He stands, fixing the front of his tux. Shit. He left the party early on my account. Way to royally fuck up, Saxon.
“One vial should be good enough for a week,” he continues. “It’s a temporary fix, not a real solution.”
“What if we can’t find a real solution?”
He narrows his gaze while I sense a darkness crowding around him. “That would be unpleasant.”
I don’t know what to make of his statement. Does that mean he would have to kill me? I’d like to believe I’ve proven myself to the king. I’m not my father’s son. But maybe the bad blood runs too deep, and I’m cursed to pay for his sins.
“I’ll find a way,” I reply.
“I’ve spoken to Solomon. I want you to re-enroll in the institute immediately.”
My eyebrows shoot to the heavens. I didn’t expect that. “Why?”
“Because being away from Aurora will only make matters worse, even with the potion. Also, he can help you find a solution.”
The king walks to the large window in the room. Those would be a big no-no in a vampire’s lair, but the house is equipped with impenetrable shutters that close automatically ten minutes before sunrise. Even so, my bed is nowhere near the range of streaming light.
The window opens on its own. That’s one of the super cool tricks the king has up his sleeve. In the next second, he turns into black smoke, vanishing in the dark. The male and his abilities never cease to amaze me, but tonight, there’s no room in my mind for admiration. The next time I see him might very well be when he comes to off me.
With that depressing thought hanging over my head, I head over to the table and grab the vial. Now that the king is gone, the overwhelming compulsion to go after Aurora, the crazed need to kill her fiancé, is returning. My skin prickles all over as if I’m covered from head to toe in needles.
I pull the cap off the vial and stare at the greenish liquid. “Here goes nothing.”
Throwing my head back, I drink everything in one gulp. Bitterness fills my mouth, and a crazy burn goes down my throat. I cough, covering my lips with the back of my forearm.
“Fuck!” I say when I’m sure I’ll be able to keep the liquid down. Why do witch potions have to taste so foul?
I drop on the chair the king was occupying earlier, feeling lethargic all of a sudden. If this is what he meant by numbness, it sucks balls. I don’t think I can even walk back to my bed. How am I supposed to function at all?
There’s a knock on my door. Since Manu rarely visits me in my quarters, I guess it must be Ronan.
“Come in,” I say in a scratchy voice. He walks in, doing a quick search of the room first.
“He’s gone.”
“I thought as much. I sensed a huge drop in power coming from inside.”
“Fuck off,” I grumble.
Ronan changed clothes already, and now he’s back in his regular outfit of dark jeans and a generic T-shirt. He shoves his hands in his pockets and stares at me with a question in his eyes.
“Don’t worry. I’m not about to rip Aurora’s fiancé’s throat out. The king gave me a potion.”
“Is it going to remove the bond?”
“No. I think only powerful magic can do that. He ordered me to enroll at Bloodstone Institute again.”
“Whatever for?” His eyes widen.
“I have to be near Aurora, even with the potion.” I pull my hair back, yanking at the strands. “This situation blows.”
“We’ll come with you. You can’t face it alone.”
“No. You have to stay here with Lucca. Protecting him is the main priority.”
Ronan clenches his jaw so hard that I can hear his molars grinding together. “And who is going to protect you from yourself?”
I look out the window, not in the mood to withstand Ronan’s knowing gaze. Being wild and reckless is in my nature, but with supernatural forces trying to control my body and mind, I’m now a ticking bomb, ready to explode.
Will I finally live up to my father’s legacy and destroy everything the king has worked for?
“When are you leaving?”
“Tomorrow.”
“So soon? Shouldn’t you rest for a few days? Get things in order?”
I turn to him. “No. I don’t want to stay too long away from her. That might jeopardize the potion’s effect.”
If it works. The pessimistic thought pops in my head. It’s best if I don’t tell him what the main purpose of the