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6
Mina’s head throbbed. Rolling over, she shoved the warm furs from her chest and took a gasping breath as she stretched, banishing the sleep from her muscles.
Where was she? The last thing she remembered was running through the trees, and then…as she lay there flashes came back to her of pain, and blood. She remembered looking up into the eyes of the king, watching the skin burn from his face. He’d gone in the sun for her. Had he died?
Sitting up, she looked around in a panic. Her eyes scanned the tent. She was back in the camp, dressed in soft silk robes, the cut on her arm had been bandaged, and the one on her forehead was gone. Probing it with her fingers she frowned, how had that healed so quickly?
Something moved in her peripheral vision, and she jumped as she noticed Vlad was stretched on a pair of chairs beside the fire, his head propped at an awkward angle as he slept, snoring softly.
She slid her legs to the side of the bed, and he shot upright breathing heavily. His eyes went wild, scanning the tent for some sign of a threat. If it weren’t for her pounding headache, she would’ve found him comical.
“Relax, it’s just me,” she grumbled, moving to the basin of freshwater set a few paces away from the bed on a small table.
“You should be resting,” he said, clearing his throat.
“I’m hot, I just need to splash some water on my face,” she said, dipping her hands into the basin. It felt good against her skin, but as she scrubbed her face, she felt the woozy ache pass through her from head to toe and had to steady herself.
“Are you alright?” He asked, darting towards her.
She felt his hand at the small of her back and leaned into it groaning. “You’re so cold.”
He jerked his hand away. “I’m sorry.”
“No,” she said, turning around. “I feel like I’m burning up.”
“Oh.” He laughed, letting her take his hand and press it to her forehead.
Mina knew it was dumb, but his touch felt euphoric after being in that bed, trapped under the fur. Opening one eye she glared up at him. “Don’t think this means I’m not still angry with you.”
“I thought as much,” he said. “How are you feeling aside from being warm?”
“I have a headache, but other than that I’m relatively unharmed,” she said. “Care to explain what in the Crone’s name happened to me? I remember crossing the border and then just pain. Nothing but unbridled pain.”
“It is the price of passing through the Black Mist,” he explained. “We cannot cross into Distova without a witch’s intervention. It is only by their power that the curse doesn’t harm us.”
She jerked back and looked up at him with wide eyes. “Curse? What curse? Did you make me a vampire while I slept?”
He pressed his lips together into a thin line and shook his head. “No. You’d certainly know if I’d forced the turn on you. That’s not something you sleep through or forget.”
“Then explain,” she said, shoving her hands hard into his shoulders. She had intended to knock him back a step, but he didn’t budge. Her hands, however, burned as if she’d struck a wall of solid stone. “What have you done to me? Why can’t I walk in the sun?”
“You can walk in the sun,” he said. “You just can’t walk beyond the mist.”
“That’s the same thing.” She laughed without humor. “You live in a kingdom of perpetual night.”
“That’s not…quite true,” he said, wandering over to a table at the side of the tent. Pouring a drink. “But being on this side of the mist means you’ve been cursed just like the rest of us. Had you stayed for no more than a few minutes it wouldn’t have taken hold, but you’ve been on this side too long now.”
“What is this curse, who created it?” She hissed through her teeth, anger boiling inside her chest.
“It keeps us, and most of the monsters that lurk on our side of the mountains from invading the human lands. It was…it was made by The Great Coven. A group of witches centuries ago who thought they could tame my kind.”
“Centuries ago…” she swallowed around a sudden lump in her throat, and tears gathered in her eyes. “So, it’s safe to assume there is no cure. I’m trapped here for the rest of my life.”
A dark shadow crossed Vlad’s face as he turned back around to face her, holding out a glass of brown liquid. “I’m afraid so.”
Mina shook her head, and raked her fingers through her hair, tugging it hard. She had to think. There had to be a way out, a way to get back to her father, to Aria, and her life in Distova.
She began to pace the tent, padding barefoot across the rugs that had been laid out as a makeshift floor. Her eyes glanced over everything around her, but nothing offered any inspiration. All she knew was she was stuck. She was to be the bride of the vampire king and she’d never see her family again. She’d never see her home again.
