Chapter 274 - The Duty of a Devourer (2/2)

Aegin sighed in exasperation as he turned away, ”Look, just eat over dinner, we'll talk more when we get back to the room”.

Devina looked as if she wanted to say more, but turned away and kept walking.

Aegin g.r.o.a.n.e.d internally. Gods almighty, was this what all women were like? Ebony was never this hard to get along with. In fact, what she had to say had usually brought him into line. Devina was just...or was it him? After all, he'd been dealing with Ebony as a human, not as a Vampire. Was it his change that was making this more difficult?

Why was he even thinking about this? He was hungry, and he was concerned about whether his potential food source would last with the current routine they had in place. Judging by her pallor and the nausea she'd been complaining of, probably not. And then there was the dizziness and headache that she had yet to mention but showed minute signs of. And then, though he was loath to admit it, there was the fact that the bond that he shared with her was telling him that she was not in a state to be fed upon.

Urgh, for a split second, Aegin actually agreed with his Hunger that he should end the suffering. But his Life Lines, or rather, the contract that he'd made with her unintentionally, were telling him that wasn't an option. He had to take care of her.

He had been taking slightly more than he should every couple of days to make sure he wouldn't go into any stages of starving. He could afford to let her rest a recover for a couple of days.

Resigning himself to the fact that he'd have to continue to keep up appearances yet wouldn't be able to wash away the horrid taste with some blood, Aegin grumpily sat through dinner. When Devina was done, the two walked back to the room, and Devina sat on the bed automatically, pulling down her collar for him.

”Not tonight,” said Aegin.

Devina looked up at him in surprise, ”You promised that you wouldn't feed on anyone else if I-”

”You're not well. You need time to recover,” said Aegin.

Devina frowned, ”I said I'm...do you get sick if you drink the blood of someone who is sick?”

Aegin raised an eyebrow, ”No...it just tastes bad”.

Devina sighed, ”Then I don't understand why you won't just take what you need. I'm perfectly fine”.

Aegin sighed in exasperation, ”No, Devina, you're not. And don't argue with me on this, because I can tell you're not through our connection. You can take a couple of days to rest and recover. It'll do you know good if I keep taking the blood you need to help you with that”.

Devina stood, a little too quickly, ”But won't you get...hungry?”

Aegin rolled his eyes, ”I'm always hungry, Devina. I thought we'd established that”.

Aegin then turned and headed for the door, ”Go the bed early, get some rest”.

The door closed before Devina could protest anything further. She hesitated before she sunk onto the bed. What should she do? She was supposed to provide him with his meals, yet she couldn't for a couple of days? What if...what if he sought it somewhere else? He'd have to...

But he said he'd be fine, right?

Devina, worried for the other passengers on the ship, only fell asleep late that night from exhaustion.