Chapter 28

Alina

“King?” My voice sounded hoarse.
Miaka’s smile seemed to light up the room. I couldn’t help feeling a spark of jealousy running through my veins.
What was Erick’s connection to this girl? He obviously knew her if his mother did. From the way Kenna reacted to her, she had to be pretty high up in the ranks, but what rank could be higher than that of the king and queen? Moreover, she called herself king, not queen.
“You know I can hear you, right?” She brought her face closer to mine and whispered low enough so that only I could hear her. “Mage spells don’t work on me.”
I stared at her wide-eyed as she leaned back with a huge grin. She then motioned for the maids to start working, and they finally started to wash my hair.
“Alright!”Miaka clapped her hands together and looked at Kenna for approval. Upon her nod, she turned back to me. “It’s story time.”
I nodded. I was dying to hear about what she was going to explain. I wanted to know more about the world I was getting into.
“Before I start,” she said, “you must remember that all events I’ll be describing will be true. They are not just fantasy but eons of evolutionary history and records. This is for your knowledge only. You do not discuss this with anyone other than the Royal Family, not even the nobles. They know the truth but not the complete history. It is a part of our heritage, and disclosure means you can very well put your life and the life of the people you love in grave danger. You have to swear your silence.”
“I swear I’ll never put Erick’s life in danger.” The answer was instant and was spoken even before I knew what I was saying. I must have said the correct thing because both Miaka and Kenna were smiling.
The world itself felt like it stood still as she began to narrate her story.
“Millions of years ago, life as we know it evolved from apes, but has anyone ever wondered if apes were the only animals that evolved or why were it just apes? The truth is, there had been several animals that evolved. They gained the power to transform into human forms through sheer survival instincts and a little bit of magic. They came to be known as the shifters.
“At first, there was peace. All different races intermingled with each other, and there were clear rules on feeding. Yes, usually, humans were the food, but that’s the natural cycle of life. Humans were no longer at the top of the food chain, and that was an expected rule.
“We fed on some of them, and hunters killed those who crossed the line. That kept our population in check. However, the intermating of various shifter races caused the birth of several hybrids, and that was when the real purge began.
“The new hybrids were unstable and uncontrollable. They fed without limit and killed without mercy. The human population began to decline at an alarming rate, and it meant the slow extinction of the shifters as well.
“But it weren’t only animals that changed and evolved. Certain humans were born on this Earth that had a deep connection with nature. They were connected to the spirit of the Earth and could draw energy from this endless source. They are called the mages.
“The powers of the mages were determined by their ability to draw Earth’s energy. Some were stronger than others, just as some typical humans were stronger as compared to others. Among the mages, there were five who were considered the strongest: Tuhin, Alexander, Pallatos, Verna, and Shinou. They were two females and three males.
“These five people are considered the saviour of all races. They, aware of the current situation prevailing in the world, came up with the perfect solution to all the chaos— the creation of dimensions.
“They are alternate worlds that looked just like ours but do not contain the same people.
“The news spread all over world like wildfire. Everyone seemed to agree to it because by that time, different race of shifters and the demons had started turning against each other. The thirst for power and dominance arose in every race.
“The rules were set according to specific conditions. Each dimension can have only one race because not only would it prevent a territorial war and power struggle, but it’ll also prevent the birth of any more hybrids. It was a proven fact that the hybrid offspring of two different shifter species were not only stronger but more aggressive and dangerous.
“Humans, however, were free to go with their loved ones, which is why each dimension has their fair share of human population. It had something to do with the proven fact that mating with a human slightly dilutes the shifter characteristics of the offspring, but it mostly had the abilities of the shifter parent. Moreover, having a human parent gave the child immunity against certain objects which are lethal to the shifter parent. By extension, mages, who are basically human in origin, where also free to live in any dimensions as they please.
“Once the order was set, the five mages merged their powers and started to divide the world accordingly. However, one major problem arose— time.
“No two worlds of exact similarity could exist at the same time without re-merging with each other to create one single whole.
“It was Tuhin who came up with a solution. They shifted the time zones so that each world existed at a different time. Somewhere among the dimensions time was faster than others while in some, it was slower. The difference in time varied from a few hours to several days.
“It took an entire year of concentration for the mages to create eleven dimensions before Verna and Alexander died of exhaustion. That meant that the final dimension wasn’t fully created before the process of genesis stopped. Thus, creating a half dimension where there is eternal darkness. No one really knows what’s in there or if any landmass had been formed at all. What we do know is that demons or shifters are now sent there as punishment for unforgivable crimes.
“Slowly, the shifters, mages, and humans were transferred to their respective dimensions with a strict rule that no shifter is allowed to cross over to another dimension without any valid reason. The only people who can travel at will are the kings of the shifters and mages.
“Sanctium, a midpoint for all dimensions, was created just to ensure that no breach ever occurs in the inter-dimensional treaty. There are ten palaces belonging to the rulers of the ten worlds, and each of them is located in Sanctium. The palace we are in right now is the vampire palace. Similarly, there are incubus, Lycan, tigrin, demon, mage, dragon, serpentine, mystic, and aqua palaces. Each belonged to the ten Kings of the Dark. Let me breakdown to you the different races and their abilities.
“The Lycan are the wolves who can turn into humans. Yes, wolves who turn human and not the other way around. They usually feed on other animals so they’re no threat to humans. During the full moon, they lose their ability to turn into their human counterpart.
“Tigrins are, again, tigers who can take on human form. Their world also has a very small amount of werebears and harpies, whose population were so small; it was a waste to give them dimensions of their own.
“The dragons and serpentines are similar to the Lycan and tigrin, except that they are able to turn into dragons or serpents respectively. They cohabit one dimension because of their shared reptilian ancestry.
“The incubi are creatures that absorb the life energy of humans through sex as a source of food. Precisely for that reason, they are also called sex demons, but they shouldn’t be confused with the true demons.
“True demons, like myself, are different. Not only are there hundreds of types of demons, but each type also have several abilities that can range from psychic to physical. The immense variety within our race makes us different from the other shifters.
“I’ve already told you about the mages.
“The Aqua’s are underwater shifters. They live in an underwater city at the bottom of the ocean, and yes, they have mermaids and sirens as well.
“The mystics are mysterious creatures. They appear really pale and always have white hair and pale eyes. No one really knows their powers, but no one messes with them either.
“There is also a dimension called Spirits. As its name suggests, it is a dimension where all spirits go after the death of the body. There are several names for this dimension: heaven and paradise along with many others.”
“So those are the ten dimensions and their supernatural population, this dimension included. The eleventh is Sanctium and the half dimension… is Shadowland.
“After the death of all the five mages, the dimensions were sealed, but because the worlds were initially part of a single whole, several loopholes or portals, as we call them, appeared on all planes. These connections to another world can occur at any time and at any place.
“They aren’t so easily accessible, though. Access can be granted only at a certain time, altitude, latitude, or velocity. It was made as a safety precaution so that a human doesn’t wonder into a hostile dimension.
“Kings for each dimension are chosen according to their own traditions. In this dimension, Vampire Kings are chosen according to the capabilities of the eldest son. If he’s not capable, then the throne goes to the next son or if there aren’t any, to the next male in line. Demon Kings, on the other hand, are determined according to strength, and that is decided right after birth. It doesn’t matter if you’re royal or not, and no matter if it’s a boy or a girl, they’re always called kings.
“There is, however, one body that looks after the entirety of the dimensions. They deliver punishment and jointly make rules for all existing creatures. It’s called the Dark Council and is made up of all the kings and leaders of the dimensions. It is often called the Council of Ten because of the ten kings who form it.
“So, you see, the transformation of the worlds occurred through a course of several millennia, and the Dark Council is here to ensure safety for all dimensions.”
By the time Miaka was done narrating the genesis of the worlds, I found myself sitting on a chair in the room I’d previously entered the bathing chambers from, the room filled with several mirrors.
I was taken out of the pool and allowed to take a normal shower. At the end of it, I was literally glowing. Miaka and the two maids helped me get into my wedding dress. Now, Miaka was adding the finishing touches to my makeup.
“You’re pretty good at this, considering the fact that you don’t wear any,” I told her.
Miaka giggled. “I might not wear any, but I’m still a girl. Now, don’t move so much, it’ll ruin my work.”
“Okay.”
I stayed still as she put on my veil and the pendant my great grandfather had given me.
“It’s a special pendant. It’s mage enchanted, and a strong one at that,” Miaka said.
“Yes, my great grandfather said it’s been in the family for centuries.”
“Aaron?”
“Yes, you know him?” I shouldn’t have been surprised. Miaka seems to know everything.
“An acquaintance.” She looked thoughtful.
“What is it?” Her expression was suddenly sombre. It worried me.
“Alina, there’s something I need to tell you,” she said seriously. “You and Erick have to be very careful from now on. He’s the chosen candidate for the next king, but Emiel isn’t dead yet. He’ll try to kill Erick in every way possible. At first, his motive was to hurt Erick indirectly by hurting you, but now, he’s desperate. I have a suspicion that it’s not really Emiel who’s behind all this. I don’t know who... but I just know it’s not Emiel. He’s as much a victim as Erick.”
“How?” How did we come to the exact same conclusion?
“You know something, don’t you?” Miaka sat down on a stool opposite to my chair.
“The day Erick was attacked outside my apartment… I saw something. Emiel, he... he seemed to have a split personality. It’s like one moment he’s this childish person who doesn’t want to hurt humans because they were nice to him, and the next, he completely flips and becomes this guy who only wants to kill and hurt people,” I said. “And I cannot forget his eyes. They... they were glowing red.”
“Red? Are you sure?” Miaka’s eyes went wide.
“Yes, why—”
“Alina! There you both are!” Kenna barged in at that exact moment. “Oh, dear! You look gorgeous! Oh! And Miaka, darling, it’s time to change. Erick and the others are dying to meet you.”
“Yes, Aunt Kenna. I’m leaving.” She stood up with all the grace of a ballerina. “I’ll be seeing you, Alina!” With that, she dashed out the door.
All questions that I had about her relationship with the Stayton family vanished into thin air. She must be like a sister to Erick if she just called her Aunt Kenna.
“I’m so sorry, Alina. You must be really hungry, but you can’t eat until the wedding is over. You can drink something light instead.” She clapped her hands twice. Instantly, two vampires dashed into the room at high speed, carrying two huge glasses of what smelled like mango juice in silver trays.
Wait... how could I smell them so clearly from so far?
“Kenna?”
“Yes, dear?”
I accepted a glass from the tray. “Papa once told me that vampire blood hastens healing power in humans. What else does it do?”
“Well.” She took a sip out of her glass. “It does heighten your senses a bit. You can see clearly, hear things better, and smell better. Your emotions also get a bit heightened. Each and every emotion will be stronger: anger, sadness, and even nervousness.” She gave me a knowing smile. “But if it’s too small an amount, you have nothing to worry about.”
Yeah, I knew my heart was pounding a million times an hour, but it wasn’t because I’m thinking about the wedding night or something. In fact, it had everything to do with what Miaka just said.
Liar, liar, skirts on fire.
I almost choked on the mango juice I’d just taken a sip of.
Erick! How long have you been here?
I never left, was his simple answer.
I tried again. And for how long have you been eavesdropping on my thoughts?
Since you started wondering if I’d slept with Miaka.
“What? I never thought that!”
“Excuse me?”
I stared with wide eyes at Kenna who looked both amused and confused.
“I m-meant, I had never thought of that.” I laughed nervously, mentally cursing Erick when I heard him chuckle. “You see... Erick gave me some of his blood to heal me during that incident. So... I was only wondering if vampire blood had any side effects.”
“Other than the one you’re facing now? None.”Kenna got up from the stool she’d been sitting on. “I’ll come back to check on you when it’s time. Till then, have a nice conversation,” she said with a bright smile as she went out of the room, shutting the door behind her.
I let out a huge right of relief.
Busted.
You’re having loads of fun doing this, aren’t you?
The fun part hasn’t even begun, Alina, but you’ll find out soon. His voice was full of sexual innuendos.
Shut up! Your mom just disappeared with that weird smile on her face, and who knows what she’s thinking! Don’t add fuel to the fire.
Great! Perfect timing! Stupid Vampire Jerky!
There wasn’t much time left before the wedding, and I really wished Dad could be here. I was not worried about Mom because I had this feeling that she was already here with me and watching over her daughter. On top of that, Miaka just gave me the biggest history lesson in the world! However, the way she told it like a story made it really easy for me to understand.
Well, it was surely a lot to take in, but this was my life now. I didn’t know what the future held, but I had a feeling that it was going to be something we had never faced before.