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14
~Vaela
I’ve forgotten what freedom feels like.
Now that I’m amidst it, I’m sitting like a fool, staring into a swarm of people. Some dance, others just drink and mingle. Not long ago I would be immersed in the throngs, but now, I watch on warily, painfully aware of my own mortality.
Nudging Eyla, I point to a particularly adequate looking man. “I like the look of him.”
Truthfully, I’m suddenly hyper aware of how mundane normal Immortals look. Seeing Hale everyday has poisoned my sense of normality, and now I’m concerned I’m going to struggl
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The Immortal Prince 15
~VaelaMy fork drags noisily across my plate as I push my dinner around mindlessly.Hale hasn’t so much as glanced up. He’s impossible to irritate.Finally he sighs, resting back in his seat, meeting my gaze. "You going around and touching strangers isn't going to work anymore."We’ve only stewed on last nights failure for a few hours, and it seems both of us are defeated. In hindsight, the chances of me finding my mate in a sketchy bar was slim."Why not?" I mutter drily."The chance of you finding your mate like that is near impossible. It's too dangerous," he decides. My stomach twists. He's confirmed all the doubts that plagued my mind all day today.I tap my fork against my lower lip. "So then what?""So, we wait. If you're meant to run into them, you will." Hale's gaze is sharp, monitoring me.Wilting into my seat, I discard of the utensil onto the table, defeated. Hale is the only person I can feasibly run into here, so I'm out of luck."Can't do that like this." I motion aroun
The Immortal Prince 16
~VaelaHale’s bedroom door being slightly ajar is enough of an invitation for me to enter, seeking the Immortal out.He rests against his wooden headboard, flicking through a book.He doesn’t even glance up. "For someone who is so concerned about seeing me naked again, you have a proclivity for walking rather confidently into my private space.""You should have told me Larsen was coming,” I snap.Exhaling softly, he closes his book, dragging his attention to me. There is something painfully intimate about standing in his room. The large bed swallows have the space, making it impossible to be aware of anything else."How could I, when even I didn't know?" He kicks his legs out so he's sitting on the edge of the bed, resting the book on his bedside table.I fold my arms over my chest, fingers drumming against my ribs. "Who is he?""A Noble, from a far away land. I wouldn't worry yourself, he will not be here for very long," Hale muses dismissively. My eyes narrow."Can he kill me?" I as
The Immortal Prince 17
~VaelaGroaning, I let my book topple to my lap, unbothered by the loss of my page placement."This book is going to make me fall asleep."Hale seems reluctant to drag his attention from his own book. It’s a ritual, to sit with two chairs pulled up to the fire, indulging in quiet reading time together. We can read anywhere, and yet we have established silent agreement to be in each other’s company for it.I watch Hale’s eyes scan the cover of the book as I pick it up again. "You haven't gotten to the good part, that's why.""Is that right?” My eyes narrow.Suddenly, my pages flutter wildly, until they still. Hale lowers his hand, magic ceasing. I note his smirk, as my attention drags down to the page he has intentionally guided me to.A gasp get's caught in my throat as I skim over the writing.His hands drag up my thighs, fingers winding through the lace band of my panties, drawing them down my legs, revealing my-I look back up at Hale, whose smile suggests he's amused, although hi
The Immortal Prince 18
~VaelaI lean against the doorway to Hale’s office."Eyla is asleep." I inform him. Mercifully, it took little coaxing, having wrung all her energy out from the stress. "She will be okay."Hale sweeps a hand back through his hair, dark waves raining back down over his forehead. He’s been in here, simmering in his own anger. I came to terms with what happened to me a long time ago, so seeing Hale experience my death with fresh emotion is confronting."And you?" He asks gently.He speaks to me like he’s willing and ready to envelop me in a meaningful embrace if I need it. I’m almost weak enough to consider it."I'm numb," I murmur pitifully.His gaze softens. "Your grief will come."I practically fall into the room, leaning against the wall. I can't be alone, not yet. My fear is that once the lights darken, and I'm left to my own thoughts, my carefully constructed wall of valour will tumble down."I don’t want it to," I whisper. Hale exhales, as if he's working through my pain with me.
The Immortal Prince 19
~HaleI look at her over the crystal decanter I drink from, her back turned to me as she busies herself at the other end of the room with a notepad and a pen.Glancing to my left, I see my friend admiring her with the same intent stare. “I hate the way you look at her,” I growl.Vaela, and all her mortality, has no conception of what powerful men like myself and Larsen are capable of doing to her. We are natural predators, existing for wicked purposes only.It took me a long time to accept that I don’t have to lean into my true nature. That fighting it is far more rewarding.Resisting being an Immortal Sin keeps me alive.I see the restraint glimmering in Larsen. He wants to taunt her, play with her. Larsen is revered where he is from, but boredom plagues him as it does me.But he will not entertain himself with Vaela. I won’t allow it.“She’s easy to look at.” He swirls the liquid around his cup, entranced.Vaela is beautiful. Unnervingly so, in fact.She looks our way, but only for
The Immortal Prince 20
~VaelaPacing back and forth, I watch Hale, blissfully entertained by his sketchbook under the dim candlelight.“I’m bored,” I complain.“There are plenty of things to do,” he responds distractedly.After dinner, we found ourselves in one of the far, generally avoided rooms. I’m not sure why we stay away. It’s calm in here, with the low lighting, plenty of books and generous seating.“Not really. Larsen has returned to whatever hellscape he comes from, Eyla is working and…” I draw off, swinging my arms around hopelessly.“You could read?”“All I ever do is read these days.” I stride in front of him, back and forth. He doesn’t glance up.Groaning, I fall back into the chair opposite him in the most dramatic fashion I can manage. Boredom leeches from every pore, yet nothing sounds appetising enough to sate it.Getting out of the cave would help, but I can already anticipate Hale's reaction if I brought it up.Finally, Hale sets down his sketchbook, holding my gaze with him. “We can talk
The Immortal Prince 21
~VaelaEyla comes to stand over me, grabbing my book from my hands.“Hey!” I protest.“We are going out somewhere today,” she announces.She looks over her shoulder at Hale, who is busy adjusting a newly acquired painting on the far wall of the foyer. She expects him to refuse, but he remains distracted.I blink. “We are?”“Yes Vae.” She dumps the closed book onto the table beside me. My nose scrunches up irritably at my lost page.“It’s been two weeks, and you’re still mourning,” she exclaims, propping her hands on her hips.“You are too,” I retort.A lump immediately gathers in my throat. I’ve spent far too many nights buried under my pillow, sheets wound around my limbs as I cry in a vicious, soul-wrenching manner.Eyla is more of a bury it deep kind of mourner. Instead of acknowledging that finding my dead ex in such a state has traumatised her, she remains unshaken and adamant. I'm patiently waiting for it to catch up with her again, so I can be right there for it.“I know, which
The Immortal Prince 22
~VaelaThe sweeping motions of his brush against the rock are hypnotic, colours muddying together to create the base of a painting I know is going to be otherworldly.Just for me to sit out in this part of the cave with Hale, I’m bundled in three thick jackets, with multiple blankets layered over me. Still, I’m cold, but Hale’s skills are distracting enough.He pauses suddenly, tugging his brush from the flat slab of rock."I wouldn't kill you during sex, by the way." He doesn’t turn, leaving me to gape at the back of his head."What?"He starts painting again, this smile evident in his voice. "Your conversation with Eyla."I’m stunned.I’m tempted to stand, strip off all my jackets and send myself spiralling down the mountain. Hale’s shoulders shake ever-so-slightly from a faint laugh."Seriously? You have super hearing or something?" I snap, wilting against the rock, wondering if it would be a swift ending to just throw my head back against it forcefully.He gives a half shrug. "Bet
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