Red Ruin {Book One} ✔️ (CURRENTLY EDITING)

{ 36 }

After the crowd died down, we decided to start a small fire in the back and sit around it with some blood wine and stories.

The sound of Nora's laugh echoed throughout the yard, causing me to smile.

"Demitri, do you remember that one time we caught Devitt and that girl from the bar hooking up?" She hiccupped in between sentences, slightly effected by the plasma. "We were so bothered that Marcel screamed and ran off at the sight."

Throwing his head back, Demitri's eyes lit up at the memory. "He sure knew how to get the ladies."

I arched my brow, "Oh yeah? What about you?"

Rolling his eyes, he scanned my face. "Stop." He chuckled.

"I'm joking." I admitted truthfully.

A large smile spread across Nora's face, "I'm happy to see the two of you getting along. Long time coming." She tilted her head back and drank the last of her wine.

"Don't jinx us." I joked.

As the group went on talking about the past, I stood up. "Demitri can I talk to you for a minute?"

Nodding, he stood up behind me and followed me into the house.
Ignoring the hoots being shouted at us, I closed the sliding glass door and turned to him.

I took a deep breath, "So, before I caught Selene in your room, something weird happened."

He arched his brow, urging me to continue.

Chewing on my bottom lip, I glanced down at my feet. "That painting of the ocean in your hallway, did you paint it?"

Slowly nodding, he crossed his arms and shifted his weight.

"I touched it, and when I did, I saw you painting it. And I saw your sister."

As he let what I said sink in, his eyes went wide as he slowly rubbed the back of his neck.

"What?"

"That's your element." Was all he said before turning around and waltzing into the living room where the book shelves were. Once he found the book he was looking for, he sat down on the brown leather couch and opened it up.

Curious, I perched myself next to him and peered over his shoulder. The book in his hands was written in French, and I couldn't make out any of the words.

"What are you looking at?"

Peering into my eyes, he showed me the front. Éléments vampires was written in gold lettering across a black leather cover, meaning Vampire Elements.

I tilted my head in confusion.

"Each vampire Priest/Priestess has their own element. Like Selene's knowledge to automatically know every ones name, or Willow's talent to feel vibes off of people and know how genuine or terrible someone truly is. A vampire gets them when named their place as leader. But it seems you've already gotten yours. And it's quiet astonishing, might I say."

I shook my head, "Astonishing? How?"

"You have the element of seeing things when you touch them, like the painting. This actually makes sense, though. When you saw your fathers death, I thought it was just a dream you had. But it seems you gained your element before you even completed the change. That's so extremely rare Riah, you're a unique vampire. We always knew you'd be strong, but I guess we never realized how strong."

More confusion sprang through my chest as I looked into his eyes. I somewhat knew about elements, but I always thought I'd gain one when I was named Queen Priestess. But gaining it before the change? I don't think that's happened in a long  time, if not, ever.