Chapter Twenty Three

(Reagan's POV)

A Pureblood Galerian.

Was that the outcome if I chose to drink blood? Surely, it was Ryder's choice, but why would dad want me to know this? He already told me all I needed to know, or maybe he wasn't specific entirely.

"Ryder, a Pureblood Galerian? Please elaborate," I said. To be honest, I was half worried and half curious but either way, I had to know.

He nodded in affirmation. "Yes. A Pureblood Galerian, well to be specific, a Vampirian, in classification to a type of breed or specie."

I tilted my head to the side. "So, how did you came to be a Vampirian then?"

Ryder paused for a moment and looked at my dad for a go signal. "Is it okay, Luke?"

My dad nodded in agreement. "Yes, go ahead, kid."

Ryder averted his gaze back to me, his look that meant serious business. If this information was going to be gruesome for my own good, I was seriously going to be pure Galerian all the way.

He started to speak in his velvety voice. "I met Luke 10 years ago in Cleveland. He was a teacher back then, at a public high school that I went to." There was a faint smile forming on his lips. Perhaps he had fond memories in high school. Lucky for him.

I turned to face my dad, shocked with this new piece of information. "Dad? You were an academic dork? The epitome of high school hell?" I asked. I know I was exaggerating, but teachers were the deadliest beings that ever walked on planet Earth. In my opinion, that is.

My dad chuckled at my question. "Yes, sweetheart. Your daddy was an academic dork. When you age slowly, it was imperative to move around, since I look youthful like I haven't aged a day. Imagine the jobs that I had taken in different fields. Now listen to your cousin," he ordered as he grabbed for my hand and squeezed it for reassurance.

Ryder continued with a slight scowl on his face. This guy had temper issues to deal with. "He knew I was a Galerian, because a month before my birthday, I had severe migraines, occasional black outs and random use of abilities, a sign I was turning," I couldn't help but feet the need to stop him midway.

"That happened to me too. I had a killer migraine a few weeks ago and I just went terrorist on my ex-best friend, turning the parking lot into a scrap yard in the process," I said. I made a mental note before hand, to write out the almost kiss I had with Derek at the hospital. I wasn't sure if that was a related situation, but just for the sake of my dad, he might jump on him for taking advantage on his little girl. That would be a funny sight to see.

Ryder scowled at my interruption. What the hell was his problem anyway? He continued, and shot me a warning look, clearly implying me not to disrupt him.

"I was adopted, so I never knew who they were. My adoptive parents said the moment I was born, my biological parents sent me straight to the orphanage. To be exact, at the orphanage doorstep, in the confines of a little wicker basket wrapped around in a blue blanket. Your dad was the one who educated me with Alerian history. Everything in black and white, never concealing the truth. He even told me about the prophecy. When he spoke about choosing to feed on blood or not, I got curious. I wanted to know what would happen to me once I choose to feed. After my 18 birthday, I turned into a full Galerian, but the curiosity was still there. I gave it some time to analyze, because it was a big decision. I asked uncle what would happen, but he never knew the outcome. All of the Galerians were pure because they never opted to feed on blood, and for Mr. Mavros, he hadn't thought of trying it for himself. So a few weeks after, I decided to hell with it. I went to look for a victim that day, and I found Tracie, the school's slut. I know, typical, but that girl can do any favors for someone that has a penis," he said and grimaced, remembering the memory.

Tracie, without a doubt, reminded me of Rebecca. Hands down.

He shifted in his seat as he crossed his arms over his chest. "She was standing outside the club, waiting to get in. I thought, maybe I could convince her to come with me and um... talk," he paused, as he got uncomfortable talking further."I was getting the hang of my abilities, so I used persuasion on her," when he said the word talk, I couldn't help but snicker inwardly. Guys had weird choices of words to describe a dreadful moment.

He swallowed a big lump, his Adams apple doing an up and down motion as he continued with his tale. "I knew I didn't need to use my abilities, seeing how she threw herself at me, but I had to do it for precaution. We went to an alleyway and when the coast was clear, I pinned her to the wall. It felt like I was on automatic pilot. My decision to feed was the only thing on my mind, and the moment my teeth grazed on her exposed neck, I felt my canines elongated and that was my cue to plunge in. The taste of blood was exhilarating. It made me stronger as I sucked fervently on her blood. After a while, I let her go, and she was unconscious. I guess I drank too much, so I needed to control myself for the next feed."

He went on. "The next day, I was shocked with the changes. I was pale and very inhuman looking. I felt stronger, compared to my full Galerian state. My parents noticed the change, so I went to Luke. He decided that I should stay with him, just in case, and for my safety. He needed to document this outcome. For 10 years, with the help of Luke's friend, the Alerian historian, they came to a conclusion that I was no longer a pure Galerian, but a Pureblood Galerian. The blood activated the pureblood gene, hence made me immortal. In that span of 10 years, I had my doubts that I may be part of the direct descendants, or maybe not. But my eyes are identical to Luke's and yours, so it has to mean something," he finished with a sigh, clearly glad he was done.

Seeing the new light on this subject, Ryder's story was definitely a choice he made for himself. In some way, we may be related, but we couldn't conclude for sure, because he didn't know his parents, particularly the father. My dad gave him the option that led him to his curiosity. If my situation with Derek was different, I wouldn't hesitate turning the other cheek and be immortal. It was definitely a chance I had to take. But, he was betrothed, so there was no chance. This meant pure Galerian for me, all the way.

I squeezed my dad's hand and smiled. "Dad, how did you know about the direct descendants? " I asked. That was the thing he failed to tell me, and I needed to know.

He smiled back at me, his light blue eyes glowing with adoration. "It was passed down, honey. If a descendant is born, they should know the real deal. The direct descendants steered clear from The Pillars as much as possible, and I never wanted to be part of a group that upholds false pretenses. It's not a right thing to live for. They knew my true nature, much to the extent of bribing me with things beyond my wildest dream. Their intentions were pure and simple; to use me against the purebloods. Ever since you were born, I tried everything possible to sheild you from their power hungry eyes. They were ecstatic that a female direct descendant was finally born. With the prophecy, it will make the Alerians the superior race of the supernatural realm."

I was curious about The Pillars. Were they some sort of big shots for the Alerians? All this history was doing my head in. "Dad, who are The Pillars?" I asked.

It wasn't dad who answered the question. It was Derek, so I turned to the other side to face him."The Pillars are like the Elders, ma cherie. They too maintain the peace and order among the Alerians. Though we may have our squabbles, but the Sacred Laws of Coexistence had us in check," it was hard not to notice how different Derek looked today. He was cheerful and happy, as if something good happened to him today. I will suss him out later for that.

"Oh, okay. Well, all this information is doing my head in so..." I trailed for a moment. "What are we going to do today?" I said to no one in particular.

"We're going to the Syntagma square. I asked my historian friend about Sephrina's grave. It turns out the Alerians never knew what happened to Sephrina. Back then, it was documented that from time to time, Sephrina visits the place where Chezahrina and Andreas were executed, so maybe we could try our luck there for clues," my dad said as he stood up from his seat. I copied as well and slid out from my seat.

"I guess we should head out. Tourists are teeming at this hour of day," Derek said.

We all agreed and left the hotel, heading for Syntagma square. I'd only hope that we were one step closer in breaking the prophecy.



(Derek's POV)

The Syntagma Square was one of the most popular tourist attraction here in Athens, Greece. We didn't need any transportation, seeing it was just a walking distance from the hotel.

It was your typical park, but with rich history. There was a fountain in the middle with trees lining on the side. On the surrounding area were familiar buildings which could pinpoint landmarks, just in case if you would get lost.

The square was named after a constitution that King Otto was forced to grant after a military uprising back in September of 1843. Major events had happened in this very place; pep-rally's and wars fought that made Greece what it was today - great and the rich history it possessed. Though sacrifices were inevitable, the outcome would compensate the departed souls who bled and toiled for a new world.

Somehow, I could relate this to Alerians chosen path to greatness. They believed that killing my kind could propel their way to the top but, they had another thing coming. The purebloods weren't the only supernatural beings that ever existed in this world. If they hadn't overthought this through, their hunger for power, their hatred towards my kind, blinded them to see the bigger picture.

Walking into the entrance of the square, a sigh escaped my lips. If this trip were any different, I would have taken Reagan to sightseeing, since today's weather was perfect for it. The sky was majestically blue with clouds scattered, making the sun's shining rays illuminate the entire tourist spot with ethereal beauty.

We could have done the whole tourist thing together; taking pictures, eat Greek delicacy and buying mementos for us to keep. But, we were not here for a vacation, no, we were not. We were here to seek the breakage of the prophecy.

The square was filled with eager tourists, darting their heads left and right, taking pictures with their digital camera or DSLR for that matter.

I felt someone tugging at my hand. I didn't realize I was mulling conspicuously, so I looked to my side and saw the love my life with her face full of concern. "Derek, are you okay?" Reagan asked.

I smiled, though it didn't reach my eyes. "I'm fine, my sweet. Nothing is the matter."

She frowned, clearly not believing me. "Are you sure? You were happy back at the hotel."

I sighed and shook my head. I couldn't tell her what I was thinking, or else she might freak out. I needed to take this slow and easy if I wanted to woo this wonderful girl that I loved so much. "Don't worry about it, okay little one?" I leaned in to kiss her cheek and whispered. "I love you."

She looked taken aback at my sudden affection. We were accustomed to these kind of endearment, but the fierceness of the emotion that let out was indescribable. Nevertheless, she said it back anyway, but the tone was so familiar. Like she was holding back. "As I love you," she said softly and blushed. I find her tomato face quite amusing and well, cute, for the lack of better word.

"Guys!" someone yelled.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw Luke with Ryder and Cooper in tow, heading our way. I swung around to face them. "Yes?"

Luke slowed down his jog and focused his attention on me. "We need to spread out and look for anything significant. When you find anything, send a telepathic message," Luke said.

I nodded, agreeing with his idea. If we spread out, the coverage would be wider and easier for us. "That's amenable."

The three of them parted to different directions and I turned to face Reagan. "Little one, I won't be far from you, okay? Just send me telepathic message if something happens," I smiled to give her assurance. I didn't want to scare her since I would be leaving her side.

She rolled her eyes and smiled, but her hopelessness was evident on her face. She was losing hope, but I wouldn't have that. I hesitantly let her hand go and turned my back on her as I was determined to make a change.

(Reagan's POV)

An hour had passed and still, we had found nothing. I couldn't understand what we were looking for. Was there anything significant for us to search on this particular location? Surely that historian must have told dad false information, but why bother? What would be the point?

I was in the middle of the square, so I took a seat on the fountain's ledge and watched the tourists walking by. They were still marveling at how beautiful the place was. As the minutes drew past, my restlessness had began to creep into my body, so I stood up and started on my search again, but a jolt had me stop on my tracks. I was immobilized and I couldn't move a muscle.

What in the world just happened?

My surroundings were morphing into a different scene. I knew I was in the same place, but everything was different. No trees. No buildings. Tourists weren't there anymore.

The place was now filled with people, inhuman looking people.

Purebloods.

They were dressed in white tunics, male and female alike, glowing with pride and arrogance. They were surrounding the area, as if to witness something, and then a booming voice thundered throughout the air.

"Andreas Doukas and Chezahrina Mavros, I hereby sentenced you to death by beheading. Any parting words?" A man who looked to be in his early 30's spoke in Greek with such distaste towards them. He looked familiar to me, but I couldn't point my finger on it.

My eyes darted to two people who had their heads mushed to a make shift wooden slab.There were four purebloods; one on each side holding an axe, while the other two were behind, holding their body down.

I was witnessing the execution of Chezahrina and Andreas.

"Well?" the ancient pureblood asked irritability.

Andreas said nothing. He stayed still not saying anything at all to the man.

The pureblood averted his gaze to Chezahrina. "And you, slave?"

She didn't reply as well.

This was their final moment together. They sacrificed their life for their daughter to live. As the Ancient pureblood signaled for the execution to commence, the axe was lifted up in the air with its blade glistening on the morning light.

In a swift motion, the axe severed their heads from their body.

I tried to move - I wanted to, but I couldn't. The horror in witnessing their deaths was something that I didn't wished seeing. Why was I seeing this?

As I mulled from one question to another, the surroundings changed, but I was still in the same place. There were developments, since the place didn't look barren, so I guessed I was transported to a different time in Greece.

At the corner of my eye, I saw a woman heading towards the spot where Chezahrina and Andreas were executed. She had long wavy dark brown hair and pale blue eyes. Oddly, just like me.

Could it be?

She kneeled down and touched the spot where Chezahrina and Andreas took their last breath. She took out a knife and carved something on the spot. The grace she put into her carving was careful, probably for details. When she was done, she stood up and left.

Again, I wanted to run to the spot and see what she carved on the ground, but it was useless. I couldn't move my damn body.

"Let me move. Let me move," I chanted in my brain.

I was too agitated to know what she carved on that ground, and with another jolt, I felt someone shaking me vigorously.

"Reagan!"

I blinked and refocused my vision. I looked around my surroundings, and came to realize I was now back to present Greece. I looked down to see Derek gripping at the side of my arms with a frown on his face.

"Reagan, you spaced out. What happened?" he asked.

There was no time to answer his question, so I brushed him aside and power walked to the spot where I would assume was where Sephrina carved something on the ground. It was only a few paces away from the fountain, so it didn't take me more than a minute to get there. I knelt down and position myself on all fours to get a better look on the centuries old inscription.

This might be a clue. A step to breaking the prophecy.

I immediately sent a telepathic message to dad as the inscription gleamed like a shining beacon in my eyes, showing hope for Derek and I.

"Dad, I found something."