Bound by Blood ch.1

Chapter One

ONE

 
Something bad was coming. Evie could feel it. 
The Lamia mansion was quiet. Nightrealm and their companions strolled underneath the walled-in corridors surrounding the vast square courtyard wearing lush silk gowns and suits, staying within the safety of the concrete ceilings to avoid the unrelenting sun. 
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It all appeared perfectly normal. 
Except Evie was aware looks were deceiving. Only she knew that a storm was on the horizon. And whatever was coming was going to be bad. 
She was used to the familiar prickling running up her arms. But not the light burn. Her skin now feeling as if she had been out in the sun too long. 
It made her tense up and nearly break the half-finished flower crown she’d been working on for Hatchet.
Her stomach tightened into knots as she glanced down at the flower crown, finding one of the white flowers torn. 
Please...not again. 
It was too soon. She’d barely recovered from the last attack that happened to her just two weeks ago. Swallowing the fear crawling up her throat Evie glanced around her in apprehension. Searching as if the answer would show itself. Knowing it never did.
Yet it wasn’t the what that kept her hazel eyes scanning the courtyard. It was the who. Who would be responsible this time? Who would hurt her next?  
Evie searched for any signs of silver-golden hair or dark blonde. The only people willing to face the wrath of her dark prince were his two younger brothers and his father’s attendant. 
August. September. Lord Jain. 
Every encounter with them ended up with her nearly dying or gravely injured. Her left cheek throbbed at the reminder of the last time she’d stepped out of place, Lord Jain’s indifferent golden eyes flashing in her mind. She covered it with her hand. Trembling.
What’s the point of having these feelings if they never help me in time? Evie rubbed her no longer bruised cheek and inhaled, hoping to release the fear now coursing through her veins. 
If her gift- or curse- would have given her a hint as to what was coming that day she never would have talked back to Hatchet in the main hall where Lord Jain had seen. Or the time before that, when she’d found herself alone with September, Hatchet’s youngest brother, who’d decided to throw her over the third floor’s railing to see if she could fly. 
One of these days the warnings would come too little too late. And she wouldn’t just have a bruised cheek or barely be caught before slamming into the ground. 
Evie gripped her arms, the burning crawling over her skin in waves. She tried to breathe through the pain and growing panic but she couldn’t shake the trepidation slinking up her spine.  
I wish Hatchet was here... the eldest prince of the Lamia clan would protect her. Keep her safe from those that meant her harm. Or at least it would make her feel like she had a better chance at staying that way. 
The hushed voices coming from the pairs walking along the corridors caught her attention, and it didn’t take long to figure out they were talking about her. One pair in particular discussed her privilege and how she was undeserving of such a gift as to be allowed in the courtyard without supervision. Right after that they switched onto the topic Evie knew to be coming. The one all the humans whispered about when they thought she couldn’t hear them. 
Of how Hatchet had chosen her. How he overlooked all of their beauty and grace for a clumsy, chubby girl. 
Unworthy. Pathetic. 
That was how they all looked at her. 
When it had first been made official a year ago Evie had tried to defend herself and tell them she didn’t want to be a companion. She’d never asked for any of it. 
It hadn’t mattered though. Because they didn’t care that she hadn’t wanted to be Hatchet’s companion. 
They only cared that she was. 
That was enough to hate her. Enough to make her their enemy.  
Something small and solid hit her in the back of the head. Evie winced at the sudden sting before looking over her shoulder. What the heck? 
Her eyes spotted in the short cut grass a smooth, white stone that hadn’t been there before. Those stones lined the walkways. Hatchet had once told her his father wanted to make it look like he’d lined them with diamonds so as to appear richer than the Rose clan, the Lamia’s greatest enemy. Apparently their walkways had been embedded in diamonds and gold they were that rich. 
Evie liked the stones because they flickered in the sunlight and looked like coral shells beneath a calm ocean bed. Now that it was being used as a weapon to hurt her she wished Hatchet’s father had tried to embed them in the concrete and marble. 
She flicked a pensive look around the courtyard, careful to avoid making eye contact with any Nightrealm, searching for someone who looked pleased with themselves. 
None of the humans paid any attention to her, but she knew it had to have come from one of them. None of the Nightrealm would have dared--not because they respected her as a companion but because they were afraid of Hatchet. 
If he’d been there with her she’d never have been hit with the rock. Never would have gotten such open dirty looks or been the topic of conversation. 
Which wasn’t fair when she thought about it. She should have been able to stand up for herself without needing his protection everywhere she went. If Evie was even as remotely untouchable as Hatchet was then she would have stood up, bunched her fists by her sides and yelled at all of them- “It’s not my fault Hatchet chose me and I get special privileges. It’s not my fault he liked me better than you-” just like she was now imagining in her head. 
But she wasn’t untouchable. And she wasn’t stupid. Despite what both humans and Nightrealm thought about her she now knew better than to speak up in the presence of her superiors. A rule she wouldn’t soon forget after Jain’s correction when she’d made the mistake of breaking one of the cardinal rules of a companion: 
Never be heard, only seen. 
It had probably been whoever threw the rock’s intent -to get her to break the rules again and need to be corrected. Yet Evie feared that correction more than she did their harassment. More than she feared being denied meals and forced to do extra chores. 
Nothing- no amount of torment or taunts- would make her do something where she’d feel Lord Jain’s long fingers cruelly scraping against her skin again. The nightmares were enough of a reminder. Forever imprinted in her memories. 
Her stomach clenched and she had to grab it, the pain doubling. Caused by either the warning of the storm getting closer or the terrible moment she discovered what humans meant to Nightrealm. 
How dispensable they were. 
Hatchet was the only one who didn’t follow the beliefs of his clan. He was the only one who never struck her or made her feel ashamed for being human. 
Before she could feel the ease of having one person on her side the strong clang of a bell echoed in the main hall of the mansion, and all of her froze. 
Ding...ding.
Evie’s eyes widened. Oh no. 
The image of Hatchet standing up for her in front of Lord Jain disintegrated into one of him scowling and his charcoal gaze narrowing. His reprimand ringing as she stood from the grass and shook off the flowers that rested on her purple dress. 
Don’t be late, he’d warned her earlier that morning. 
Or she’d discover exactly why everyone feared him.