Chapter 9: Chapter Seven : Heart of Vacancy

“I know, I know, I should not have snapped at him. He was just a coworker. It’s inevitable that your field be dominated by the vulgar gender. But I saw how he was looking at you. Like a hungry wolf, wondering if he could take a bite. Please, if any of them dare lay a hand on you, tell me you’ll rip their greedy fingers to shreds.

“‘No?’

“What do you mean ‘no?’”

~~~

Hazel was face down in the bed of the spare room. It was a little more barren than Zinnia's room, lacking in personal touches, but still cooled by that Soppmoss. Hazel dully noted there were no mirrors here either, and the curtains were so long and heavy that they blocked nearly all the light.

She had dragged her trunk upstairs, taken a quick bath (cold, she didn't want to bother with the heater) and changed into her nightgown. Edelweiss waited for her in the bedroom, having dragged his lumpy, clanky pillow up onto the bed. She had collapsed beside him, the blankets stiff, unused, the smell of dust in the air. The mattress and pillows were both soft and feathery, at least. Not like the cotton mattress torn up by rats below…

But the thought that this bed had been someone else's, many someone else's, lingered in her mind. She didn’t dare blink. What if she saw death lingering in this very bed?

Edelweiss pulled his pillow closer, holding it in his jaws. He spun and settled back onto the pillow, and settled his head on her shoulder.

“I’m not one to judge,” he said. “But I thought your preference was to sleep under the blankets.”

Hazel opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again and slowly asked, “Does the bed… smell like Death?”

“Not in particular, no,” Edelweiss said, lifting his head to sniff the air. “Is that what you’re afraid of?”

“Everything just hit me all at once, Edelweiss,” Hazel said, staring dead ahead. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

“Then it’s simple,” he said. “Don’t.”

“But it’s something only I can do!” Hazel insisted. “And I….”

She closed her eyes. She had freed Aurelius, yes, but those nasty scars remained on his mind, making him act erratically. Unstable.

“I can’t just leave him like that,” she admitted quietly. “Someone’s in pain right before me. I can’t just leave him…”

“You very much can leave him,” Edelweiss stated simply. “In fact, I encourage you to. He’s putting my favorite pet human in danger.”

“But if I don’t help him, who will?”

“I must assert, it is only your problem because you are making it your problem,” Edelweiss insisted. “You’re acting as if he is your client, but he isn’t providing you any monetary compensation. You should at least ask for gold for your services.”

Hazel sighed. “You don’t know anything, Edelweiss…”

“Yes, I know very little of human ways,” Edelweiss said. “That’s what makes them such adorable pets.”

“Ha ha…” Hazel said flatly.

Hazel stroked Edelweiss’ head, and he snuggled into her chest, murring. Her homeland, High Valley, was tucked into one of the highest mountain ranges in the Southern Continent. It was a popular roost and nesting ground for entire casts of dragons. In exchange for living in peace, many humans performed odd jobs and services for the dragons. Her Coven in particular worked with a Dragon who often collected abandoned eggs, helping her to raise the many hatchlings that might emerge. Hazel had helped hatch Edelweiss from an egg before she had left for Delland, for the schools of Vivania.

The little dragons always showed uncanny intelligence. It was thought they’d learn from those around them while spending long years dormant inside an egg. As soon as they hatched, they were fully capable of speech, flight, and providing for themselves. Some stayed around the Coven’s little hamlet, finding humans curious.

It was fairly rare, but not unheard of, for a dragon to ‘adopt’ a human. Hazel had no idea how she was so lucky. In her youth, she chalked it up to being a very special Weaver Witch. But the older she got, the more she realized that it was because Edelweiss, for whatever reason, liked her.

If the little dragon was lucky, it would outlast Hazel by a millenia or more. Hazel felt blessed that he had decided to spend his first century or so with her.

Hazel hesitantly crawled under the blankets. She lifted Edelweiss from his pillow and held him tight in her arms, like she was a lonely little girl again. He tolerated it for a little while, curling against her chest. The dragon waited until her breathing was slow and even, then he wriggled out of her grip. He did a long and languid stretch, then dropped down from the bed and headed out the door to go hunt for his dinner.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

~~~

Hazel had trouble sleeping. She drifted in and out of a doze, mind turning over what she had seen, what she had felt. Pain. Death. Oppressive sensations. Even the glimpses of Aurelius’ memories had rattled her. Aurelius had to live with the weight of those memories in his mind. No wonder he sought that fleeting joy in blood.

She lingered on that glimpse of joy and passion she had seen. His embrace becoming warm as he drained Hazel of her blood. His happiness…

That craving…

Hazel squirmed, curling her legs against her chest.

“What a mess,” she whispered.

The door creaked open. She figured it was Edelweiss returning. Then she heard soft footsteps on the boards. She peeked up from her pillow as Aurelius sat on the edge of her bed.

Hazel’s heart gave a squeeze. He wore a loose white nightshirt and silk knickers, feet bare. Gods above and below, did he look so much better now that his complexion wasn’t statuesque. His cheeks and lips were flush with red, the tips of his long ears pink.

‘I gave him that too,’ Hazel thought, heart racing.

He leaned over her, and stroked the hair from her face. Shivers tingled across Hazel’s skin. She met his eyes. His face was quiet and pensive.

Voice low, he murmured, “Sorry… did I wake you?”

She shook her head into the pillow. “Trouble sleeping.”

He continued to stroke her hair. “Anyone would, after all you’ve been through.”

“Mm…” she mumbled.

He continued to stroke her hair. She closed her eyes, and let him.

“Such a pure hearted little witch,” Aurelius crooned. “It’s such a heavy burden I’ve laid on you. Forgive me for mocking your ignorance.”

She shook her head into the pillow. “It’s okay.”

“You’ve given me so much,” Aurelius said. “I find my thoughts so muddled… yet you. You are my rock in a storm. An angel descended to earth, taking pity on this poor lost soul.”

Hazel’s heart pounded. He was using his ‘fisherman’ voice. But Hazel didn’t mind it. It was like chocolate poured directly into her ears — or like blood poured down a vampire’s throat.

She craved it. She craved him.

She looked up. She didn’t dare hope for more. Yet, just as her face upturned, he met his lips with hers. Soft and warm, not a hint of the cold that plagued him when he was starving.

He retreated after a peck. Yet she dove back for him. Hands pulling against his shirt, she plunged against his lips, tasting him. His lips parted, and he leaned back into her.

Long and passionate, gasps of breath as he delicately teased her tongue with his, nibbling her lips with his fangs. There was something about him, something strange that made her mouth burn with pulsing warmth, tingling and numbing in bursts. She didn’t understand it, or even know if she liked it. But it was a taste, a sensation unique to him.

She was barely cognizant of what she was doing. Not until she felt him harden against her thigh.

Craving her.

She pulled away with some reluctance. “Zinnia…” she breathed.

“You know her better than I,” Aurelius said, smile warm. “She and I were just a casual fling, were we not?” He leaned down and crooned in her ear. “Is there anything wrong with a little fun?”

She felt her whole body burn and tingle, longing, craving coursing through her. She sank into the pillows, and gave her whole body over to his embrace.

He hovered over her, knees and hands on either side of her body, what dim light there was blocked by him. He cradled the side of her face and gave her a crooked smile.

“I just ask for one concession…” Aurelius said. “your mind reading ability. What activates it?”

Hazel panted under him, barely registering the question for five whole seconds. “Oh!” she finally said. “Um. I have to touch the Fabric of your mind… basically touch your head.”

“Then please, I ask that you not peer into my mind anymore. It’s all been…” He waved his hand around uncertainly. “A mess up here. I’d rather not frighten you again.”

“I can help…” Hazel started, instinctively reaching.

But Aurelius pressed his lips against hers. Soft, warm, and inviting. His breath smelled of blood, but the thought that it was her blood…

Her heart raced as he nibbled her lips.

“Darling little witch,” he crooned in her ear. “You’ve done enough for today. For now, let me help you.”

He placed a kiss on her chin, her neck — She gasped and squirmed under him. Aurelius kissed the place where he had bitten her, the lingering bruise aching. He cocked an eyebrow and nibbled on her shoulder, just a teasing bite. But she gasped, legs squirming as her womanhood ached.

“Oh?” he said, face lighting up. “Did you actually enjoy it?”

Hazel found herself nodding before she could even register the question. Of all the terrifying things that had happened yesterday, that moment of shared warmth, of blossoming joy, of feeding him, her body serving his glut…

He chuckled deep in his throat. “Well then…”

Her heart raced as he opened his mouth wide, and rested his teeth on her neck. On her bruise. She leaned into him, offering, offering more. Lost in the moment, she would feed him with all of her again. Just for the chance to see him flooded with joy again.

But he just chuckled and kissed the spot, saying, “I'll not tempt fate today.”

Hazel groaned. “You tease!!”

But her complaints were quickly silenced as his lips drifted down her chest. With deft skill, her body became his toy, played with by lips, by hands, and by the unfamiliar more inside. She was soon gasping, pressed deeper into the pillows, his pace rapid against her tender and untouched womanhood.

She could feel her whole body aching, begging for a climactic release. She wondered if he felt the same. He smiled above her, watching her intently. But there was a distance in his eyes. He stared not at her, but just above her shoulder.

He had asked her not to look… so she didn’t look deep. She blinked, peering at his emotions, seeking his joy.

But there was nothing. His head was a black void, devoid of all emotion. No joy. No passion. Just distant emptiness.

Hazel squeezed her eyes shut, tears welling even as her body submitted wholly to his.

Why?

Why did she look?