Blood Legacy Chapter 103: 101. Alone again

A long and audible sigh passed through my lips, hands propped under my chin as I sat there on one of the wooden stairs, absently staring around.

I was bored. Bored out of my mind. I'd woken up this morning to a completely empty house and a note on the fridge from Darius, stating that he will be out for a little while and that I was on my own today. He did warn me that I was not to try to run away though because it would be dangerous for me and there were wild animals in the forest and he would catch me again anyway and blah blah blah...

*Yeah, whatever.* As if I would ever try again to run away with no shoes on. And with those large and ugly manly clothes he kept giving me to wear. I would trip and fall after only two steps. I didn't need another week of having to nurse and wait for my injuries to heal. Been there, done that. I was on my good behavior now. I was way too interested to learn how to wield and control that magic he kept talking about. Even though he'd only instructed me to try and find it first. Whatever that meant.

*"Focus, Care. You have to grasp it first. Find that source within,"* I mumbled under my breath, mimicking his manly stupid voice.

*Yeah, right. Easy for you to say.* He'd grown up with it. Learned about it all his life. He'd even started wielding it right away after coming back to life like he'd said.

He hadn't woken up one day like I did with nasty dreams and visions all of sudden. He hadn't known that feeling of terror or helplessness, that angst of not knowing what the hell was going on with him or why. He'd had all the available info served to him on a silver platter. He'd been taught how to wield it. By my own father. My own father who hadn't even had the slightest idea that the future king actually had that power buried deep within him. He just thought that it would be useful to teach him how to handle me. Control me. His future wife. Maybe even use me for his own gains should he ever need it.

*Fucking heartless asshole.*

Good thing I did get to say all those things I've told him that day. My second day at the castle. And then I ran away and fainted like the pathetic little anxious girl I was.

*Shaman blood. Magic wielder.* I was no magic wielder. I was just a stupid little girl who had absolutely no idea what she was getting into.

A naïve and feeble little girl, bound to marry and trade her life away. Her magic, her very soul.

Apparently, there was a special ritual the new king and queen were required to perform right after the wedding that involved binding themselves to each other, giving the king complete and utter control over the queen's power and her very life. And they all knew about it. Even Nathan. Every future king was required to be priorly taught about that certain rule. And because Darius had given up on the throne to be with the one he loved, all that knowledge and responsibility was passed on to his younger brother. He knew about it. They all knew about it.

And they made a laughing stock out of me.

That was why they were in such a hurry to have Nathan and I married as soon as possible. Why they hadn't bothered explaining to me what my magic was and what I could do with it. Why Nathan had kept me so conveniently occupied with his dick and his false whispers of love. They didn't want me to know. They needed to keep me in the dark until the deed was done and I had no choice but to bend to their rules. They needed me dumb and obedient. Just so that they could use me in the end. And all that with my own father's knowledge and complete agreement of it.

I'd cried for days after he'd told me. I'd even called him a liar and tried to run away again. But of course he caught me again and then I did the next best thing. I locked myself up in that room he'd given me. I even managed to spend a few good hours starving myself again until he threatened to leave me without a door, so I kinda had to give up and let him feed me. I didn't want to, and I had no will left in me but he made me do it. He forced me to go on just like he said he'd do if he had to, all those weeks ago when he first fed me.

I was still kinda angry at him but not that much now. Because deep down, I knew that he was right. I had to keep going. For myself.

I knew that he hadn't lied to me either. He had no reason to. He had his own powers to wield, his own soulmate he'd loved and lost. He'd given up power for love. He could've stayed on the path laid out for him by his parents and ancestors. He could've married me and kept that girl as a mistress, winning from both sides. But he didn't. Which was was more than I could tell about my own so-called *soulmate.*

*"Don't worry, Lysander, you will have your stupid wedding. And that ritual. I'm not THAT dumb. I will not jeopardise the lives of my people..."* I could remember his words even now, ringing so loud and clear in my head. It had all been just a game for him. A ruse to make me fall in love with him so he could take me and use me however he saw fit. That was all I ever was to him. A plaything, just like he'd told Estefany all those months ago at the beginning of the school year.

Damn. I was such a fucking moron back then. He proved how bad he was for me, time and time again and yet I let him take from me however much he pleased. I let him take my heart, my body, my mind. And he was just about to take even my soul too.

*Good thing I was rescued at the very last moment.*

I absently made my way back into the kitchen and smiled as I looked into the fridge, my eyes trained on the nice and yummy-looking casserole sitting right there in front of me. *Maybe he did leave me all alone for the day but he certainly hadn't forgotten to keep me fed.*

Too bad I was not exactly hungry. That french toast I'd found this morning sitting on the counter had definitely stuffed me full. And now I was actually craving for a little bit of sugar. And he was not here, meaning that I couldn't ask him to whip something up for me or bake me some goodies.

*Damn. I really would've liked some of those danish cookies he makes.* I let out a pout, aimlessly looking around the kitchen. Great. Now I had to come up with something on my own.

I started to roam through the lower cabinets first, going through every single one since this was the very first time I was actually opening them. Up until now, he'd been the one preparing the food, setting up the table and even loading up the dishwasher right after. I hadn't gotten to do a single thing ever since I got here. He was pretty much treating me like a princess. And I couldn't help but like it. Way too much for my own good.

I mean sure, it did make me feel kinda bored at times but he made up for all that, reading novels for me or watching old movies with me in the only room that had a TV and a VCR. His.

I blew out a breath through my nose once I was finished searching through the lower cabinets, a little disappointed that I haven't found anything yet.

But I still had the top part left. So I dragged a high stool closer towards the counter and climbed up on it -since they were all actually pretty high, adjusted for his own height- and opened the first cabinet, finding a bag of cereals.

*Bleagh.*

I immediately climbed down and moved the chair on to the next cabinet, climbing right back up to have a look.

Several types of pasta.

Next.

A shitload of glasses.

Next.

A pair of...handcuffs and a gun? *What in the hell?*

I quickly grabbed it and checked if it had any bullets, surprised to find none in the magazine. Huh.

"Well that was weird," I lightly shook my head and then moved on to the next cabinet, my eyes widening with surprise and delight like a kid that had just received his present early.

A bottle of vodka.

Holy shit, if I would've known that he had this stashed in here all along...

Well at least I've found it now.

I grinned like a Cheshire cat and wrapped my greedy fingers around it, pulling it towards me.

"You and I are going to have so much fun today..."