Page 137 of Treasured
Especially since Marius wasn’t even awake right now. Odette was taking him on a trip to the closest human settlement tomorrow during the day, so he was asleep. Lucky.
“Luna,” Sebastian growled.
I pulled my head out from the pillow and narrowed my eyes. “How come you aren’t sore? Yesterday I got in as many hits as you did.”
I still wasn’t a warrior, but I was getting better. Begrudgingly, I had to admit Sebastian’s teaching style had some merit.
The vampire prince to whom I was wed smirked, the expression only adding to his roguish just-rolled-out-of-bed-but-still-looked-amazing appearance. “I have three centuries on you, darling.”
“That doesn’t seem fair,” I grumbled.
I went to shift off the bed, but yesterday’s pain echoed through my body. I hadn’t even known it was possible to be this sore. I would have been black and blue all over if I’d still been human. Unfortunately, my vampiric skin was just as perfect as ever.
That was the problem with being a nearly immortal, almost too-perfect-to-be-real vampire. Inside, I still felt mortal things like exhaustion, hunger, and weariness, but on the outside, I looked like the rest of my kind.
Vampires were the perfect weapons—beautiful shells hiding the deadly beast within.
Even now, my shadows were eager to play. Apparently, they did not receive the message that I was exhausted and deserved to sleep longer. They wished to fight with Sebastian, to let my wings loose, and play with his darkness.
If the rest of me wasn’t a mass of aches and pains, I might have been amused by how the shadows were almost sentient.
It took significant cajoling, and an offer of coffee, before Sebastian finally convinced me to get out of bed. I sat on the edge of the mattress, giving him my best I could be sleeping right now glare as he dug through the wardrobe.
He emerged with a bundle of clothing. “Put these on, Luna.”
I fluttered my eyelashes at him. Really, I was willing to do anything to get to sleep a little longer. Maybe then, I’d feel better. “But what if we took a little nap—”
“We can sleep after the queen is dead.” His tone made it clear he wasn’t open to arguments. “You need to train.”
That’s what it always came down to. Honestly, I was starting to worry. Not about Sebastian, but about me.
If anything, the past week and a half had shown me exactly why Sebastian was known as the Prince of Darkness. All the fear I’d felt when I first came to Eleyta was justified. If I’d seen Sebastian in his darkest, most powerful, deepest moments, where the shadows took over and filled him, turning him into a creature of the night, I would have turned and run the other way.
Even now, knowing who he was, I couldn’t help but be both awed and slightly fearful of his power.
He was powerful and skilled. I was the weak one in this partnership. I was the one hurting after every session. I hadn’t told him yet, because he already had enough on his plate, but I couldn’t help but fear that I wasn’t going to be strong enough. That despite the soul sharing, despite the bond, despite the training, we would fail, and it would be my fault.
We would die—he would die—because of me.
That, more than anything else, haunted me.
But I didn’t want to say that to Sebastian.
So instead, I took the clothes from him and brushed my lips over his. “What about the coffee I was promised before my inevitable ass-kicking?”
His lips twitched. “I’ll go flag someone down.”
Shadows swirled around him, and then he was gone. I could feel his presence through the bond, though, and I knew he was in the hallway. Excited by the thought of coffee, I pulled off my nightgown and stepped into the attached bathing room. It was little more than a closet, containing only a mirror, toilet, and a sink, but it was enough.
Leaving the door open, I splashed water on my face and arms, letting the droplets run down my skin. Thank the gods, Lightriver Abbey was equipped with running water and boilers, just like Castle Sanguis. I was spoiled now and didn’t want to go back to living without such luxuries.
Water dripped off my face, and I couldn’t help but be captivated by the vampire looking back at me in the mirror. There was a strength behind my eyes that had never existed before. A darkness, too. Had it always been there, or had killing the Fledgling made it appear?
As I studied my reflection, shadows darted through my gaze. They didn’t scare me, though. Not anymore. The darkness was a part of me, just like the Sunwalking.
Sebastian’s gift hung between my breasts, the black stone smooth and gleaming as a small drop slid down it. I would never take it off, I vowed. This meant far more to me than my wedding ring. I’d seen him pick it up on the shores of the Black Sea. I knew what it meant to him.
I would cherish this forever.