Over the course of the following days, they had packed and repacked everything they would need, it being mostly blood and weapons in case they needed them.
Kai had been unwilling to feed from her yet and she wouldn't let Jaia near enough to bite her, something they all pretended not to notice in the hopes that the issue between them would go away on its own. It wouldn't, but they were hopeful.
The next step was to find the Dragonkin, and they were going to be harder, given they were so reclusive and liked to not be found. She had never met one and was eager to find them, but they only had a rough idea on where they would be hiding out. It was going to be a month's travel and that was even if they ran the whole way, night and day.
The question of Etani's being able to walk in the day had been very quickly answered when they had been weighing the pros and cons of testing it and she had finally simply walked out of the dungeon and then had to be dragged back by Versalis, even though nothing had happened to her. He was still angry, along with the rest of them for simply risking her life like that.
Her interest had been more inside her family tree, and she was fascinated to see just how many of the men in her family were creatures that had never been heard to have a male population and she was amused that even inside Faerie, each species kept their men a very closely guarded secret indeed.
The Dragonkin were not actually dragons, but they had a very close affinity with the beasts and were even rumoured to mate with them, though she doubted it. They were generally an elf species that had existed long ago, changing their name when it was discovered that they were so closely linked to the dragons and now no one remembered what they had been called before.
It had only been fairly recently that Dragonkin of other species had come forward, expanding the variety. Daemon had told her that his daughter had married an elf and that it was unlikely for her to be one, given how far back it was in her family line. But the idea of being able to communicate and grow close to a dragon was something she hoped for.
When they had finally prepared, it was decided that rather than running the whole way, they would take a ship and she had been very, very opposed to the idea.
When she had been Fae, she had struggled to contain her hunger when crammed into such a small space with that many human men, their attraction to her kicking off her hunting instincts and had once resulted in her being left alone on a boat, watching sharks swimming around and not keen to become dinner.
It had taken seven months for the ship to finally drift close enough to a landmass for her to risk swimming to shore. She hadn't known what sharks were then, but they looked mean, and she had later learnt that they were man eaters.
When the option of taking a ship had come up, she had simply refused and crossed her arms. They had beaten her down and she had been forcefully dragged onto the stupid floating death trap and confined to her room to stop her from eating anyone.
She had been the first to leave the ship once they had come to port in a small fishing village and she had glared at her companions sourly, their amusement irking her.
It had taken them another day of travel to reach the forests in question and they had settled in to make camp.
The task of finding wood was decided and Etani stalked away with an amused Versalis following after her to keep her safe. She was still sore about having to be on a ship and their laughing at her.
His eyes met hers as they moved, collecting wood and kindling for the fire. He kept close by in case she needed him, but she was calm and had little need to worry with so many within shouting distance.
"Do you think it will take long to find them?" she asked, his grunt making her sigh.
"They will always hide, especially if they think they are being stalked. We should have been more careful, but it's too late now."
"Isn't everything too late now?" she asked moodily, and he laughed softly.
"Don't pout. We'll get this figured out. It's only a matter of time." He moved to her side, tenderly brushing his fingers over her cheek.
"Yes, but is it going to be too late?" she asked, turning her cheek into his palm and kissing his wrist.
He made a soft sound of pleasure and she smirked at his reaction. She couldn't help it, his pleasure satisfied her in ways she would never be able up understand.
"That's cheating," he growled, eyes hooded as he looked down at her.
"All's fair in love and war, my darling," she purred.
He growled and moved away from her, needing space from the vortex of pleasure and fantasies that she was.
Her grin was wicked, and he glared at her, but she knew he was only teasing her.
Moving away, she picked up another branch and moved to his side, her eyes sweeping the trees. It was a natural instinct for her to keep watch and she jerked when something touched her.
Spinning, she found a laughing Versalis with a branch that he had brushed her arm with.
"So tense, little vampire," he teased, and she growled, throwing her whole bundle at him.
He ducked and she grinned, but then her grin vanished as he went for her. Yelping, he caught her around the waist and slammed her to the ground. On top of her, he grinned and pinned her arms down above her head.
"You're getting slower," he purred. She stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "Will have to bleed that Fae a little more."
His face was an inch from hers and she smirked.
"Why don't you join me next time? He's delicious." It sounded innocent enough, but her tone had him pausing, his eyes narrowed.
"You'd like that, would you?" he was teasing her again, but she lifted an eyebrow.
"What's wrong? Don't want to share your things?" she challenged.
His lips pulled back from his teeth, and she pushed him.
"Maybe Jaia will."
He snarled, one hand going from her wrists to her throat, and she lifted her chin, defiant.
He exhaled slowly, and then his mouth came down on hers in a fierce, possessive kiss. Her lips met his in turn, her head lifting off the ground in her effort to reach him.
He growled in response to her groan of satisfaction at the taste of him. It was the most amazing thing she had ever tasted.
His hand moved down from her throat, and he lingered around her breast, tracing around but never quite touching her.
She whimpered as he drew back, eyes wary and he seemed to have a rational thought that wasn't driven by her being a vampire or his being her creator.
"Versalis..." she breathed as he moved off her, standing with his hands trembling.
He turned away as she stood, not understanding him.
"Etani, stop," he growled, holding out his hand to stop her approach.
She caught his hand and lifted it to her lips, a gentle kiss making him shudder.
Smiling, she tilted her head and bit his wrist. She didn't bite enough to break the skin, but it made him tremble and he looked back at her, trying to contain himself.
Watching with horrified fascination, she opened her mouth and bit hard on his wrist.
His blood filled her senses, and her saliva triggered his need.