Luna continued. “But yes, for the most part, I believe I know the same as others in the Four Kingdoms when it comes to vampires.”
Equally intrigued and fascinated, which was becoming a regular occurrence where this human was concerned, I raised a brow.“What is this knowledge that ‘mostly everyone’ has?”
Holding up her fingers, Luna ticked off items from her hand. “I think it’s fairly clear that your kind drinks blood to survive—a fact which you so kindly confirmed for me moments ago. In addition, I know with fairly high certainty that you are immortal, and clearly, you are nocturnal.” She turned to me, her brown eyes wide. “Am I correct?”
I couldn’t help but smile. I seemed to do that a lot around Luna, even with the less-than-delightful news of our Tethering. “Yes, you are. Although, technically, I would say that vampires aren’t truly immortal.”
“Oh?” She raised a brow, tilting her head. “What do you mean?”
“We can be killed, of course.”
“Of course.”
An awkward pause filled the air, and Luna fidgeted with her dress. I ran my hands over the quilted navy blue comforter on the bed, wishing I had something else to say.
“Isvana is the moon goddess,” I blurted out.
Luna narrowed her eyes. “Isvana?”
“You asked earlier,” I said hurriedly. “You said you didn’t know who she was. Isvana is the goddess of the moon and the mother of all vampires. She’s—”
“Yours.”
I smiled, keeping my fangs hidden. For some reason I wasn’t fully ready to delve in to, I didn’t want to scare Luna. Not when she was speaking so openly with me.
“Yes. Isvana is ours.” Running my hand over the markings of our Binding, memories of the first time I visited the Red Temple flashed through my mind. I had been newly Made when Mother took me to make an offering to Isvana after my wings and shadows made themselves known.
“Like Kydona is my goddess,” Luna said softly.
Ipothans, like many Ithenmyrians, worshiped Kydona. I always found it odd that despite the differences between the two countries, they held similar religious practices.
I nodded. “When Isvana first created my kind, she made it so we require the blood of others to survive.”
“I assumed as much,” Luna replied softly. Rubbing her neck once more, she pursed her lips. “Although I can’t imagine that drinking blood is… pleasurable.”
She was wrong about that. It was a well-known fact among vampires that our bite brought immense pleasure to our Source. But this wasn’t the time for that.
“It took some getting used to,” I admitted.
A moment passed as we sat in silence.
Luna turned, running her fingers over my Binding Mark. Her touch was gentle, and not for the first time, I realized how much smaller she was than me.
“Tell me about the Binding,” she requested quietly.
“It is…. special.” I searched for the right words as she traced the markings on my wrist. Her touch made it hard to concentrate, but I did not want her to stop. Isvana only knew Luna would hate me soon enough. “It brings two people together. Usually, they are both vampires, but it can be done with vampires and other beings.”
“Like humans,” she suggested.
I nodded. “Like humans. Bindings are… Well, exactly what they sound like. They bind two beings together—although I have seen a few Bindings where there are three or more people Bound into the same group.”
“What does itdo, Sebastian?”
Rubbing the back of my neck, I decided that just telling her outright was probably the best course of action. “Bindings bring life forces together, tying them together throughout all eternity. It also means that while Bound Partners can drink the blood of others, it doesn’t do much to help ease their appetite.”
As if to prove my point, my stomach twisted angrily.
Luna’s hand stilled on my wrist, and she stared at me. Her mouth opened and closed as she processed everything I said. I was fairly certain I had told her about what the Binding did on the night of our wedding, but clearly, it hadn’t set in. At least, not fully.