Chapter 43 - Bianca

The air shifts around me as I stand watching from the door. A woman dressed in a flowy kaftan is escorted in by the mage with the dark skin, Souleymane. She cries out and falls to the unconscious body of Rio as Astrid clutches his hand on the other side of the bed. The woman wails out his name but Souleymane assures her that he's still alive. My eyes trail from Rio's chest slowly rising and falling, towards Astrid.

"Corinthia," Souleymane says, "your son is a strong man. He will pull through."

"What exactly is he pulling through from?" she asks, her voice now stoic and steady.

He pauses for a second, but his head tilts towards Astrid, quietly in search of an answer.

"I don't know."

Nobody really knows what happened to Rio, not the mages nor, I think, Astrid judging by the way she watches him intently and expectedly as if waiting to catch any sudden movements. I could tell them it was the song she sang, but there would be no further explanation. Even Astrid, who sang the song, couldn't say what it did. It was a shot in the dark.

"I am never leaving your side," Corinthia whispers and places a kiss on Rio's forehead.

Souleymane exits the room and prompts me to follow him as he closes the door. The last thing I see is the twitch on Rio's brow as Corinthia leans back from her kiss.

"Miss Greywood," Souleymane speaks as we walk down the hallway. "Do you have the ring?"

I reach inside my jeans pocket to retrieve the ring I took from Valentina as soon as the mages brought down the barrier in fear that the First Son would return. However, by the silence that followed from Astrid's song, something told me he wouldn't be returning any time soon.

"What will you do with it?" I ask.

"Destroy it."

I hand it over.

"We never should have forged it to begin with," Souleymane says, closing his fists tightly as he receives the ring. "All creation has a price to pay and we saw for ourselves how that turns out."

"Do you think the First Son paid that price again?"

I study Souleymane's expression, a deep scowl protruding from his brow. His face looks like it's used to worry, the type that carves itself out on people with high responsibilities.

"I have this sinking feeling that Rio is the one paying the price right now," he replies.

"What does that mean though?"

Souleymane shakes his head.

"We'll see when he wakes up..."

...if he wakes up.

I finish his unspoken words in my head.

Souleymane takes me through the foyer towards a room from which I hear faint laughter. The sound startles me from the lack of life and joy of the past couple of hours. Souleymane tells me to join my friends, bows and takes his leave as I notice his fist turning white from clenching the daylight ring.

I enter the room, a dining room, with a long oval table around which Alex, Ganzorig, Demi and Kobe are sat.

"Bianca," Kobe calls, all smiles. "Come join us."

"Where's Valentina?" I ask.

"It was thought best to leave her resting in the hall," he replies. "Don't worry, she's comfortable. I made sure of it."

"I should go check..."

"Stay!" Kobe exclaims, abruptly standing up. "Please, eat something at least."

I gauge the others' reaction, feeling a little out of sorts at Kobe's insistence. For the most part, Alex and Demi both curtly smile and nod, while Ganzorig shakes his head subtly. My stomach grumbles at the smell of the steaming coffee on the table among other things. I oblige the Lycan prince and take the seat he opens right next to him.

Kobe fusses about, pouring me a cup of coffee and ordering some Omegas to bring me food. The curtains flap against the open balcony door as the light shower outside ushers in cool winds. The sky in the horizon is no longer dark, but shifting towards a lighter hue.

"So, what were you guys talking about?" I ask.

Alex darts his eyes between Ganzorig and Demi, the curly haired blonde Delta, as the two smile knowingly at one another.

"Gan was just telling us whether we met his expectations as 'model Lycans'," Demi answers gleefully. "We're not perfect that much I can tell you."

"But you look very cool and strong," Ganzorig flexes his muscles.

I raise my eyebrows towards Alex, who blinks at me at this exchange. I didn't have the chance to speak more to 'Gan' before but I sort of expected him to be a little more introverted than this display of flirting—if that's what he's doing. Well, it must be because it's certainly working on Demi who is giggling delightfully to herself.

"You never said that about me," Alex chimes in.

"I mean about Lycan women," Ganzorig retorts. "But you're also cool and strong, Alex."

"That's all I needed to hear," Alex winks.

Kobe sets a plate full of meats and bread and salad with a smaller side of fruits. My stomach growls in hunger, but the coffee I sip on manages to quench enough of it that I munch on the apple slices.

"It's all thanks to our lifestyle," Kobe interjects. "We are a warrior race after all."

I scoff into my cup.

"All that has become redundant now," I remark cryptically.

"I refuse to believe that," Kobe shakes his head. "I know the Moon Goddess still cares. Otherwise, what's the point of creating our three races? No, she can't have meant for the First Son to obliterate us all."

"Well, she meant it. And where is she now? Gone."

"Bianca, you can't seriously be this pessimistic."

"Why not? Nothing good can last forever."

"That's why we have to hold on to hope."

"You are," I start to rebuke Kobe with gritted teeth, "a Lycan with Alpha blood coursing through your veins, second in line, draped in so much privilege and arrogance. Of course, you would say that and not realize the reality of the world you live in. You think you lord over it, but no, it lords over you."

I find myself glaring at Kobe. His hazel eyes turn softer the more I look at them. He shrugs.

"Be that as it may," he says, "hope makes it much easier to navigate through the world that lords over you."

"I'd rather spend my time doing something than sitting around hoping for nothing."

I get up having quickly scorched my mouth with the hot coffee and head out towards the hall where Valentina is said to be resting. A sudden burst of sunlight shines through the stained glass motif above the tall front entrance as I descend the foyer, the gentle pitter patter of the rain outside dampening its intensity.

I open the golden doors of the hall and a flash of the dark dealings from just a few hours back runs across my mind. The room is dark and dimly lit with an empty futon and a blood bag in the middle of it that do not bring 'comfortable' to mind. Kobe did not make sure of anything.

Valentina is awake and peeling back a velvet curtain, stepping aside from the ray of light that enters the grand room, and peering through to observe the view. The door shuts behind me with an echoing thud.

"The sun is fighting awfully hard to penetrate the rain," she says in a quiet voice that resonates through the empty room. "It's unbecoming of her."

"Well, we did all we could so I think we should just let the cosmos do its thing while the rest of us do our own thing as well."

I walk closer to Valentina, who watches the rain, unmoved at my presence. She exhales sharply.

"What thing will you be doing then, Bianca?"

"I have a lot of learning to do. About myself."

"Have you made any discoveries yet?"

"Yes. I realize what a cynical asshole I've become."

Valentina looks back at me and laughs. The sound of it resounds deep within me and I soon find myself chuckling at my own self-deprecation.

"It's taken you this long to realize the thing that I have witnessed first-hand in loving somebody who loves someone completely out of their reach."

"Guess I have to work on making better choices," I shrug.

"Yes, maybe next time you'll choose someone who chooses you too."

"In that case, I'll choose myself."

Valentina's breath hitches as her brow turn up in pity; for her and for me.

"What about you?" I ask.

"As soon as the sun goes down, I'll leave this place and return to Oscura. I'd better get there before Larry runs the whole place down to the ground. After all, Silver Bow's pretty boring without a little vampiric flourish."

Valentina winks and I find myself smiling.

"Say hi to Larry for me."

She nods. Despite having been the First Son's involuntary puppet, it amuses me how she can think of returning to normalcy with such ease. Maybe it gets easier when you've lived for centuries.

She gently caresses the side of my arm and licks her lips. I know what's coming next.

"You'll always have a place to stay at Oscura," she whispers and grabs my hand, placing a soft kiss upon it.

"Thanks, Valentina."

Her heavy sigh brushes across my face gently when I suddenly realize how close she's gotten to me. Her half-shut eyes dart up and down, settling into an intense gaze that reminds me of better times. She inches in closer and stops, leaving an open question hanging in the air.

I answer, crashing into her like high-tide on a sandy shore—wild and deep, but temporary.