36. Tristan

**Tristan**

Ever since I left the Vampire Palace, I keep looking over my shoulder because I didn't want my mother to find out where I am going.
Zeke and Xenos follow me and are as quiet as I am. They know that on this night, we have to be very discrete.
Snow covers the forest, but my feet barely touch as I walk as fast as I can. The moon is high above the trees, and a wolf howls in the distance, but I ignore it because I want to reach the little village at the forest's edge.
Fortunately, my mother ignores this village. She considers the people from it nothing more than cattle. It works perfectly for me. While the villages know what and who I am, they leave me alone as long as I don't touch them.
I visit the village once a month, and it is not for blood.
The village comes into view, and I breathe easily. Even if my mother doesn't know about my secret, there's always the possibility of her finding out. And it scares the hell out of me. Because if she ever finds out, she will destroy the only thing I love more than my life.
When I reach a little house, knock on the door, and hear her voice, I inhale deeply and prepare to see her—my sweet Sky.
The door opens, and Sky looks at me with her big silver eyes. She jumps in my arms, and I kiss her strawberry blond hair. "Father! You finally came! I missed you so much!"
"I missed you too! I also brought you something!"
I take out from my coat the present I brought her and give it to her. Sky opens it, and a big smile appears on her face when she
sees her new Barbie. She kisses my cheek before going to Zeke and Xenos. "Uncle Zeke! Uncle Xenos! I am so happy you are here!"
Katherine, the female that takes care of Sky, appears in the door frame and looks at me with disgust. "You finally decided to show up! What kind of a father are you, only visiting his child once every month?"
I sigh because the last time I came to see Sky, I had a fight with Katherine.
"Can I enter?" I ask her.
She shrugs. "It is your house. You can do as you want. Stay or leave; it is the same. But let me tell you, Tristan, the girl needs more than you are giving her!"
I look behind me, and to my relief, Zeke and Xenos are playing with Sky and her new toy. I enter the house and sit at the old table.
"I am doing the best I can, Katherine. Do you think I don't want to live with her and be a real father to her? I hate that I'm far away from her and miss her every day!" I say in an angry voice.
Katherine sits in front of me and looks at me with confused brown eyes. "Then why do you insist on keeping her here?"
"You know that if my mother finds out about Sky, she will kill her. And I refuse to lose my daughter!"
Katherine snorts. "You think you won't lose her if you keep insisting on keeping her in this God-forgotten village?"
"What the fuck am I supposed to do, Katherine? I can't take her to the Palace! She would be killed or, worse, turned into a slave!"
Katherine inhales deeply. "I know, Tristan, but she needs you! It is dangerous for her to keep living here!"
"No matter where she lives, she will still be in danger," I say.
"Because she is your daughter?"
"Because she is a hybrid!" I say.
"Father, what's a hybrid?" I hear Sky's voice coming from the door. I mentally kick myself because I have been too distracted arguing with Katherine and haven't paid attention to anything else. "It is something bad? I am something bad?"
Zeke and Xenos sit behind Sky and look at me with sad eyes. They love Sky as much as I do. They were present when Sky was born and have helped me take care of her ever since.
I rose from the chair as fast as I can go to my daughter. I kneel in front of her and look into her eyes. "You are perfect, Sky! Don't you ever forget this! You are good, sweet, and smart, and I love you very much! Zeke and Xenos also love you!"
"Then why can't I live with you?" Sky asks, and it breaks my heart because I want nothing more than to live with her. "Because I'm a hybrid?"
I nod. "The Vampire Palace is not safe for you, Sky. You are not like the other vampires, and they would not understand you. The safest place for you is with Katherine."
"When will it be safe to live with you, father?"
I know Sky has a lot of questions, and I want to answer all of them, but she is still too young to understand how hard I am fighting to protect her. But as long as my mother and brother are alive, Sky is in danger.
"When you will be older," I reply.
"But I am eight years old!" Sky pouts. "I already know how to take care of myself!"
"I know you can, but I made your mother a promise. That I will keep away from the danger of the Vampire Castle."
Sky's eyes fill with tears, and it breaks my heart because she will never meet Daphne, her mother.
"Tell me about my mother," Sky says.
"What do you want to know?" I ask her, but I already know the answer because it is always the same.
"Everything!" Sky says.
"She was the bravest female I have ever met! You have the same hair as her. When she entered a room, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at her," I say while I remember how Daphne could illuminate a room with her bright smile.
Katherine comes close to Sky and me. "Your mother has been my best friend, and there's not one day that I don't miss her."
Sky looks at Katherine with big, round eyes. "You never told me you knew my mother!"
Katherine inhales deeply. "It is hard for me to talk about Daphne. But she was the first one that helped me while I was living in the Vampire Palace." Katherine nods. "But you are not a vampire!" Sky looks at me. "If Katherine lived in the Vampire Palace, why can't I?"
Zeke puts his hand on Sky's right shoulder, "While Katherine is a hybrid, just like you, her life in the Palace hasn't been easy! Your mother fought hard to get Katherine away from that place."
"But one day, when you are older, we will live together," Xenos says.
I look at him and frown because I don't want him to make any promises to Sky.
"Do you mean that?" Sky asks Xenos.
Before he can reply, I take Sky's hand into mine, and she looks at me. "We will talk about this in a few years. If you are no longer in danger, we will live together."
Sky hugs me. "I love you, father!"
"I love you too, Sky!" I say back.
I spend some hours with Katherine and Sky, and I hate that I will have to leave soon because I know the next time I see them will be next month.
Before I leave the house, I take out my wallet. Katherine looks at me and frowns. "Money doesn't buy happiness!" she tells me.
"I know. But it will keep Sky and you feed and warm during the night," I say, and Katherine snorts.
While I hug and kiss Sky, my phone rings, I take it out and look to see who is calling me.
"Tatiana," I say.
"Fangs, I need your help!" the witch tells me.
I growl. "Can you stop calling me fangs?"
"Chupasangre, then," Tatiana says, and I roll my eyes. "When you stop rolling your eyes, I need you to look for three werewolves for me!"
"What am I, your errand boy?" I ask.
"Tristan, this is important!" the witch says.
"Go do your voodoo shit then!"
"I would do my voodoo, as you call it, but I am busy with other things!" Tatiana tells me in an angry tone.
Zeke opens the door, and I almost drop my phone when I see Sinn and his knights standing in front of the house.
My knights take out their weapons and move in front of Sky and Katherine.
"I would love to help you, but I am afraid I can't," I say before hanging up.
My brother looks at me with eyes full of hate.
"You thought you could keep her a secret?" Sinn spats his words in my direction.
"How did you find out?" I ask, ignoring his question.
"I know everything that goes on in my Palace. Katherine, glad to see you again. It will be a joy to have you back at the festivities," Sinn says, and I hear Katherine inhaling deeply.
My brother's knights attack Zeke and Xenos, but I don't fear for them. My knights are one of the best, if not the best fighters in the Vampire Palace.
I move close to Katherine and whisper to her, hoping Sinn won't hear what I say. "While Zeke, Xenos, and I distract my brother, you take Sky far away from here! You already know where you have to go!"
"Tristan—" Katherine tries to protest, but I don't let her finish.
"Remember your promise!" I say before joining the fight.
I use my claws and fangs to attack Sinn. I go straight for his black heart, hoping I will rip it from his chest with my bare hands. Sinn goes for my neck while I start clawing his chest.
While I fight my brother, Katherine slips by with Sky. Katherine might only be half-werewolf, but she is very fast. Sky wants to say something, but Katherine presses her little face in the crook of ther neck before running as if demons are chasing her.
I concentrate on the fight, but someone hits me in the back of my head, and everything turns black.
When I wake up, I am in the dungeons. I am alone in the cell and tied to the wall.
Moans and cries of pain come from other cells, and I know it will soon be my turn, but as long as Sky and Katherine are far away from this place, I don't care what happens to me. I only hope that Zeke and Xenos escaped.
The door opens, and I brace myself for what's to come.
"We only have five minutes to get you out of here!" Oana says before entering the cell. My knights follow her.