Chapter 26

Alina

When I woke up, it was already five in the afternoon and Erick was nowhere to be seen. Giving him my blood made me weak, so Erick let me rest for the day. On the other hand, he had to leave to investigate the slaughter and find out who was helping Emiel by providing him the required arms.
By now, all we could confirm was that Emiel had broken free of Marcellus’s line of descendants, and no one in their family could trace him. It was as if he had disappeared from the face of the Earth. But we knew for sure that he was getting help from somewhere because it would be impossible for one person alone to decapitate eight members of the Royal Guard. The question was, who could it be?
Getting up, I took a quick shower and dressed in the coral pink top and black jeans that had been laid out for me yet again. Leaving my hair down to dry, I came out of the bathroom to find Kendrick standing by the bed with a glass of orange juice in hand. I gave him a look.
“You’ve already given him a lot of your blood, Alina. Any more, and you’d be too weak to even get up.” He held out the juice for me to take. “Now, be a good girl and drink up. It’s only orange juice.”
I gulped it down in one go, only just realising how thirsty I was. “Where’s Erick?”
“Downstairs. Your presence is required there, too. There’s someone that you should meet.”
“Okay.” Kendrick looked like he had a chance to shower and shave. “How’s Mia? What about those other vampires that attacked Erick?”
“Mia’s going to be okay. Her arm will heal in a month or so.” He looked worried. “We tracked down the vampires, but they were all dead by the time we reached them. Emiel must have done it to erase all evidence or....”
“Or whoever is helping Emiel had it done themselves so we couldn’t trace it back to them.” I finished for him, rubbing the back of my neck. “What about the people in my building? How about my apartment?” I really wanted it to be okay. It had been my sanctuary for four years, but even as I hoped against hope, I knew I could no longer go back there. Not if I wanted to stay alive.
“They’re alright. They don’t remember a thing.” His face told me everything I needed to know even before he said it. “As of your apartment, all your belongings are being brought here because it’s no longer safe for you to go there. Emiel already knows the place, and so does any other vampire who would want to have a sip out of the future queen.”
“Okay.” I took a deep breath to calm myself. I was a journal editor. I should’ve been used to the world changing around me all the time. “So, who’s this person I need to meet?”
“Your great grandfather.”
“Say what?”

****

“You cannot be my great grandfather!”
Erick snorted, holding in his laughter, while Kendrick looked at me wide-eyed. The man... my great grandfather, raised an eyebrow in a perfectly sculptured face that could very well belong to a Calvin Klein model. The man in front of me was no doubt a vampire. How could that be? I was a descendant of a vampire?
“Alina,” Erick started and got up from his seat to stand next to me, placing his hand on my lower back reassuringly, “this is Aaron Cain, a part of the vampire nobility and the head of the Cain clan, your great grandfather. It was his son that married a human.”
“Oh.” Aaron Cain looked to be in his early thirties, though there was an undertone of power to him. He had jet black hair and a handsome face with a square jaw and chiselled looks. He was really tall at almost six foot six inches with a build to match. I was having a hard time believing that we were related. Why didn’t my mom or dad ever tell me about this? His hair, though, is the same shade as my mom’s while I got my brown from my dad. Somehow, I seemed to have similar features to him when my mom looked more like my grandmother. So there was no denying that we were indeed related.
“Kamia,” Aaron spoke for the first time to address me. His voice was deep and husky, one that could hold the attention of an entire room without needing to raise an octave.
“Huh?” I stared at him, debating whether or not to ask him what he meant. Did he just insult me?
“It’s Vampiara, the ancient language of vampires. He said hello.” Erick translated for me, but I could hear laughter in my mind.
“Hi,” I said awkwardly, not knowing what else to say. I felt so confused right now. According to what they were saying, my mom was a descendant of a vampire, and so was I. Is that why she had such good relations with Kenna?
“Alina, you hold the features of a true Cain better than your mother did.” He seemed to have an accent I couldn’t place.
“B-but how?” I asked. “I don’t understand. I mean…”
“Human blood acts as a diluter,” it was Erick who spoke. “Once a vampire mates with a human and have a child, that child will have mixed blood. If further mating with a human is allowed, one day, a child will be born completely human.”
“It’s what happened in my family as well.” Aaron picked up after Erick. “Your mother was the last person to have a very little amount of vampire power in her blood. It was why she looked more like an immortal. But you, great granddaughter, are completely human. The line of purity came to an end with you. Yet, it must also begin with you. You are to be the royal bride, after all.”
“Alina?” Erick tightened his arms around me when I would’ve fallen to my knees.
“I think I need to sit down.”
“Sure.” Erick took my hand to lead me to one of the sofas and sat me down on it. He took a seat beside me then, placing his arms around me once again. “Are you okay?”
“This was why I was chosen as your bride, wasn’t it?” I asked, everything becoming clear to me all of a sudden. “It was because my mother was a descendent of the noble family.”
“Yes, it was why you were chosen.” Erick confirmed. “The Cain clan is one of our most trusted allies. Our parents have been looking out for each other in times of need. Wanting to turn their friendship into something more, they decided to arrange this marriage between their children so that their line can once again be purified and their friendship can turn into a bloodline relationship.”
“Is that so.” I didn’t know why I felt so gloomy all of a sudden. I finally knew the reason why I was chosen as Erick’s bride after so many years. Yet, I didn’t feel happy knowing this.
“Alina, Aaron here wants to give you a gift,” Erick said helpfully, holding me closer to his body.
“But there’s really no need to—”
“It’s a family heirloom,” Aaron cut in, holding forward a velvet box in front of me. “It’s been passed down through generations. This belongs to you now. Wear it on your wedding day.”
“Thank you.” I took the box from him and saw his nod of approval.
“I’ll see you tomorrow after the wedding,” he told me and then turned to Erick. “I’ll be leaving now, son. Take good care of her.”
“I will.” Erick smiled. “Before you go, do you know when will she be arriving?”
“Some say tomorrow, but I think she’s already here,”Aaron replied before walking away. Erick’s hand tightened around my waist a fraction of a second before releasing it.
“Is everything alright?” I asked when I saw frown lines marking his forehead.
“Yes, nothing to worry about,” Erick said, smiling slightly.
“That’s the fakest smile I’ve ever seen in my entire life.”
Erick barked out a laughter. “It’s nothing, Alina, really.” He took my hand and pulled me along with him towards the kitchen. “You’ll know everything tomorrow. Now, you need to eat something, or you’re gonna faint.”
My stomach grumbled in approval.

****

“You’re not going to a bachelor’s party?”
Erick nearly spat out the whiskey he had been drinking. “You want me to hang out with my best buddies in a strip club and feed off the dancers?”
“Well, when you put it like that… ” It was too late. I noticed Erick’s wicked grin and the twinkle in his eyes.
“We don’t have a bachelor’s party before the wedding, but we do have a get together after, by the time you would have met everyone else and become friends with a few. I can already tell that you would be inseparable from Jordan’s wife. She’s from one of the noble families too, and she’s a hurricane. You’ll like her a lot.”
Surprised at my own jealousy, I crushed the urge to ask more about her history with him. Why was I suddenly jealous of a woman who I had never met and on top of that, already married?
“You’re concerned about what you learned today, aren’t you? About why you were chosen as my bride.”
I stared at him wide-eyed. “How did you know?”
“It’s written all over your face. You’re hurt.” He poured himself another glass of whiskey.
“Hurt wouldn’t be an appropriate word. It’s more like shocked,” I told him. “It’s just, I don’t know… a feeling that I have. I don’t think I understand myself what I feel about the whole thing.”
“Hey.” Erick took one of my hands in his. “I’ve had that feeling for a long time about having the most important decision in my life predetermined. It was why I couldn’t stand you for such a long time. It wasn’t until I really hurt you that I came to realize how much you meant to me.” He kissed the back of my hand lightly. “Just know that whatever our families decided isn’t important anymore. I chose you as my bride, or I wouldn’t be putting so much effort into this.
How did he do it? How did he judge my moods so correctly every time I felt down? How did he know exactly what to say to me and when to say it in order for me to feel better? Too overwhelmed with emotions, I couldn’t speak for a long time. I just didn’t know what to say.
Instead, I focused on a different topic. “Do you think I should wear the necklace Aaron gave me on our wedding?” I still had trouble thinking of him as my great grandfather.
“Yes,” was Erick’s instant answer as he placed the empty glass on the table in front of us. After an early dinner, Erick and I came to the terrace to enjoy the cool breeze and a glass of wine. In Erick’s case, it was whiskey. “Pendants and rings belonging to royal or noble families have special abilities. Not only do they protect their wearers, but they also make your social status clear to everyone so no one messes with you. They’re very special and obviously doused with some protection spell or something. So, yeah. You should definitely wear it and never take it off.”
“But how are they special?” I asked the question that had been spinning around in my mind since my ring protected me from Emiel. “Are they made of some kind of a special metal? Or is it—”
“It’s magic.”
“Excuse me?” Did I just hear Erick Stayton say magic?”
“Yes, they are ancient artefacts specially designed to hold magic. They’re sealed with spells to protect the wearer.” He picked up his half-filled glass and took a sip from it, all the while watching me carefully.
“Spells?” I raised an eyebrow. “As in witches?”
“Mages,” he corrected. “Witch is a human invented term. They call themselves mages. They are unique people who hold special and mysterious powers. They’re divided by covens just as humans are divided by religion. You’ll be meeting some of them tomorrow.”
“How will I know if it’s a mage or not? Do they look like us?” I asked, intrigued. This might just be the most interesting news I had heard in eons. Witches were real! How cool was that?
“Yes, everyone does, but there is one way you can easily recognize them.” Erick purposely dragged the suspense. “You can do so by a mark on any part of their body. It’s almost like a tattoo, but you’ll be able to tell the difference. Every mage must bear the mark of their family and their coven. It’s what helps us recognize them.”
“How do they use magic? Do they use voodoo dolls or crystal orbs?”
“Hell no! What on Earth gave you those notions?” Erick frowned. “They use simple physics and transformation of energy. Earth is like an endless repository of energy, and mages have the ability to draw that energy out and use it as required.”
I stared at him dumbfounded. Damn! This was like going back to Supernatural Kindergarten. What the hell did I get myself into? “Okay, drop it all at once. I can take it, don’t worry.”
Erick burst out laughing, the sound deep and husky. “I highly doubt that, Faintista.”
“Oh, shut up!” I blushed at the moniker he gave me. If only I wasn’t always fainting around him. “Now, tell me already!”
“My dearest, Alina, you’ve waited this long to know about our world, I’m sure you can handle one more day.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer. Though the intimacy was still unfamiliar, I didn’t feel uncomfortable. “You’ll get the summary of the whole story tomorrow during the cleansing.”
“Oh, I forgot to ask. Who’ll be doing this cleansing ceremony?”
“My mother.” He smirked. “This reminds me, we have to get to our castle early tomorrow morning for the ceremony. We better get some sleep.” Erick got up and held his hand out for me.
“You’re right. It’s the big day tomorrow.” I stood up too.
“I’ve prepared a separate room for you tonight. It’s tradition that the bride and groom don’t see each other before the wedding, which was going perfectly until Emiel interfered.” He scratched the back of his head. “We’ll leave together tomorrow morning, but Ken will drive you in a different car.”
“It’s okay. I’ll see you tomorrow then.” I smiled slightly, finally feeling the wedding blues weighing down on me. I really wish Papa could be here with me today. “Wait, will Papa be okay while we’re gone?”
“Ken keeps our best guards on rotation. They’ve been doubled as of this morning. Rest assured, I won’t let anyone hurt Allen.” Erick’s voice was strong and determined.
“Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me. Get some rest. We have to get up early tomorrow.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Good night, Princess.” Erick leaned down and pressed a feather light kiss on my lips before moving back again.
“Good night.”