Chapter 34

Erick

“Where is he?” I barged into the throne room without knocking, Kendrick in tow. My father was in the midst of a conversation with his general, Vishal.
“In the dungeons. We were just heading there for the questioning,” Father spoke in an even tone, but I knew he was seething inside. Emiel and his goons had taken out ten of our finest guards.
“The soldiers?” Kendrick asked Vishal.
“Disabled,” was Vishal’s curt reply. “They were of little use after the possession faded. We plan on sacrificing them to our Lord tonight.”
Sacrificing to the Lord meant they would be slain in the Constantium. Their blood will be offered to Hades as an offering. That was a good idea. They were no better than rotting vegetables now that they had been possessed. Weaker vampires couldn’t handle possession by an Ancient, but a strong vampire like Emiel was a whole different story.
“I don’t know why you guys keep doing that. He hates sacrifices.”
We all turned to look at Miaka as she entered the throne room. Today, she wore her royal attire that consisted of a black gown as dark as night that swirled like black mist around her ankles and intricate vine-like gold cuffs that twisted up her elbows. Her hair was in red ringlets around her face, and the talisman, a locket that only the Demon King had the right to wear, laid on her chest. The blue gemstone in the middle of it vibrated with fierce power.
“It’s tradition, malady.” Father gave her a small bow, and it wasn’t because she was the DemonKing, but because she was a demigod in her own right though she tries to deny it. Miaka is the daughter of two Gods. Hades was one of them, but her story wasn’t mine to tell.
“Traditions are meant to change.” She smiled. “However, that’s not what I’m here to discuss. My presence has been requested back home.”
“You’re leaving?” I asked disappointedly. It was not often that we got to see her now.
“Unfortunately, yes, brother, but I’m sure you’ll see me soon,” she said cheerfully, coming over to wrap her arms around me.
“Yes, until then.” I engulfed her shorter frame in my arms and missed the top of her head.
“Let’s get the discussion over with,” father spoke after Miaka had left.
“I’ll go,” I said to him. “Who knows if he’s still compelled or not? Besides, he was here to distract me. It’s better if I deal with him personally.”
“Very well,” he said after much thought. “You can go.”
Bowing deeply, I left the throne room, and Kendrick followed close behind.
“How’s Alina?” Ken asked quietly.
“Unconscious,” I told him. “She’s gone into transition sleep. My sisters are taking care of her.” She went into transition sleep early this morning, and it was actually a good thing for her. At this time, every cell, every tissue, and every organ of her body would be undergoing transition, and I didn’t want her to go through that pain. That was precisely why humans who were turning go into transition sleep.
But what was on everyone’s mind was what venom is running through Alina’s veins and whose. That was why I gave her my blood. It would counter any side effects of that dratted stuff and would help integrate some of my powers into her veins. I just hoped she would be safe.
I checked my connection to her. The bond was this thin glowing thread that vibrated with her energy which appeared right after our wedding. It was still holding strong and was growing stronger by the minute. I prayed for the millionth time to keep her safe for not everyone survives the transition stage with an intact sanity.
Two armed guards pulled open the heavy metal doors at the entrance to the dungeons. Inside, there were several more guards. Some were in plain sight while others lurked in the shadows. Emiel was kept in the last cell and was chained to the walls with an unbreakable iron. I wanted him impaled on the floor, but father decided against it.
We walked down the stairs that led to the basement level where Emiel’s cell was located. The cells were small to prevent too much movement, but they were well locked so the guards knew if someone was trying something funny.
The guards standing in front of his cell moved away to give us some privacy, but not far enough to be out of eyesight.
Emiel sat chained to the wall. His face was buried in his hands which were placed atop his raised knees. Any potential weapons had been discarded, and he’d been given only a pair of white pants to wear. From the raw pink scars on his body, one could tell he was given the first class treatment for infiltrating the castle and killing ten royal guards. He looked up as we stopped in front of his cell, the thick iron bars the only thing separating us.
He didn’t waste any time and got straight to the point. “Is Alina alright?”
“She is none of your concern!” I answered with a snarl, my claws threatening to slice through his heart. I had to fist my hands in order to control the urge to kill him.
Emiel looked pathetic in this state. He was never strong to begin with, as proven that night four years ago when I challenged him to a duel and he lost miserably. That night marked me as the crown prince. After which, I annihilated Nile and the rest of my friends who sold me out to Emiel. He himself knew that he wasn’t strong enough to defeat me, that was why he chose to use his brain than his skills.
“I never wanted the throne,” he said now as he hunched over in pain.
“Forgive me if I find that hard to believe after everything you’ve done.” The words were forced through gritted teeth. “Who are you working for?”
“I can’t tell you.” He sounded miserable. “I’ll die the instant I speak.”
“What makes you think I care?” I raised an eyebrow and folded my arms across my chest.
“Because you care about Alina,” he said in a small voice. “Because I care about Alina.”
I lunged at the gates as red clouded my vision. But before I could break the bars down to claw at him, five of the shadow guards sprang at me and held me down on Kendrick’s command. When it was still not enough to hold me still, Ken came to stand in front of me.
“Erick, you have to calm down,” he said in a calm voice. “Or I’ll have to do it myself.”
“Do it,” I growled, my temper nowhere near pacifist. How dare he spoke her name! Newly mated vampires were known to be extremely protective of their mates.
Sighing, Ken closed his eyes and began to chant in the language of the Ancients. His skin started to glow with a soft red light, and one single intricate design came into sharp focus: the marking that distinguished a mage from humans.
A sudden calm washed over me, and I stopped struggling at once. It took a few more seconds, but the guards eventually let me go. Ken stopped chanting, the glow fading away to nothingness. When I looked back at Emiel, he was quivering in fear. “He’s a mage,” he muttered in terror.
“Of course!” Kendrick smirked. “Why else do you think I command a squadron?”
“Now.” I focused my attention on Emiel. “You were telling me the reasons to keep you alive.”
“I didn’t mean it to be that way.” Emiel’s eyes were huge, and his fear was evident. “I don’t want to hurt her because she doesn’t hurt me, but...”
“But what, Emiel? If you can’t tell me a name, then at least tell me the reason they turned Alina.” My voice was sharp, but my temper was held tightly leashed.
“A vessel,” was his simple quivering answer.
My blood turned to frost.


****

Alina
I came to with a start, gasping air into my lungs that burnt in raw pain, my vision blurry.
My hands instantly went to my throat to stop the pain, but someone pulled them away and held them at my side.
I kept gasping. My back arched off the bed, and my body thrashed until I could breathe again and feel the air circulating through my lungs. The world around me slowly came into sharp focus. It took me a while to realize that I was back in the castle and the ones pinning me down were Athena and Susan.
“W-what h-happened?” My throat felt drier than the Sahara.
“Here, you must be thirsty.” Quiet and meek Susan held out a glass to my lips. My mouth watered at the scent, but my brain instantly rejected it.
“What is it?” I choked out while covering my nose and mouth with my hands.
“It’s blood. You’ll need to drink this before you can feed on anything else,” Athena said, running her hands through my hair soothingly. It hit me anew that I wasn’t human anymore.
Suddenly, I felt tears well up in my eyes. The fact finally caught up to me. I was no longer human, and even though I knew this was inevitable since the day I accepted that I was to become a vampire’s bride, it all happened too fast and too soon. I didn’t want this yet... not so soon.
“Alina?” Athena cooed. She cupped my face, but I shook off her hold, my breaths coming in shallow pants.
“Please, leave,” I begged them.
Athena got up at once, taking the glass from Susan and placing it on the bedside table. Susan, however, hesitated a second longer.
“You can go.” Erick’s voice came from the doorway. “I’m here now.”
Susan nodded and left with her sister, leaving me alone with Erick. He shut the doors and came to sit in front of me.
“Come here,” he said, opening his arms for me. “Let me hold you.”
I came willingly and held on to him for dear life as I let the tears flow. Erick didn’t say anything while I cried, but even his silence spoke a thousand words.
“I’m scared,” I told him afterwards.
“It’s alright to be scared. You’re experiencing something completely new.” He tucked my hair behind my ear. “But I’ll be with you through the entire shift.” He reassured me and tucked me safely in his arms.
I felt safe… until his hold got too tight to bear.
“Erick...” I gasped when his arms became steel bands around my waist. “E-Erick, I can’t b-breathe!”
“That’s what I want, sweetheart,” said a sickening voice... two of them, actually. The voices were male and female melded together to form something guttural and vile.
This wasn’t Erick! This wasn’t Erick’s voice!
“No!” I screamed as I heard the bones in my arm crack and felt a searing pain in my head.
I pulled my head back, and the sight had me gagging. Erick’s face was all but flesh and bones. Tendons and muscles hung loose as blood dripped out of its hollow eyes.... eyes that glowed bright red.
That was the last thing I remembered before my ribs cracked, collapsing my lungs and piercing my heart.