Chapter 41

Alina

“How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve spent enough time in this damned place and am ready to finally move out.”
“But you know that’s not possi—”
“Of course, it is, Alina!” Papa sat up straight, taking my hands in his wrinkled, trembling ones. He looked far too old for his age, yet he looked happy. “Darling, I’ve already spent a long time here, and it’s enough. The doctors have done all they could. They tried everything in their power, but they can’t do any more than they already have. It’s time I live my remaining days reminiscing about the life I’ve had. I want to relive every memory I’ve cherished, and I can’t do that if I’m here. It’s time you let me go.”
I understood what he was trying to tell me, but I just couldn’t imagine a life without him. I’ve been a daddy’s girl right from the start, and when mom passed away, he had been a constant pillar I could rely on. I could never think of letting him go, but the doctors had called us this morning with some serious news. Papa had stopped responding to medicines or chemos a week ago. They still tried to continue with his treatment but eventually had to give up when his health started to deteriorate. Today, they were clear about his report. He didn’t have much time left, and they wanted to discharge him immediately because there was no longer any need for him to stay here.
“Where do you plan to go?” I asked him with my now shaky voice. “Where do you want to go after this?”
“Venice would be nice.” He smiled. “Sheena and I went there for a vacation once when you were still a babe. I have several memories there. It’d be nice to live the rest of my life reliving those memories, and when the time comes, lie down and fall into an eternal sleep.”
“I’ll come with—”
“No.” He shook his head and smiled gently. “You have your own life now, Alina, your own world. You have a new family, a caring husband who loves you so much, and a castle full of servants to do your bidding. Make them yours and let this old man rest in peace. I’ll die happy knowing that my baby girl is well taken care of by a person who cherishes her more than anything in this world. Won’t you grant me this wish, my beautiful daughter?”
“Okay.” I nodded, tears threatening to fall. “I’ll ask Kendrick to make arrangements. Take care now. I’ll get the discharge papers ready.”
“Thank you, Alina.” He let go of my hand. I stood from the stool next to his bed and bent down to kiss both his cheeks before I went out the door and straight into Erick’s awaiting arms.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he wrapped his arms around me.
“No,” I sobbed. “How can I be? He practically told me he’d never see me again.”
“That’s not true. He’s your father, and you’re a part of him, he’ll always remain in your heart. Most of all, he might be your father, but he’s also a man, and all men want to appear all strong and macho in front of people they care about.”
A giggle escaped my lips as I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. How did he do it? How did he know exactly what to say to make me feel better?
“I don’t want him to die all alone, Erick.” I rested my head on his shoulders. “I don’t want him to be all alone in his last moments.”
“He won’t,” Erick told me while he stroked his fingers through my hair. “I’ll have my men on constant guard, and I’ll teleport him to Venice myself. Since he’s already asked so much of his daughter, I doubt he’ll have the strength to refuse me. I’ll make sure he’s never alone.”
“Thank you.” I couldn’t describe in words how thankful I was.
“Anything for my beloved wife,” he said before his lips met mine in a tender, lingering kiss.

****

“How are you feeling?”
Startled, I looked behind me to find Erick standing by the door. “When did you get back?”
“Just now.” He came forward to stand behind me. “Allen’s all settled in his penthouseapartment. He will be in the constant company of two of my most trusted men. He’s safe, and he’ll be well taken care of.”
“Thank you.” I leaned my back against his front.
“The healer asked you to stay in bed. That sword went right through your chest, barely missing your heart, and you’ve just completed your transition.” The worry was evident in his voice and so was the fear of almost losing me. When Aaron plunged that sword through my chest, Erick had no clue that I had completed my transition. Neither did I, at least not until the royal healer, a vampire with the ability to heal other vampires, confirmed it.
“I know, but I feel fine, and I don’t need your blood to heal anymore.” The later part was a fact I just realized.
“Yes, you’re a vampire now.” He brushed his hands down my back, making my spine tingle. I wasn’t lying when I said that I was feeling fine. I was, but I also felt dead tired. Erick must have already picked that up from our mating bond, but he didn’t say anything as we both looked down at an unconscious Emiel.
Emiel had proven his loyalty when he chose to protect Erick with his own life. It hurt to think that he may not be alive to see his real family ever again. There was no pulse, no movements, but he was a born vampire. I’ve once seen Erick fight against death and come out the winner. I know Emiel could do the same, but… he was just so lifeless.
“Can you read his mind? Do you sense anything from him?” I asked Erick.
“No. For me to read his mind, he needs to have my blood in his system so I can direct it to make the connection, but….”
“He hasn’t taken your blood.” I completed his sentence and reached out to stroke back the hair from Emiel’s forehead. “He doesn’t deserve this, Erick, not when he finally has a chance at a new life.”
“He’ll survive this!”
We both turned around to find Kenna by the door. For some reason, she wore a tiara on her head today. I’ve never seen Kenna with a tiara, but today, she looked like Queen Kenna, the queen of all vampires.
“Mother? What’s wrong?” Erick asked her, sounding a little concerned.
“Your father wouldn’t let me see my son, so I had to remind him that I’m the queen, and hence, I shouldn’t be messed with.” She strode into the room, her navy blue skirt flowing around her ankles.
“But why wouldn’t the king let you see him? Does he still believe he needs to continue on with the prophecy?” I asked her.
“Yes, my husband can be very stubborn sometimes.” Kenna sat on the bed beside Emiel. “You must be aware, Alina. Erick gets his stubbornness from him. It is necessary that you keep reminding him exactly who you are.”
I know Kenna was angry at King Valroy, but that was some sage advice; one I didn’t expect from my mother-in-law.
“Kenna!”
Once again, we all turned towards the door to find King Valroy striding in. For the first time, he was only wearing a black shirt with its sleeves rolled up to the elbows and a bottle green dress pants. Dressed so casually, he looked even more like his son. So much so that people might mistake him for their older brother.
Here begins the epic family drama. Erick’s voice rang inside my head.
I elbowed his ribs before giving him a glare.
Ouch! Domestic violence!
Shut up or I’ll kill you! Shouldn’t you be convincing your father to let Emiel stay with your mom?
Hell no! I do not want to dip in that pool.
So chivalrous.
“Kenna! I warned you not to come here! Emiel is going back to where he belongs and nothing can stop that,” King Valroy ordered. The authority in his voice made the hair on my nape stand in attention.
“Highness, if you may permit, can I say a few words?” Did what I say even make sense? It didn’t matter, anyway. I only needed to get my point across.
“Speak.” He halted on his way to Kenna and waited to listen to me.
“If I’m correct, then the so-calledprophecy that tells the Royal Family to separate all twins at birth, was made by King Dominick... and not a real prophet?” I asked and immediately, Kenna and Erick’s attention was on me.
“Yes, that is correct.” The king frowned.
“Then doesn’t that mean that it wasn’t a real prophecy but an order that he wanted his successors to follow? Doesn’t that mean that... as the present ruler, you have the right to overrule that decree?” I asked.
“No, absolutely not! Even if it was an order, it was given by my ancestor, one of the greatest kings in our history,” King Valroy stated, but I wasn’t about to lose this fight so easily.
“So you’re saying you’re just gonna follow a set of handmade rules and do nothing yourself?” I know I was treading dangerous waters here, but king or not, he had a bag full of superstitions.
Plus, Erick hasn’t said a thing, so either he was silently encouraging me, or he wanted the king to deep fry me in a large saucepan. But judging by the fact that he rescued me from becoming an Ancient’s vessel, I’d like to go with the former.
“You’re questioning my reign, little girl?” His voice, on the other hand, held amusement. “I’ve been alive for over five hundred years. That’s five times your average human’s lifetime.”
“Yes, and you’ve got five hundred years’ worth of stubbornness. If you can’t even overrule eons old credulity because you fear something that might happen, then how will you lead your people forward?” I asked. “My mother once told me that vampires survived this long without being detected because they changed with time and evolved through the ages. You turned into businessmen from being just royalty and founded blood banks instead of keeping on feeding from people directly. When so much had changed since the birth of your civilization, why can’t you change one single rule that’ll unite a mother and son? Isn’t Emiel your son as well? The blood in his veins is the same as yours. This is our chance to prove the prophecy wrong, to prove that not every twin will be like Tobias and Marcellus. I’m sure Erick and Emiel will work out their differences. Besides, if Emiel was truly vying with Erick for the throne, then he wouldn’t have saved Erick’s life.”
Everyone in the room held their breath as King Valroy stood in silence, most probably considering modes of painful torture to use on me. But then, he surprised us all by going to Emiel’s bedside and kneeling down beside him. He placed a hand on Emiel’s head and said, “Come home, son. Come home to us.” His eyes were moist, proving that he hadn’t been as unaffected by Emiel’s absence as he let everyone believe. He may be the king of all vampires, but he was also a father who had lost his son. Now, he has the opportunity to welcome him back into the family once again. If only Emiel would wake up.
“He hasn’t regained consciousness yet,” I told Kenna. “We can’t connect with him because we don’t have a blood bond, but you’re his mother, Kenna. You can connect with him without the need of a bond.”
Kenna looked thoughtful. “I have a bond with Erick, but that can be because I raised him. I’m not sure I can have the same kind of bond with Emiel, but you’re right. I’m his mother. I’ll give it a try.”
Kenna placed a hand on Emiel’s forehead and closed her eyes in concentration. Nothing happened for a long time as King Valroy, Erick, and I surrounded her. It was about an hour later when Kenna finally opened her eyes, and so did Emiel.
“Mom?”Emiel asked in a hoarse voice, almost unsure if that was the right thing to do.
Kenna smiled through teary eyes, and King Valroy sighed in relief. “Welcome back, my son.”

****

“I can’t believe it! You actually did it!” Erick exclaimed once we were safely inside our room. “I thought Father would never accept Emiel into the family, but not only is Emiel welcome to stay, but you also made him abolish the entire system.”
“My dear husband,” I said and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, “any fight becomes easy when you’re fighting for a good cause.”
“Is it now?” He wrapped his arms around my waist, tugging me forward for a kiss. “Thank you.”
“For what?” I asked as I placed my forehead against his.
“For completing my family.” He said against my lips. “For completing me.”
“Anytime.” I smiled back.
“And I hate to ruin this moment, but I have something to give you,” he said before pushing away from me.
“Okay.” I looked at him with my brows frowning as he searched his jeans pockets for something. Finally, he found what he was searching for and took out a folded piece of white paper from his back pocket and handed it over to me. “Here. It’s a letter from your father.”
“From Papa?” I stared at the note in my hand. My palms were sweating.
“Yes, he asked me to give it to you when I teleported him out.” Erick smiled and took my free hand. He then led me to our bed and sat me down. “Why don’t you read it in peace while I go run an errand for Father?”
“You’re going out?” I looked up at him when he moved to the door.
“I’ll be back in a couple hours. Take your time.” With that, he vanished out the door in vampire speed, leaving me alone with Papa’s letter.
I stared at the piece of paper for a long time, debating on what to do. Finally, after about half an hour, my patience ran out, and curiosity got the best of me, so I unfolded the envelope. Tears stung my eyes as soon as I saw Papa’s familiar cursive handwriting.
Dearest Alina,
I know that I haven’t been much of a father to you since your mother died, and I sincerely apologize for that. The thing is, you’ve always been so strong. Even when you were in pain, you still stood by me. And I’m so proud to have such an amazing daughter.
I couldn’t say all this to you when you were in front of me because I didn’t want to become weak, and I didn’t want to break my resolve. You’ve moved forward with your life, child, so far that if I stayed with you, I’d only drag you down. You have a bright future ahead of you. You’re the princess of all vampires now, and one day, you’ll become their queen. I know that when that day comes, you’ll make everyone proud. You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me in my entire life, and I couldn’t ask anything more than for you to be happy. The reason I chose Erick for you was because I knew that one day, he’d be the best thing in your life. He adores you although he doesn’t show it all the time. I couldn’t have entrusted you to a better man.
I think the only reason I survived that accident and my disease for this long was because I was meant to help you one last time, and I’ve already done that. My purpose in your life is over, Alina. You’ll always be my baby girl, and I’ll always watch over you no matter where I am. But it’s time for you to move forward and create a better world. I know that come what may, my daughter will be able to fulfil that purpose.
Sincerely,
Your father.