Once Betrayed Never Forgotten

Chapter 85: Blood Mistress

“Hold up,” say, the word ‘Mistress‘ ringing in my cars. “When you say Mistress, do you mean like, boss?”

s for me “More like owner,” Bloodbane says, his expression impassive. “I am enslaved to Tatiana. The only way to break the servant and master hond, is to fall into the service of a new master. Or Mistress, in this case,”

Slavery… yikes. Not exactly my cup

of tea.

“And if I don’t become your Mistress, you won’t be able to leave this tower and show me the way to….

ub…”

“The Blood Scribe,” Bloodbane says, a hint of reverence and awe entering his voice. “The wisest and most ancient Bloodwraith in existence. Her lair is several days‘ travel, over perilous territory. I can tell you the way, but it’s dangerous, and it would be wise for you to have a guide. But I can’t force you to take me into your service. It must be your decision, made freely of your own accord.”

“But then you’d be my slave, bound to me,” I say. “Surely you don’t want that?”

“It’s better than being enslaved to Tatiana for eternity,” he says with a shrug.

Eternity. Damn.

I don’t know what to do. I want to free Bloodbane from the chains that bind him to Tatiana, but I don’t feel comfortable with him becoming my slave. It feels weird… wrong.

As if reading my thoughts, Bloodbane steps forward towards me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“If you wish, we can ask the Blood Scribe to use her power to free me from all bonds of enslavement,” he says, his voice softer. “If there is anyone in the six realms who can break on Enslavement spell, it’s her. In that case, I will only be bound to you until we reach her. And then you may set me free,

if that is your desire.”

“Did you just say there are SIX re

realms?” I ask, unsure if I heard him wrong. “As in, where I’m from is one realm, this place is another, and there are four

more?”

“Exactly.” Bloodbane says with a small smile. “You live in the Earthly realm, along with the wolf walkers,”

Wolf walkers… I think he means werewolves, like Luka and his pack.

“It was also once home to the vanished Verde clan, a wise and peace–loving vampiric dynasty,” Bloodbane continues, “many millennia ago. No one has

seen them in centuries.”

Verde… that sounds sort of familiar…

The image of the beautiful tapestry I was studying earlier flashes through my mind. I turn to face it again, taking in the sight of the beautiful angelic figure with bright green wings and gold–embroidered robes, surrounded by greenery, flowers and emeralds. The words “HOUSE VERDE” are etched in golden spidery letters above the angel, on an ancient scroll that appears to float in the air.

What is the connection between the angels and the vampire clans?

Before I can think too deeply on it. Bloodbane continues his explanation of the six realms.

“This place, where we are now, is the Fiery Realm, the great inferno, home of demons and Bloodwraiths, and the cruel Fontaine vampire clan, amongst other horrors,” he continues, smirking in self–deprecation as he says the word “horrors.”

“Then there is the Watery realm, where the oceanic creatures and merfolk live in the placid deeps and the fierce seafaring Odella vampire clan rule from their island fortress,” he continues.

“The Celestial Realm is a light–filled plane that is home to the Winged ones and Windwraiths, ruled over by the Caella vampire clan. The noble Ajisai vampire clan rules over the Twilight realm, a land of eternal dusk and dreams. Finally, there is the Night Realm, where it is eternally night, a land cloaked in perpetual darkness. The Night realm is ruled over by the ”

“Vasiliev vampire clan,” I finish his sentence, and he not.

Chapter 85 Blood

It’s all beginning to make sense. The Night realm, a place of never ending night….

The truth downs on me.

Of course. The Castle of Endless Night isn’t even on Earth. It’s in a whole other dimension, a different realm. That explains why the Vasiliev family castle was always surrounded by eternal night. And how they kept it secret for so long, hidden from the world

That means that every time I went through a portal, I wasn’t just moving between countries and continents – I was travelling between realms. How naive of me to think that the Vasiliev family had this amazing castle tucked away in a secret mountainous spot in Romania, somehow cloaked from all the satellites, world governments, the whole of humanity with their prying eyes and curiosity.

“What other creatures live in the Night Realm?” I ask, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck rise.

“Nightwraiths, gremlins, humans, The Broken Ones, and many others,” he says, mulling over the question. “It would be impossible to list them all.”

There are humans in the Night realm, so the village at the foot of the mountain is in that realm too. That explains how the village was never discovered by the outside world.

“Each vampire clan has a castle in their ancestral homeland, and they travel between realms with ease, with the permission of the family ruling any realm they wish to enter,” he continues. “No other beings travel between the realms with as much ease as vampire kind. It is their special talent. The only realm that is not ruled by vampires is the Earthly realm – your realm. Ever since the House of Verde disappeared, it has become a sort of neutral meeting ground for vampire clans, where any may enter or leave freely.”

If vampires can travel so easily between realms, then why hasn’t Aleksandr come for me yet? I guess he didn’t know where I was – but he will soon. If Tatiana goes through with her plan and gives Aleksandr the All Seeing Eye amulet, he should be able to see where I’m being kept captive, and that surely means he’d come to rescue me. I don’t think she was bluffing about giving him the amulet.

Unless… what if Tatiana’s right, and my sudden transformation into a Bloodwraith really is some sort of huge taboo, an insurmountable problem?

No, I can’t think like this, I can’t let her get to me. Tatiana has underestimated how strong the love that Aleksandr and I share is. We’ll cross any obstacle in our way, together.

The Fiery ent

realm, and he’ll

So maybe I should wait here for him. Once he sees what the All Seeing Eye has seen, he’ll know that I’m trapped in a tower in the come to find me.

I’m sure Tatiana won’t give the amulet to him directly – he’d rip her to shreds after she abducted me – but she’ll find a way to get that amulet to him as soon as possible.

“Bloodbane, I think we should stay here,” I say, weighing up my options

“Why?” He asks, his brow creasing with confusion.

“Because you said that vampires can travel easily between the realms,” I reply. “And I know a certain vampire who’ll do anything to find me, and to bring me back home – and he’s probably about to find out exactly where I’m imprisoned.*

Bloodbane just shakes his head gravely.

“Remember, although vampires travel easily between realms, they need the permission of the ruling family to enter,” he says. “They will not be able to enter without being let in. Like a closed door that only opens from the inside. No one is coming for you, Arianna. I’m sorry. You must make your own escape from this realm.”

I guess that leaves me no choice. I have to free Bloodbane from his enslavement to Tatiana, so that he can leave the tower and guide me to The Blood

Scribe.

“How do we do this?” ask, biting my lip nervously. “The whole, ‘me becoming your Mistress” thing?”

“We must clasp our bleeding hands, allowing our blood to mingle,” he explains. “We will hold hands while I swear my allegiance and my service to you. This will break my bond to Tatiana, and bind me to you as your servant.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad, I admit, still not relishing the thought of being someone’s master, or owner, or whatever. “How do we cut our hands? Do you have a knife?

Chapter 85 Blood Mistress

Bloodbane just smirks at this

“Bloodwraiths don’t need knives to draw their own blood,” he says. “In time, I will teach you to use all of your newfound powers. The first lesson will be in commanding your own blood”

“Sounds thrilling.” I say sarcastically.

“Let us begin,” he replies.

And so, we begin.

POST COMMENT

Chapter Comments

Well I’m just going to throw my opinion out there. Maybe Aleksandra will thank the slutty leech because now he should be able to make real love to Arianna without killing her or turning her. Let’s hope I’m right. Oh I’m sure there’s some taboo thing that says they aren’t