Bloodborne Awakened (Borne of Blood Book 1) Read online

  Dearest Jessie,

  I know that if you are reading this letter, Kyle has found you at the Sanctuary. Before you get your panties in a bunch, let me say that I wanted to tell you everything when we went camping, but I ate way too many cookies and got the “-itus”. Those macaroons did me in! I fell asleep!

  When I woke up, and you were gone, I was terrified, but saw the necklace and realized you were probably taken by Jacob and his family back to the Sanctuary. I worried myself sick, hoping and praying you were okay. Kyle promised me he would find you and stay by your side until we got you back home with me.

  First, what you need to know is— yes, you are a Dragonborne, as am I. Your father, my son, is adopted, something you didn’t know, and your adoptive parents are not Dragonbornes. They have no idea what we are, and we need to keep it that way.

  I was going to tell you this year anyway, but when the school incident happened, I felt you were in danger and had your parents send you here for the summer. At least that way, I could tell you the truth of who you are.

  Your Gramps and I had a son, who you’ve never met, and I would like for you to meet him sometime when you return here. By the way, I’ve talked to your mom and dad and told them that you’re going to stay here for your last year of high school. I’ll make the arrangements for you to attend Bayshore High School. It’s a great school here in Weston. I’m sure you’ll do fine.

  Oh, Jessie, forgive me for not telling you sooner. I love you so much, dear. I want only the best for you. I promise, when you get back here, we’ll have a lot of fun as you learn more about yourself, and I’ll teach you about the Dragonbornes.

  Love,

  Grams

  P.S. Don’t let Kyle get you into any trouble.

  My world felt complete in the sense that my Grams knew I was alive and okay. I hated for them to lie to her like that, and a small part of me resented their motives. My thoughts pondered back to Jacob, then I realized that Bernice was the one who introduced us. Then more questions arose as to Bernice’s connection to the Bloodbornes, and if she knew my Grams was a Dragonborne.

  If Bernice was Jacob’s grandmother, then I wondered if she was Karina’s mother. Jacob was an heir to their throne. I pondered the thought of Bernice being royalty but then realized that their sons are heirs, not the women. And—what devious plan did Bernice have? I opened my Bento Box to find an array of food and grabbed my fork to dive in as I mulled over all possibilities.

  Bernice and Grams had been friends for as long as I remembered. The three women, Myrtle, Bernice, and Grams were always partnering in crime, so to speak. I couldn’t see either of them hiding the fact of who they were to one another—and yet, Grams hid it well from my adoptive parents. What I really wanted to know, though, was: How did Grams know I was a Dragonborne?

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  ∆

  The day started as usual, with the struggle to wake up and get dressed. Once I finished brushing through my hair, I flipped it into a ponytail and headed out the door. I joined in with a few other students as they made their way to the Dining Hall for breakfast. As I headed there, I saw Kyle sitting in a chair over to the left. He looked like he was so out of place, and lonely, despite most of the girls passing by giving him interested looks. Once I made it down the stairs, Kyle’s attention snapped over to me, his eyebrows rose, and it looked as though he sighed.

  “You okay?” I chuckled as I walked over to him.

  Kyle stood to his feet and took a deep breath. “Yeah, I just really feel out of place here. The girls look at me like I’m something to eat.”

  I laughed. “Are you saying you don’t enjoy getting attention from pretty girls?”

  Kyle lifted his brow as his lips broadened into a mischievous smile. “I’d prefer to be the hunter and not the hunted.” His voice was low and deep. “Besides, some of these girls seem too thirsty for my taste.”

  I pursed my lips together, then loosened them into a broad smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”

  Kyle’s mouth opened, and a smile swept over his face that showed me pearly-white teeth. He released a chuckle, looked down to the floor, and back to me again. “We should find the others.”

  “We should at least grab something to eat, first. I’m always starving.” I laughed as I directed Kyle into the Dining Hall.

  We entered through the large wooden doors, and it looked like the room and tables had been put back together. The buffet tables were up and complete with an array of breakfast foods. Everyone there seemed to be back to their usual selves, chatting and eating with their friend groups. The room looked like nothing had ever happened.

  I grabbed two plates and handed one to Kyle, then he followed behind me as I took him on a tour of the delicious breakfast buffet. I made my way to the turkey sausage and put a few pieces on my plate, then scooped up a spoonful of eggs. To finish off my masterpiece, I grabbed a piece of toast and met Kyle as he rounded the corner of the table. His plate was loaded, stacked high with potatoes, a variety of eggs, bacon, sausages, ham and at least three slices of bread. I lifted my brows as I looked from his plate to him.

  “Don’t judge me.” Kyle chuckled.

  I shook my head and laughed too. “Come on, I can probably fit you in over there.” I motioned to the table where I sat with my friends Jen and Donna.

  A familiar sight caught my eye as Kyle, and I moved toward the table where Jen and Donna sat. Leigh and her crew moved in long strides toward us, and from the smile on her face, I knew she couldn’t resist a confrontation. Just as I expected, she stopped about three feet in front of Kyle and me and placed one hand on her hip.

  “Well, I see you’re still here.” She laughed as she looked from Kyle to me.

  I lifted my brows and smirked. “See, this is what I think is so funny. Nothing has really changed—I’m still here, and you’re still a bitch.”

  “Is that so? I guess you forgot about the last time you lost your manners with me.” She laughed again, and her crew of two joined in with the humor.

  I shook my head and exchanged glances with Kyle.

  You got this? I heard his voice in my head.

  I nodded, then turned my attention back to Leigh as she twisted and brought her fist up toward me. I moved to the side as her fist passed right in front of my face. For a split second, the surprise of not hitting her target with all her strength unsettled her, and I took advantage of that. Swiftly, I switched my plate full of food to my left hand, then reached under Leigh’s chin and lifted her off her feet.

  “Kyle, did I tell you how hungry I am this morning?” I looked directly into Leigh’s surprised eyes as she made a futile attempt to claw herself free against my hand.

  Much to my surprise, her cat-claws had no effect against my skin. It was as though my skin had become as tough as nails.

  “You did mention you were starving,” Kyle concurred with a smirk.

  I felt my fangs descend and released a low growl at Leigh. “You aren’t the top dog on the food chain.” I released my hold on her neck and watched as she fell to the floor with a thud. “Lucky for you, I’m not into junk food.” I stepped aside and turned to Kyle as he stepped over Leigh.

  “Burn!” Kyle snickered, then followed behind me as I headed toward Jen and Donna’s table.

  “Good morning.” I pulled out a chair and sat down, then noticed the raised brows and opened mouths as I picked up my fork. But their attention was not on me, they were utterly mesmerized by Kyle.

  I watched it closely as if it were a movie. Jen’s expression softened, while Donna’s remained shocked as Kyle sat down at the table across from her, beside me. Both girls seem to freeze as they watched him dig into his food and shovel a colossal forkful into his mouth. At least he ate quietly and was completely absorbed with his plate.

  I cleared my throat, then poised myself, making sure my fangs had descended before I spoke. “And how are you two doing this morning?” Perhaps a little conversation would divert their attention awa
y from Kyle.

  Jen was the first one to crack. Her eyes darted to me as she grabbed her glass of orange juice and took a sip. “Good! I see you stood up to Leigh.” She giggled. “I don’t think she’ll be trying to fight you anymore after that.”

  My cheeks suddenly burned. “I don’t want to fight Leigh, but I did want her to know I was tired of her bullying.”

  Donna finally caved and drew herself into the conversation. “Yeah, sometimes people aren’t so lucky.” She shrugged. “I know I had to stand up to her as well when I first got here. It’s like she picks on weaker people.”

  Jen took another bite of her fruit, then turned to Donna. “She's probably having some type of inferiority complex. But anyhow—” Jen cleared her throat and darted her eyes from me to Kyle.

  “OH! I’m sorry. Kyle, these are my friends Jen and Donna—they’re cool. You’ve already met Tristan. Ladies, this is Kyle.”

  Kyle nodded, chewing, then swallowed his food. “Nice to meet you.”

  “I—uhm—heard you were a Dragonborne. Is that true?” Donna held her fork over her food and tapped it lightly.

  “Yes, it’s true.” Kyle took a long drink of water, then sat the glass down on the table.

  “Some people believe it was you who brought those creatures in here yesterday.” Donna leaned slightly forward and lowered her voice to above a whisper.

  “I didn’t have anything to do with those creatures,” Kyle replied, then went back to eating.

  “We’re going to try and find out what happened yesterday. I guess people have all kinds of theories about what happened.” Since Donna had heard the latest gossip, I decided to incline an ear to what else she had heard. However, her attention never left Kyle, and her narrowed gaze suggested something other than attraction.

  “Don’t Dragonbornes control demons?” Donna tapped her food again with her fork. At that point, I decided she must have some nervous twitch or something.

  Kyle stopped mid-bite and placed his fork down on the plate. His brow lifted as he looked directly into Donna’s eyes. “Dragonbornes do not control demons.”

  “But they controlled dragons—right?” Donna persisted.

  Kyle’s eyes narrowed into tight slits as his jaw muscles flexed. “Dragons aren’t demons.” He pushed his chair back and stood up. “I’m done here.”

  I looked toward Donna, then Kyle, and finally Jen. Jen looked as surprised as I was by Donna’s sudden behavior. I shook my head, then pushed my chair back as Kyle had already walked off. Before I left, I turned to Donna and gave her a hard glare.

  “What was that all about?” I snapped.

  “You should learn the history of the people before you hang out with them,” Donna snapped back.

  “Donna—” Jen jumped in with her squeaky little voice. “Just because Kyle’s a Dragonborne doesn’t mean that everyone is the same.”

  “They call this place a Sanctuary for a reason—to keep out Dragonbornes.” Donna rolled her eyes and abruptly pushed back her chair. Before I could say another word, she stood and stormed off into the opposite direction that Kyle went.

  I glanced back to Jen. “What’s she talking about?”

  Jen shook her head as a shadow of sorrow covered her eyes. “Her parents were killed by dragons.”

  I frowned and shook my head in confusion. “You mean Dragonbornes? Dragons don’t exist anymore.”

  Jen violently shook her head. “No—they do. Donna witnessed her parent’s death by two dragons. It happened when she was about seven. Donna’s been here ever since then. Her parents were High Guards, and out gathering the Dragon’s blood sap. It wasn’t anything dangerous, they heard that this sap could be used as a healing balm. Her mother was like Mia, a healer.”

  “But what has that got to do with Dragonbornes?” I asked softly.

  “Because Donna said that there was a lady there with the Dragons who controlled them. She had fiery red hair and had a tattoo of a red dragon on her neck, which is a symbol of Dragonbornes. It happened on the island where the purest form of Dragon’s Blood can be harvested. Anyways, the island has been forbidden to visit since then.”

  “What island? Where?”

  “I think she said it was, uhm, somewhere near the Arabian Sea. Socotra, I think it was.” Jen turned to look behind her, then back to me. “Look, I’ll talk to her and calm her down. But for the meantime, just keep Kyle away from her. I know it wasn’t his fault, but she still blames all Dragonbornes for what happened. Pain takes time to heal.” Jen’s gentle eyes looked up to me with hope.

  I gave Jen a nod and watched as she trailed off for her friend. Surprisingly enough, I had just found what possibly may be a clue to these demon hybrids. I drew my brows into a slight frown, as I realized that maybe what Jen said was true—Dragons do exist. Kyle said they went extinct, and if anyone would know about dragons, it would be a Dragonborne.

  The possibility that Kyle knew the real answer came with a fifty-fifty clause. As a Dragonborne, he knew dragons still existed, which meant he lied to me. The second clause ended with he really didn’t know that there were two dragons left. If the latter was true, then I questioned why the Dragonbornes didn’t know. Could it indeed be that the Bloodbornes kept this information secret from the Dragonbornes? I wanted to believe that Kyle didn’t lie to me. This would be something I needed to discuss with him right away.

  As I turned and headed toward the exit, the large wooden door swung opened. Gordon walked through the door, followed by Jacob. Gordon scanned the room briefly, then spotted me and made a beeline toward me. Once he made it within a couple of feet, not nearly enough for comfortable personal space, he stopped.

  “Jessie, I’ve been sent to escort you to the Elder’s hall.” Gordon’s firm voice was a bit more demanding than I’d like to hear.

  “I feel as though I’m under arrest or something.” I looked from Jacob to Gordon, confused.

  “It could be worse.” Gordon’s hand slipped around underneath my arm, and he directed me toward the exit and toward the Elder’s Hall.

  No one spoke as we walked down the long hall. I turned my head to Jacob, but when his eye’s met mine, it was a hint of sorrow, which made my chest tighten. I couldn’t have imagined what I’d done so wrong that put me in this situation. Jacob offered no hope, and neither did Gordon. I had thought they were on my side. As we rounded the corner, I could see the door to the Elder’s Hall in clear view.

  My lips suddenly felt as dry as my mouth. Gordon stopped in front of the door, then leaned in with his right hand, while still containing me with his left hand, to open the door.

  Inside, the Elders’ seats were filled, and Evan sat in the middle. Kyle sat below at the table, leaning forward with both forearms laid flat before him. As I was escorted down the aisle toward Kyle, I caught Mia sitting to my right. Her expression was unreadable as she maintained her focus on Evan and the Elders.

  Out of the Elders, the only one I recognized was Karina, because the others were shrouded from view thanks to their blue hoods. Gordon brought me to the table and motioned for me to sit down beside Kyle. I pulled the chair out and gave Kyle a questioning look.

  “Well, I see they summoned you as well.” Kyle chuckled, then shook his head.

  “What’s this about?” I lowered my voice softly and leaned slightly over when I noticed Jacob stepping behind Kyle, and Gordon behind me.

  “Quiet,” Gordon commanded.

  My gaze went from Gordon to Kyle, and then I lifted my brow and faced forward to Evan. His expression remained bleak—his lips drew into two fine lines, his jaw clenched tightly, and his eyes narrowed into two tiny slits as he glanced between Jacob and me. An atmosphere of dark gloom set in the room, and I feared the worst.

  “It has been brought to my attention that an assault was committed against one of our students.” Evan folded his hands together in front of him, then took a deep breath. “Jessie, we brought you here to help you, provide you with medical attention to save your life. Howe
ver, it was unbeknownst to us that you were in fact of Bloodborne descendant. We, the Elders of this Hall, have been lenient toward you concerning your new knowledge. Considering this, we have now learned you are a Dragonborne, and in such, it is in our best interest that you are made aware of our Laws concerning the infraction between Dragonbornes and Bloodbornes. Jessie, earlier this morning you had a confrontation with Leigh, a contender of the High Guard. Is this correct?”

  My throat tightened as my ears pulsated with the rapid beating of my heart. A nauseous and queasy feeling swept over me, which caused my palms to sweat. I couldn’t believe that I was here because of that bitch.

  “She attacked me yesterday and caused me to miss breakfast!” I snapped.

  “Jessie, she did not physically attack you to the point your life was endangered. I don’t believe you understand the consequences of your actions this morning. They have not gone without notice. You physically picked Leigh up off the ground by her neck and then dropped her body to the floor. Did you or did you not commit this act as I have stated?” Evan’s voice was firm, yet cold enough to cause a shiver to slither up my spine.

  “Yes, but she—” I began, and was abruptly cut off by Evan.

  “You made no intentions to inform us that you are, in fact, a Dragonborne?” Evan continued.

  “I was going to tell you, but—” I turned to Kyle for help, but he just shook his head.

  “Dragonbornes are natural enemies to Bloodbornes, and our tolerance is limited. Our law specifically states that ‘under penalty, any Dragonborne which has brought forth physical grievance, death, or otherwise harm to their being must be punished by death.’ What is your plea?” Evan stared down at me.

  My life? Death? I inhaled a deep breath and held it. Something had to be done, and this was not the way I had expected my life to begin or end.

  “Evan Wester!” Kyle stood up, pushing the chair back into Jacob, who tried to grab Kyle by the shoulders. Kyle shrugged out of Jacob’s hold on him and stood firm as his eyes narrowed toward Evan. “How dare you? I would ask you to consider your judgment very carefully. Since Jessie has been identified as a Dragonborne, she is under my protection and that of the Dragonborne High Court. If you dare to make a judgment on her, you will contend with the Lord Dragon, and that is something I know you don’t want.”