#Chapter 69 - The Final Battle

Adam’s POV

“You monster!” My father yelled at me. “What have you done with my children?!”

I smiled. “They’re fine, father. Nothing has befallen your precious youngsters.”

“Robert has been killed and the rest of them are missing, and you dare to tell me that they’re fine?!”

“And you dare to not raise me like your own! You old fool, don’t you get it?!”

My father, King Draven, reeled back. An astonished look was plastered on his face as I snapped back at him.

“You will give me the crown and I will become the new king of this decrepit old kingdom! I didn’t ask to be put on this realm to be mistreated and misguided by those I was supposed to call family.” I snarled at him.

“After all this time, you don’t get to call the shots anymore, father. Your time has long since passed!”

“You ungrateful and insolent little worm! I’ll have you spending the rest of your days in the dungeons for that–”

I crossed the distance between me and my father and wrapped my hands around his neck. Adrenaline spiked in my veins and I wanted nothing more than to kill him right then and there.

He was supposed to protect and love me, but instead, he tossed me aside like waste and treated me lesser than my siblings.

His eyes widened in horror as he tried to speak. “Y-your eyes… t-they’re… b-black! W-what did you do?!”

“I made a deal with the Devil, father. And it’s time you came to meet your maker.”

I forced his head back as I sank my fangs into the flesh of his neck. He tried to hit and scream as I drained him of enough blood to incapacitate him. Once his body went limp, I dragged him to the dungeons below.

After that, I called for an emergency meeting to address the vampire council directly. Once I told them of my crimes and they saw my black irises, they easily submitted before me. They crowned me as their new king on the spot.

“K-King Adam… What will be your first order of business…?”

I smiled as I threw my dagger at a picture of the map my father hung beside his throne in the room.

“To Noah. I have a Queen to rescue.”

Eloise’s POV

After a week passed, I felt as if I was back to my normal self. I was amazed at how fast my strength came back to me and happier that I was able to cast magic again.

Night had fallen and I was in Xavier’s study. Luckily, Eleanor had already gone to bed courtesy of Nora. Tonight, Xavier wanted my help with establishing new medical schools and other learning facilities in the Royal City and Gray.

Xavier kissed me on the cheek. “Your input and wisdom will always be valuable to me, my love. Thank you.”

I smiled. “Of course. I’m just glad–”

Our discussions were suddenly stopped as Captain Oliver rushed into the room. He was completely out of breath and was dressed in a full suit of armor.

“Captain Oliver, what is the meaning of this?”

“Apologies, Your Majesty.” Captain Oliver quickly bowed at me. “My Queen.”

“King Adam and an army of vampires have arrived outside of Noah’s gates.” Captain Oliver spoke.

“Adam?!” Xavier snarled.

“King?” I questioned.

Captain Oliver nodded his head. “Yes. Adrian and I have ensured the citizens stay in their homes tonight, although I have a squad of my men preparing the emergency tunnels beneath the castle. We’ll need you both on the battlefield immediately.”

Xavier and I took each other’s hands and wasted no time meeting the supposed new King Adam outside of Noah. We were astonished to see Adam wearing the crown that once belonged to King Draven.

The most horrifying thing about him was that his irises were completely blacked out.

Xavier squeezed my hand. “His eyes…”

“He’s been cursed by the Moon Goddess.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that he broke the pact his ancestors made to the Moon Goddess and fed on his kind to gain their powers.”

Xavier shivered and I did, too. I couldn’t imagine the horrors he submitted his people to. The man that stood in front of us wasn’t the same one I knew as a child.

He was now a Demon Vampire, cursed by hatred and greed.

“Eloise,” Adam’s voice was low, seductive, and dangerous. “Congratulations on having such a healthy baby.”

“You keep our daughter’s name out of your mouth!” Xavier snapped.

Adam glared at Xavier. “Calm down, mutt. I wasn’t talking to you.”

“That’s enough, Adam!” I yelled out. “Why are you here?”

Adam smiled. “Simple. To take you back home so that you may be my Queen of the Night.”

Xavier immediately shifted into his wolf form and stood between me and Adam. I instinctively got on his back.

“I will never go with you, Adam! You are not the man I once knew.”

Adam rolled his eyes. “You’re right, I’m not. I’m faster, stronger, and deadlier. If you refuse to come with me peacefully–”

“I refuse to go with you completely!”

Adam sighed. “Then, I will be taking you by force.”

In an instant, a final battle broke out on the fields of Noah. Adam was truly willing to go to the ends of the realm to get me to be with him. Too bad it would be his destruction and his undoing. He would fall just as quick as he rose.

Cries of war and heightened violence didn’t phase me this time; not after what I experienced back at Witches Land against Douglas. Sounds of sword against flesh made my skin crawl, though. I could even smell the burning flesh of the vampires.

Our swords… Are they pure silver?!

“Focus, Eloise!” I heard Xavier’s voice in my mind.

“Xavier? How am I hearing you right now?”

“It seems as if our Goddess restored the bond between us.”

I could hear the smile in the way Xavier spoke.

“Now, do as I say and attack when I do. Let’s end this once and for all!”

I nodded my head and followed Xavier’s commands. We were able to communicate with one another without uttering a single word. On top of that, my magical abilities seemed to be enhanced my bond and strength with Xavier.

One by one, we destroyed each vampire we came across. Xavier would rip off their heads and I’d throw a fireball spell to burn their corpses so they couldn’t be resurrected. We took no chances since they had a demon vampire as their king.

And with my abilities returned to me, I was able to cast an ancient shielding spell around me and Xavier. I swore to myself that I wasn’t going to let anything else happen to him–not like what happened before.

With precision and teamwork, Xavier and I dwindled Adam’s forces by more than half. We flew across the fields and found Adam on the outskirts of the battlefield.

His back was turned to us but when we approached, he immediately whirled around and threw a dagger straight at us. However, my shield magic was still up and surrounding us. It was as if an invisible force stopped the weapon from reaching us.

“I could’ve given you the world, Eloise!” Adam yelled. “Instead, you chose that mutt over me! You were supposed to be mine!”

“Adam, please…” I climbed off of Xavier.

I took a few steps towards Adam but Xavier howled in my mind.

“What are you doing?”

“Trust me, please.”

I heard Xavier growl behind me but he kept his distance.

“I thought you loved me, Eloise… You were always so kind to me growing up and that didn’t change when we got older. Did I do something to upset you? What did I do?”

“You didn’t do anything to upset me, Adam. Although I had wished you lived your life and found someone else to love than chase after me. It was I who hurt you, and I’m sorry.”

I cautiously continued to step forward as I raised my hands to show him I was unarmed.

“I do love you, Adam. Just not in the way you want me to.” My voice was calm.

“Y-you… you love me?” Adam completely ignored everything else I had said to him.

It was then that I knew that I could take advantage of his vulnerability, even though it pained me to do so. I hated that he was no longer the man I knew before, but now that I was a queen, I needed to protect my people.

Even if that meant killing someone who was supposed to be a friend.

“I’ve always loved you, Adam.” I smiled.

“What about Xavier?” Adam’s tone had become cold. “You bore him a child, an heir to the throne! You can’t tell me that you love the both of us!”

“And what if I do, Adam? Is that not good enough?”

“You belong to me!” Adam hissed. He started to take steps towards me, too.

Now were arm’s length apart. Adam took my hand in his and was surprisingly gentle about it.

“I’m willing to forgive what you’ve done to me, Eloise.” Adam’s voice broke. “I… I just want you to come home.”

I smiled. “I am home.”

I raised my hands to Adam’s shoulders as he shuddered underneath my touch. I watched as Adam closed his eyes and bent down as if he was ready to kiss me. I ran my fingers up his neck and began to stroke his skin gently.

I’m sorry, old friend.

Then I quickly heated my hands with a fire spell and wrapped my hands around his neck, causing him to burn under my touch. Adam hissed and shrieked as he grabbed me by the arms and threw me several feet away.

He bore his fangs at me. “You will pay for that!”

“Xavier, now!”

Xavier’s howl pierced the sky as he leaped onto Adam’s back. Because Xavier’s wolf form was so massive in comparison to Adam, it was hard for the vampire king to grab him from the back of the neck.

In a fraction of a second, Xavier sank his teeth into Adam’s neck and pulled away with such an incredible force that he severed the vampire king’s head from his body. I stared in horror and sadness but got up to cast a fireball spell onto his body.

Xavier nudged me with his nose and urged me to climb on his back once more.

I looked back at Adam’s burning corpse and at the others, we burned in the fields, too.

“You did it, Eloise.” Xavier’s voice praised me gently.

“We did it, my love. We did.”

I looked up towards the horizon and watched as the sun began to rise upon Noah. A tear rolled down my cheek as I wiped it away.

A new day was now upon us.

And now a new beginning shall bless the kingdom.