The Pain and the Power: Sequel to The Fang and the Flower (Tales of Tigrine Book 2) by J.J. Wright

Author:J.J. Wright [Wright, J.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-07-01T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 30

Chrysanthemum

That night, we told the Warriors about the Bloodlust. For a few long moments, marked by silence and the tick of a wall clock, it seemed that the newer Warriors were going to waver. But when Ty, Cherene, and Aryan pledged their devotion to Julian—for as long as it takes to break the Bloodlust—everyone else followed suit. Julian bowed his head in earnest gratitude—a vision of a leader, completely humbled. And that’s what makes him great.

Our hands never parted that evening. Even when we crossed the foot bridge to our suite after sending everyone off to their own dwellings. There were times when I stopped feeling his touch as separate from my own—when I couldn’t discern where I ended and he began. We were a single entity—an extension of one another.

He cried that night. When the dust had settled, and the reality of our circumstances finally set in. And when he let himself truly feel—he wept. The emotion poured from him as I held him in the sanctuary of my small arms, encompassed by the gauzy net above our bed.

***

Two weeks later, the Bloodlust has grown. It takes a little more of him each day. And I feel him slipping away—sand through the fingertips of my heart. At first, he joined me in studying the books of history and listening to his mother tell the oral histories—tapestries woven of colorful words, rich with emotion. They rendered me tearful on several occasions.

But today.

Today was different.

Today…I woke up alone.

The Bloodlust started in the evening—arriving earlier and earlier as each day passed–an unwelcome guest. Yesterday, we only made it until breakfast. And then he was gone. Or at least, the version of him that I’ve grown to love more than myself was gone.

Sometimes, he remains in human form, but the mask of Bloodlust is forced upon him. Jekyll and Hyde. It’s him but it’s not. The face of my lover, but the expression of a stranger. The Bloodlust flavors his voice, adding a gritty tenor. The tenor of a killer. It twists his mouth into one of easy violence instead of easy laughter.

It’s Julian. But not my Julian.

We never know which version we’ll get throughout the day. Either it’s that—Julian tainted—like a drop of vanilla added to a recipe, except it’s not vanilla, it’s poison. Julian in some sort of fugue state, committing acts he barely remembers.

Xannie has been staying with me whenever I’m alone. After two months in Tigrine, Kelsi went home a few days ago to visit her parents. She’ll be posting lots of disposable camera photos to social media—convincing the humans that we’re on some sort of gap year jungle experience. Convincing my parents that I’m still alive and well. Well, still alive anyway. But Xannie has stepped in during her absence. She sits beside me at meals and occupies my downtime while the Warriors manage the fallout from whatever atrocities Julian commits in the throes of Bloodlust. Although, Julian’s parents won’t let her study the history books with me.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.