my little explosion of feelings. I mean can anyone say information overkill!

Draven was left looking astounded at my outburst and now I found myself adding to my long list of regrets. He was trying to search for the words to comfort me but from a bombshell of emotions like that he had too many options to choose, I doubted he knew where to start. Hell even I didn’t!

“I don’t think you express your feeling to me enough. You obviously feel an overwhelmin
g need to shut everyone out where your problems are concerned, myself
included
,
but what I don’t understand is, why?”

“Why?” I repeated stupidly.

“Yes, Why?
Why is it you feel the need to keep all these feelings locked away in a place wher
e I am supposed to hold the key? You make me feel qui
t
e
useless and that is not a feeling I am accustomed to. I only want to help you but I can only do that when you let me.”

“But you do help me. You help me by just being with me. I don’t feel like this all the time Draven, most of the time I am blissfully happy and that is thanks to you. I guess I should have been more prepared that this was coming. My cousin
’
s hat
r
e
d
for me knows no boundaries.” I was stood facing him hugging myself taking little steps back every time he took a step towards me. I didn’t want his touch because I knew with it I wouldn’t be able to carry on this conversation.

“Where do you think her hate stems from?” I was surprised by his question...didn’t he know?

“I thought you were the mind reading expert, you tell me
.
” I shrugged my shoulders and let them slump back down with a sigh. He turned away for a moment so I couldn’t see his face and I did
n’t know if this was a delibera
t
e
act or not. Was he hiding something? He still had his back to me giving me a fantastic view. His wide back looked huge thanks to the black waistcoat that pulled tight across his muscles and then there was his perfect behind, that looked like you could bounce nickels off it. I was close to drooling by the time he spoke.

“I think her hate goes back to a time
when
her father left but that is all I get from her. Her mind is too far gone and consumed by a pain and rage even she is confused. If she does not know her own mind
,
then neither do I. I cannot read what she can’t see
,
but I have tried
.
” This was not a shocking revelation. I knew Draven would have tried to find a reason for her behaviour
and
I was only sorry that he didn’t find one.

“Do you still have that file on my past?” I asked
,
making him turn back to me in surprise.

“Yes but I don’t understand...why...”

“Because I will need it to get answers
.
” Draven just lowered his head as acceptance. He didn’t like it but he wasn’t going to argue.

“Let me see that hand
.
” He beckoned me to him with his hand and I found myself moving without thinking. I gave him what he wanted and placed my injury bef
ore him to fix. He held me with
such care it was surprising how gentle such a warrior could be. Then I winced.

“The knuckle is broken, see how it is sunken in. The knuckle is the end part of the metacarpal bone, here
.
” He showed me on my other hand and continued to explain it to me in detail. It was like having a consultation with a real doctor and I had to admit I was impressed.

“Since when did you go to medical school
?
” I mocked laughing which made him flash me a brilliant, white smile that would have made any dentist fall in love.

“I have always studied medicine, even in its infancy.”

“Are you like...qualified?” I asked wondering if a game of doctors and nurses would ever happen. He raised an eyebrow at my giggle.

“I have my
doctorate
if that is what you mean
.
” I couldn’t help it, my mouth actually fell open.

“Are you really surprised Keira?
I am a
n educated man, who
has
had
a
lot
of time on my hands and have not spent
all of it fighting battles and waging war
s
like you may think
.
” He looked a little offended as he said this.

“Hey, I didn’t say that but come
on,
this coming from the man who said himself that he collects weapons as a hobby, so cut me some slack.
I didn’t know you also collected
degrees!” I finished sarcastically, crossing my arms. He now looked amused and it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep up...was he happy, was he mad, was I crazy?

“I suppose there is still a lot we need to learn about each other. I know of your love for the arts, did you know about my own passion for the same subject?” This was difficult to imagine for all the wrong reasons. I knew that I was stereotyping Draven in a sense but it was hard to picture him sat reading
Finnegan's Wake
by candle
light and going to art galleries
on his days off to admire
Andy Warhol
’
s Campbell's Soup Can or  Claude Monet’s the Lily pond.

“Now I do
.
” I said looking down at my hand that was still trapped in his. He decided to change the subject.

“This might sting a little
.
” He said and when I reacted by trying to move my hand from his he merely tightened his grip and before I could utter a word of protest he lifted it to his mouth and bit down on me hard enough for me to shriek in pain.

“Draven what are you...!” I was struggling to get free when he just looked up at me over my hand with piercing, dark eyes. He watched mine widen in horror at the sight of him latched onto me like...well, like a Vampire. I could feel his teeth leave me but his lips stayed enclosed around the holes they had left and remained sucking the blood from me. He had bit me just below the knuckle closest to my thumb on the soft fleshy part. He was walking my body backwards and pushed me up against the wall to restrain me from struggling further. Once my back was flush against the stone he let his blood soaked lips leave my skin. It wasn’t hurting anymore and after the initial shock the only pain had been his teeth popping into my flesh. He licked my blood from his lips like the taste was a fine cognac he had just experienced.

“Mmm...even your blood is
honey
sweet. Hold still
!
” He’d closed his eyes and th
en flashed them open when speaking
the command. I just nodded my frightened head. He let one finger trail down my cheek.

“Don’t look so scared little one, I won’t bite you again...well not tonight anyway
.
” He finished by winking at me before plunging those same fangs into his own hand. It made me scream.

“Ssshhh” He soothed
,
after releasing him
self. I looked down and saw a
large tear across his palm the full length. His flesh looked like it had been torn with a jagged edge as it made a zigzag where he ha
d pulled his teeth along it. I fl
inched and wrinkled my nose showing my distaste.

“Doesn’t it hurt?” I asked
,
now being the one to cradle his large hand in both of my own. His grin was enough of an answer but I got the worded version anyway.

“I do not feel pain like you do.
It is more of an awareness than
anything else
.
” Oh well kudos to you I thought sarcastically.

“Close your eyes, this will feel...odd
.
” I did as I was told almost immediately as Draven placed his open wound on top of mine. I was struck by five different sensations all in within minutes of each other, each one taking the breath out of me. I tensed every muscle I had as the first wave shook me...it was pain. It shock
ed
into me like I was being burned from the inside out. It was like flames had ignited in my bones and was licking at the inside of my skin.

“Keira, relax...please
.
” His voice sounded strained and I realised he was gripping my hand against my force to remove it. Thankfully the pain died
very
quickly and gave way to other feelings in its stead. The burning was diminished by a freezing cold that seem to spread like icy tentacles up my arm. It didn’t hurt but it wasn’t what I would call pleasant. That then gave way to what can only be described as energy. It replaced the cold tremors and turned it into an energy that was filling me up, racing through my veins like morphine. It made me feel strong, so strong that I had to fight the urge to tense my bicep and test it. I wanted to plough my fist into something but then I almost laughed out loud as that was what had got me into this position in the first place...since when I had I become so violent?