~ NYSSA

The guards returned mere minutes after Allister left.

I watched through the window as they took up their positions like they had never left. It was equal parts fascinating and terrifying to see just how compulsion worked, and the most terrifying part of it all was that after, when I asked where they’d been, they claimed they’d been there the whole time.

They couldn’t account for the entire hour they were missing.

"That’s fucking creepy," Rowan noted as he dismissed them for the day. "How many of our men have been compelled like this already?"

"I don’t know," ii admitted with a soft murmur. "It’s a terrifying power for anyone to have. This kind of power can win a war."

"Much more than that, little wolf, it can tear down empires." He ran his hand down his jaw, his eyes cloudy with worry and emotion. "I don’t like this."

Neither did I, but I didn’t speak. I just stood there, watching the last of the guards leave.

"Are you going to tell Jeremiah about this?" I asked after a moment of silence.

"I don’t know. I should, but after the warning he gave... I don’t know who we can or cannot trust. For now, I think we should just focus on the matter at hand which is killing the bastard."

I’d be lying if I said a part of me wasn’t equal parts excited and scared at the prospect. I’d have to be fucking convincing for him to believe I had any plans to sway Rowan at all, especially considering how vehemently I was against it as well.

This whole plan hinged on me, and that made my stomach churn.

"If you don’t want to do this—"

He didn’t get to finish what he was saying because I cut him off with a groan, doubling over as someone or something tried to push through my mental wall. I pressed my hands to my temple, trying to drown out the pain, but it only came fiercer.

"This better be fucking important!" I snapped, pulling my wall down. "You damn near gave me a fucking migraine."

"I’m sorry I don’t have time to fucking coddle you when we just found a dead child in the woods," Aria snapped.

Her words made my blood run cold. "What?"

"The vampires. You know... the same ones that fucking want you, they killed a child. He just went out of the border to play with his friends, and now he’s fucking dead. I figured you’d want to know seeing as it is... you know, your fault."

I swallowed thickly, trying to ignore the wave of emotion that crawled up inside of me. "Where is the body now?"

"In the hospital. If you can take time out of your busy schedule maybe you could come see him."

She slammed the mind link shut without giving me a chance to respond.

When I blinked through my haze, Rowan was staring down at me, his brows knitted in concern.

"What happened?" he asked, his lips turning downwards as he took me in. "Who was it?"

"Aria," I said softly. "There’s a dead boy."

Within minutes, I found myself in front of the hospital, plagued by the scent of antiseptic and death. I hated the hospital, even more so because of what we were here for.

We didn’t have to ask questions regarding where the boy was because as soon as we crossed the threshold, a loud, heart wrenching wail filled my ears.

Rowan squeezed my hand firmly as we walked down the hall towards where the noise came from. Standing outside the door were three guards who bowed low to us, but I couldn’t help but notice how their gazes lingered on me for a split second longer.

I swallowed down the unease and followed behind Rowan.

There was nothing in the room save for a bed with a boy on it. He couldn’t have been older than sixteen. His features were still boyish and his head was covered in a mass of curls. His eyes were closed and had it not been for the stillness of his chest, I would have assumed he was sleeping.

The woman who I assumed was his mother knelt next to his bed, her hands tightly wrapped around his as she wailed. Aria sat next to her, rubbing small circles over her back.

"I am sorry for your loss," Rowan said softly.

The woman stilled and turned to us, her eyes red rimmed as tears fell freely down her cheeks. She stood on shaky legs and made her way over to us. Her face was carefully impassive but there was no denying the heartbreak in her eyes.

She stopped mere inches away from us and turned her attention to me. "Get out."

The sheer venom in her eyes nearly knocked me off my feet. I had never felt such anger radiate from another person before... at least not directed at me.

"This is your fault," she continued. "We never had problems with vampires until you came along. You’re one of them!"

I understood her anger, but that did not make her words any easier to handle. "I assure you, I did not plan for this. I did not know—"

"What do they want?" she screamed. "Why can’t you just fucking give it to them? How many more people have to die?"

"I don’t—"

"Go!" she screamed once more before collapsing to the ground in a series of heartbroken sobs. "Please just... leave." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Aria rushed over to her, shooting me a glare as she continued to rub circled over the woman’s back.

I could feel everyone staring at me but I did not dare meet any eyes for fear that tears would begin to roll down my cheeks.

"I’m sorry," I whispered. "I know it doesn’t mean much but... truly, I am." My voice cracked embarrassingly at the end and she never responded but I didn’t need her to.

"Nyssa," Rowan began softly in my mind but I pushed him out.

I couldn’t speak to him... I just couldn’t. Instead, I turned on my heels and ran.