Chapter 116

Tessa’s POV

I was going to have a panic attack. I had to step away from Fae.

I knew we were outside, but I needed to get air and that meant I needed to get away. I couldn’t count how many times I called Joseph.

But I needed to know about these Blood Slaves. Is what Fae was saying true?

I needed to know for sure.

“Tessa?” I heard Carter saying from behind me. I stood just outside the battleground, and I was about to have a panic attack.

I turned around to face him, tears clear in my eyes, and he looked extremely confused.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, furrowing his brows together. “Are you okay?”

“I need Joseph,” I gasped, trying to maintain my breath.

“He’s working. He won’t be back for another couple of hours,” he said, and I could hear the worry in his voice. “What’s going on?”

Should I ask him? Would he tell me?

I didn’t want him to think I was squeamish and think less of me.

“I’m okay,” I said to him, handing him the cup. “Thank you for caring.”

“Are you sure?” He asked, furrowing his brows together. “Did you want to head back to the Vamp house? Or maybe find Anna?”

“No!” I said a little quickly. “Honestly. I’m fine, Carter.”

He looked at me for a moment longer.

“I’m going to be training for another couple of hours,” he warned me.

“Okay,” I said with a smile. “I’ll be fine.”

Before he could say anything else, another voice sounded from behind us.

“Everything okay?” Ryan asked, approaching with Fae on his tail.

“Honestly, you guys. I’m fine,” I said, forcing a laugh. “I just got a little lightheaded. Maybe it’s the cold air.”

“Perhaps I should take her to the hot spring,” Fae suggested, glancing up at Ryan like she was asking his permission.

He glanced at her with a deep frown like that was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard.

“It might make her feel better,” she said in a smaller tone. “You’d be okay for a little while, right?”

He went to respond, but Carter spoke first.

“That’s a great idea, Fae. Thank you.”

Ryan looked seriously pissed, and Fae knew it. She flinched at his furious face and refrained from meeting his eyes as she glanced downward. But Carter was an Elder, which meant Ryan couldn’t go against him.

“I’ll come find you when I’m done here,” Ryan said to her through her teeth.

She nodded and then went to step toward me.

“Come on. Let’s change into bathing suits. If you don’t have one, I might have an extra that’ll fit you.”

She looped her arm through mine and pulled me along with her.

“I have one in Joseph’s house,” I told her. “We can stop there on the way.”

When we got far enough away and we were well past the temple, Fae released her hold on my arm and sighed.

“It’s not often I get to go anywhere without him,” she breathed. “Because of that bond, it’s painful to go too far from him. But the human in me misses what it was like being without him. It’s nice getting away, despite how much I want to run back to him.”

“You can’t just quit being his…” I wanted to say the word “blood slave” but I couldn’t get it to leave my lips.

She knew what I was going to say though because she shook her head.

“When we break the bond, our bodies often fail us. Not only is it extremely painful and damaging, but if we were meant to be dead already, we would die.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, raising my brows.

“For example, a friend of mine, Gina, she’s also a blood slave in this village. She belongs to Adam, one of the chefs. He’s a little more lenient with her though and allows her to live amongst the humans in that part of the village. She works a lot in the gardens and is very kind,” Fae explained. “She stopped aging when she was 25, and she’s been a blood slave for about 60 years. She would be around 85 years old if he didn’t stop her aging and make her immortal…”

Her voice trailed off as she gathered her thoughts. I saw something flash on her face. It looked like pain, maybe remorse. But then she continued.

“If the bond is broken, she would no longer be immortal, and her aging would turn back on. Not only would it be incredibly painful and traumatizing for her body to experience mortality after spending so many years immortal, but her body would also catch her up to her current age…” She paused again and this time she stopped walking.

She met my eyes briefly.

“Do you understand what I mean?”

After a moment of processing her words, I gasped, realization dawning on me.

“She would turn into an 85-year-old woman?” I asked.

Fae nodded grimly.

“Within the day she would experience aging at a rapid speed. If she was a blood slave for over a century, breaking the bond would make her age until she’s dust,” Fae continued explaining, and then she continued to walk.

“And diseases…” I began to ask. “Would those come back too?”

“Diseases don’t go anywhere,” she said, shaking her head. “The only difference is, they won’t kill you or affect your body. But if you have cancer inside of you, it will continue to grow unless you get it treated. Once it gets to a point where it’s untreatable, it won’t do anything to you unless the bond is broken. Then, you will die from it. But the disease will just sit inside of you, waiting for you to become mortal again.”

My heart grew heavy in my chest.

“Sometimes the bond breaking will kill the human body without there being an actual cause other than your body being too weak to handle the change. It’s also heartbreaking. As I said earlier, with the bond, there’s also a form of love and obsession. It’ll feel worse than a breakup. Having your bond broken is one of the worst things that could happen. Or depending on your vampire, it could be the best.”

“It would be a lie if I didn’t think about breaking the bond one day, but after so many years living in this young body, I have already lost the courage to face what will happen after the bond breaking. Now it almost scares me thinking about Ryan wanting to break the bond.”I felt sick to my stomach hearing this information and I wanted Joseph to be the one to tell me this. I can’t believe he lied to me about these humans. I can’t believe he kept this from me.

Something Joseph said to me earlier played repeatedly in my head.

“These humans are different.”

I didn’t realize how different they were.

We first went to Ryan’s house where Fae lived, and she put on her bathing suit.

She wore a cute white bikini, put her blonde hair in a messy bun and grabbed a towel before we went to Joseph’s house.

I put on a bathing suit as well. I wasn’t one to wear bikinis often, but Ruby packed me a cute bikini she told me I needed to wear on this trip.

I put the bikini on and was amazed at how perfectly it fit me. It showed off my every curve and made my breasts look much bigger than they were. I put my hair in a messy bun and took a couple of pics to prove to Ruby that I wore it. Then, I grabbed a towel, and together, Fae and I walked the path to the hot spring.

The hot spring looked like a giant hot tub made from a gorgeous stone. The entire area was made up of large and gorgeous trees, shielding the sky from us. Around us was the greenest grass with beautiful flowers growing every which way.

Beyond the hot spring was a waterfall that led down to the riverbed. It was amazing here.

“This is my favorite place,” Fae breathed as she stepped into the hot spring. She sighed as she lowered herself down.

I stepped in after her, instantly feeling my muscles relax as the hot water soothed my cold body. This was exactly what I needed. I just wished Joseph was here. Despite being upset with him for keeping such an important thing from me, I still wanted to be around him.

I must have been truly crazy.

We stayed in the hot spring for a long while, talking about random things and getting to know one another. I didn’t think I was going to like Fae upon meeting her at Anna’s house, but I do like her. She’s kind and she’s honest. It was also nice to be able to talk to another human while I was here.

But soon we were interrupted by Ryan who appeared out of nowhere, startling us both. He was wearing his bathing suit and he sat next to Fae in the hot spring.

“Thought I’d join you, ladies,” he said with a grin.

He wrapped a protective arm around Fae, and she instantly melted into it.

“I’m glad you are here,” she breathed. “I missed you.”

“Hush,” he said to her, but his eyes remained on mine.

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“I should probably—” I went to stand but his harsh tone made me freeze.

“Sit.”

I slowly sat, trying not to show the fear on my face.

“Don’t let me ruin your fun,” he said with a slimy grin.

Fae looked at me nervously. He then leaned closer to her like he was whispering something into her ear. She slowly leaned her neck back and I watched as he started to kiss her intimately on the neck.

I watched as blood trickled down her neck and across her chest, messily.

I realized quickly that he wasn’t kissing her… he was drinking from her.