Blood Oath (O/O CLOSED)

Altair quirked an eyebrow at the nickname Elle used, but otherwise didn’t say anything.

“And you have this every night?” Altair questioned instead. I shook my head.

“No,” I answered. “One is a rather recurring one. The other one… I see darkness. I see it taking root in people’s hearts. I see the bonded wreck terror. And I’m always at the center of it.”

Altair suddenly froze, eyes shifting to Elliot.

“Well, if it gets worse, do tell me,” he said. “And Prince Colton, there are things I need to talk with you about.”

I wrapped one hand around my wrist, letting my fingernails dig into the soft flesh until red half-moon marks appeared.

"Do you want me to leave, sir?" I asked Altair quietly, rising to my feet. "So you can speak with Colton?"

“Tomorrow, we’ll practice your abilities,” Altair said to both of us. “And yes, I must have you excuse yourself.”

I bowed my head, shooting Colton an apologetic look before stepping from the room. What could Altair have to discuss with him?

When Elle exited the room, Altair’s expression turned grave. It was unsettling, mostly because of his kind nature.

“Prince Colton… the King informed me of the mission you went on a few months back…” the professor started, and I felt my blood turn to ice in my veins. “Your Highness… are you by any chance affected by dark magic?”

When I went to my room that night, I was simply an empty husk.

"Colton?" I tried for the millionth time, shaking his shoulder. He was unresponsive… again… What had Altair discussed with him? "Colton, please.. answer me…"

Of course. Of course that was it. There was no way things would be that easy, would they? Andreas would have to kill me. I was going to die for sure.

But I didn’t want to tell Elle that. I was never going to let her know until the last second, when she can’t do anything to stop it.

So I did what I became so best in. I lied to her.

“He realized I’m affected by DM,” I sighed. “He’s going to try to purge it, but he says it might be better if I kept my distance from everyone. The dark being resists when it’s being removed.”

My eyes widened in alarm.

"He—He knows?" I repeated, squeezing his shoulder. "And what do you mean 'keep your distance'? What do you mean 'resists'? Are you going to be okay?"

“My father told him about the mission during a meeting. He realized I’d gone missing on his own, and he put the puzzle pieces together,” I explained as calmly as I could. “He says it might be possible for it to take control during the purging. It’ll resist when I’m at my weakest. I’m going to be fine. I’ll be free.”

And I would be. Free from this curse. Be at peace in the afterlife.

I was beside myself with relief.

"Oh, thank god.." I breathed, burying my face in his shoulder. "You're going to be okay… we're going to be okay…"

“Yeah,” I breathed, hugging her back and kissing her gently. “We’re going to get through this.”

Tears pricked my eyes. Finally, finally, we had a confirmation that there was a happy ending to this awful mess. "I'm so happy.."

I kissed away her tears, guilt gnawing at me for lying so easily. It was for her own good, I told myself. I had even written that letter. I gave it to Andreas, but only after putting a spell on it. Only my Elle could open it and read its contents. Only her.

“So am I, my queen,” I murmured. And I was. Despite running on stolen time, I was happy. As long as I was with her, I was happy. “So am I.”

I nestled into his embrace, pressing my face to his chest. His heart beat against my lips, pushing beautiful, miraculous life through his veins. "We'll be able to—We'll be able to have our future," I whispered, "Our future together."

The more she spoke about our future, the deeper the sword was plunging. If she were to witness my death… she’d break apart.

“And there would be bonded women,” I said, chuckling, pulling her close to me. “It would be a wonderful future.”

“And we could—And we could get married…” I whispered, so quiet I could barely hear myself. “And you could meet my parents…”

I tightened my hold on her when she said that, breathing lightly.

“I’d love to marry you,” I whispered back. “And meet your parents. Grow old with you and raise children together.”

A child. My heart swelled at the mere notion of it. A child. Our child.

“I can’t wait…” I whispered, voice slightly choked with emotion. “God, Cole… a child…”

“With your beautiful features and personality,” I murmured, brushing a kiss on her jawline. “Our child.”

I wanted it. I wanted it so freaking bad. This life with her, I wanted it to last.

I pressed against him, letting my eyes drift shut. “It’s like a dream… a beautiful dream…”

“I love you,” I said to her as I snuggled into her on the bed, pulling the sheets over us. “So much.”

I pressed a soft, tender kiss to the warm skin between his collarbones. “I love you, too..”

“Goodnight, my love,” I tangled our legs together. “My precious gem.”

“Goodnight, Cole…” I buried my face in the crook of his neck…. and fell into a deep sleep.

[TIME SKIP - Andreas's POV, a few days later]

I stifled a yawn as I shifted on the couch in our dorm, rubbing my runny nose with a handkerchief. The frigid weather had dropped even lower as January came to an end, and being the imbecile I was, I had continued to run around in the snow with insufficient layers to warm my body. The consequences? A goddamned head cold. And despite my heat-oriented powers, I now found myself curled up on the sofa, sneezing every couple of seconds.

Kaden:

I walked back into the dorm after practicing my hypnosis, Hope in my arms. She was asleep, purring and occasionally rubbing herself against my chest. I was looking forward to going back to Andreas and cuddling with him. However, I did not expect to walk in and find him curled up on the couch.

"I freaking told you to wear a coat when you go outside!" I ran a hand through my hair just as Hope nipped at my hand and hopped off. "Jesus Christ, you never listen, do you?"

I mumbled something incoherent, pressing my face against a pillow as another cough escaped my hoarse throat. Copper, who was curled up against my chest, trying to warm me up, gave a little squeak of protest.

"E'vrything hurts…." I slurred again, pulling the blankets higher on my shoulder. "M'sorry…."

I sighed, running a hand through my hair as Hope climbed on top of Andreas and snuggled into him. I walked over to him and rested my hand on his forehead, hissing and pulling it away when it became too hot.

"You know what?" I breathed. "Stay here, okay? Hope, Copper, look after him. I'll get you some medicine, and I'll ask Cook to make you some soup."

I flapped a hand in my boyfriend's general direction, lifting my head from the pillow. "Medicine is nothing compared to your…. to you outrageously good looks. Cuddle with me? Please? Maybe you can hypnotize me not to be sick anymore… Is that possible?"

I grinned at him before shaking my head.

“I’ll cuddle with you after you eat your medicine and drink your soup,” I told him. “I’ll be back quick, and I’ll cuddle with you as much as you want. How about it?”