Endless

Chapter 25

Malik

I walked out into what I had subconsciously named the lunchroom. Warriors chatted with each other, drinking and laughing. It was different yet so similar to my coven.

As I looked around, I hardly noticed one of the warriors walking up to me until she was only a foot away.

"Hey, you're from the east coven right? You came here with master Cyrus." She said in a friendly manner. I looked her up and down for a moment. She was showing quite a bit of skin, much like the others, and she was barefoot. Her dark hair was in a tight braid that laid down her back.

"Yes, my name is Malik." I said offering my hand.

"Adria, pleasure to meet you." She responded while shaking my hand.

"Would you like to have a drink? There's not much to do within the coven, most of us are either in here drinking or outside training in the mountains." She said smiling.

I nodded, grateful for her kindness. I was worried about the warriors here being hostile towards me.

We sat down at a somewhat empty table, she called over a guy with tan skin and short dark hair.

"Get us some blood wine." She said a bit bluntly, I raised a brow. The guy bowed and rushed over to the bar area. It was then I noticed there were others getting ordered around just like him. Then it hit me.

"Is he a dove?" I asked Adria.

"Yeah, we use to just keep them locked up in one of the covens wings but master Bellona had the brilliant idea of letting them work. Now they're more than just cows to us, I think it's great." She looked at me and smiled. "What does your coven do with doves?"

I was a bit appalled by what I was hearing and had to swallow hard before answering.

"Well, they have their own floor and are free to come and go from the coven as they please with the masters permission. They're basically treated like everyone else, we see it as without them, we would starve or have to hunt, we need them more than they need us." I said firmly, I didn't like how many vampires today still treat humans as cattle or slaves, it's wrong and unfair.

Adria looked at me as if I had just spoken to her in gibberish.

"Interesting, I guess." She said as the dove came back with our drinks. I thanked him with a smile but he didn't return the gesture, the man kept his head down and gave a slight bow before quickly walking away.

I looked down at my cup, which was more like a goblet. It was a dull gold color with small, intricate designs on it. The liquid inside was a mixture of human blood and red wine, a fairly common drink.

I took a sip, embellishing in the flavor, it had been awhile since I had had this drink. I never get the time to sit at the bar back home anymore, the only times I get to drink blood wine is when Xavier makes it for me on special occasions.

"How does it taste?" Adria asked snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Great, it's been awhile since I've had one of these." I said truthfully, she nodded with a smile.

"I have to ask, why do you want to become a master? I mean it just seems so boring, Bellona rarely leaves. The rest of us are pretty much always outside, I just couldn't stay inside all the time like she does." She said resting her head on her hand, I shook my head.

"I've never wanted to become a master, Cyrus just chose me. In fact, I never wanted to be part of a coven." I said letting out a breath.

"Then why did you stay? You're allowed to leave, aren't you?" Adria tilted her head, her braid falling to the side with her.

"At first I thought I had to, my parents were so proud that the master warrior hand picked me to join his coven. When I became older, I realized I didn't have to stay, but then I found a reason to." I said with a small smile.

"And what's the reason?"

"I found my mate, Xavier, without him I would have never stayed. He was born in the coven, and even though he doesn't possess many skills of a warrior, he has never really wanted to leave." I sighed, reminiscing about my love and our first few encounters.

We were friends at first, both in training together. In fact, he was the first person besides Cyrus I had met in the coven.

I excelled in every test given to me during our training; strength, speed, weaponry, intellectual, everything. I was the top of the class, Xavier however, lacked most skills needed to be a warrior. He was smart, but not strong, quick, but not good with weapons.

The other young vampires teased him relentlessly, saying he would never be a true warrior and would be kicked from the coven. Xavier confided in me about it once and seeing him so upset threw me into a rage.

So, being the kind of guy I was in my younger years, I beat all of them up. Every single one of them who hurt him, I beat them to a pulp. It was one of the few times in my life I went a little to far.

I never told Xavier what I did to those guys, but after that they stopped messing with him and our relationship grew.

I helped him train, teaching him how to use a short blade while he helped me learn Latin, the only thing I struggled with, mostly because I hated it. After we were marked as true warriors, he moved into my place and we've been in love ever since.

I would have never stayed in the coven if it wasn't for him. I could live anywhere as long as he is with me.

"Xavier seems like a lucky guy." Adria said with a smile, but I shook my head with a grin.

"You're wrong, I'm the lucky one."