KIRA
Cold.
All I felt was my skin crawling as the cold assaulted it unashamedly. My clothing, or lack there of, was no help at all. I was clad in a blue dress made of light material and it provided no comfort or protection from the goosebumps I was feeling.
“I feel like I’m going to be sick.”
After my botched escape, I was taken to a basement at the bottom-deck of the castle, put in a one-windowed room, my right hand was handcuffed to a chair with an iron chain and I was made to sit on the floor, per Dante’s orders. One of the guards who brought me here said I ought to be treated like a prisoner since I had “taken Master’s kindness for granted.” I didn’t protest when I was being dragged here, figured it wasn’t worth it since I was outnumbered. Prince Dante made sure I was heavily guarded on my way here so that I won’t try anything funny.
Five vampire guards against one human gi
DANTEBringing Kira to Dahlia’s office was probably not as wise as I thought it would be. Dahlia stared her down from her vantage point like she was going to kill her and Kira looked uncomfortable. If she had her way, she would have melted with the cream wall. However, what needed to be done, must be done. Kira saw something, a part of me that I had buried with my past human life a long time ago. She also further confirmed my suspicion that she is not human. What species she is exactly is still a mystery and the extent of her powers, if any, were still unknown.Dahlia’s voice pulled me out of my train of thought, “She’s my competition? Really, Dante?I smirked and rested my two hands on her hardwood table. “I didn’t think an all-powerful witch could ever be jealous for a human.”Dahlia’s gaze fell to Kira who was standing in the corner next to a plant box. Her eyes were on her flowy, white dress, picking at
DANTE “That’s absolutely ludicrous, Dahlia.’’ I said in disbelief. “That prophecy had been passed down from generation to generation, however, we all know it to be folklore. How is it possible that she’s the prophecy?” I had heard a lot of shocking things in my four-hundred plus years on this earth, but none has been as unbelievable as this. The prophecy is something Ambrose had told my siblings and I back when we were young vampires, but I believed it was nothing more than another moonlight tale passed on from one generation to the next. Ambrose had said that the prophecy had originated from the White-Clad Tribe. They were the first supernatural inhabitants of the North American soil. They were powerful yet pure creatures who were of priestly descent. They worshipped the sun goddess, Solise and were known for performing rituals and reciting sermons in her name. Some of the witches of North America where direct descents of the White-Clad Tribe. Kira l
KIRA The past few hours have been eventful. I’ve gone through the different stages of shock and disbelief, so much so that at some point I ran out of expressions on my face. The ‘all powerful witch’ Dahlia said that I’m the reincarnated child of a supernatural folklore and I had vampire and werewolf blood flowing in my veins. Never would I have thought that when I was bought, all roads would lead to this supposed prophecy. I don’t believe it. I refuse to believe it. I’m still surprised I haven’t entirely freaked out and I’m taking the news quite well. There’s no way I can be part vampire and part werewolf. My parents were human before they were murdered and there was never any indication that either one of them was a supernatural creature. If they were, they wouldn’t have been murdered in the woods like that. After we had left Dahlia’s box-I mean ‘portable’ library, she promised to contact someone named Ellemea who was more knowledgeable than she was.
KIRA My ‘quarters’ was on the last floor of the castle. The castle was well lit with candles on all sides of the foyer. It was a busy afternoon: servants and various members of staff were doing one thing or the other-some were cleaning the main living room, some were carrying laundry, others were making phone calls while some were carrying utensils and food items. They didn’t acknowledge our presence as Zander nudged me up the metal stairwell. He didn’t speak as I put one foot in front of the other, making the trip to the last floor of the castle. With a castle as grand as this, they should really think of investing in an elevator. Long ass stairs may mean nothing to vampires but I’m a human who has not exercised in a really long time. I was never really athletic to start with so this was more like a marathon. Once we got to the last floor, I was breathing heavily and panting. My chest felt constricted and I was no doubt going to pass out. Zander did not utte
“Wait, so she dies?” I whispered in disbelief. “After going through hell? That’s unfair.”“Sometimes movies don’t end like how we envisioned, just like life,” Emily shrugged. Emily and I had been watching this movie for two hours straight and it was gripping, but it had a silly ending. She closed her laptop shut and lay down on the available pillow.“By the way, Emily?”“Hmm?”“Thank you for the underwear,” I blushed lightly. “I saw them in the drawer earlier.”She looks at me in confusion. “I haven’t been in the castle in a while. I only came here to see Dante since it’s the weekend. I’m usually at the Witches’ Academy.”If she didn’t do it then who did?“So if you didn’t do it, then who did?”“My brother,” she said simply. “Mind showing me where they are?&r
Zander briefed me about what had been going on when I was away. I was only gone for four hours and my kingdom had already been ruffled by another death. The wolves had murdered one of my best guards, Sage, while he was patrolling the border. I had tightened security around that area so as to keep external enemies at bay but my men are now dropping like flies. I was sad, more so, I was angry, not just because he was one of my best men, but he had a mate, Helena. It is said that vampires find their mate only once in their lifetime and he finally found his. They’ve been together for as long as I can remember and I can’t possibly imagine how she must be feeling. “Has Helena been informed of this unfortunate circumstances?” I asked. Zander nodded and handed me a file as I approached my throne room. The lights were dim, just like how I liked it, and it smelled like fresh coated paint. The servants must have done as I instructed. “Are these the pictures?” I to
DANTE The Council consisted of the five vampire elders of the North American Kingdom. Before my brothers and I became rulers of our independent kingdoms, they, in conjunction with Ambrose, where the ones in charge of the vampires before the takeover of the world. They presided over judgements relating to eering vampires, preserved the vampire laws of the land and where called during periods of emergency in the Kingdom. As the King, I have power, but it’s not absolute. Some of my decisions had to be approved by the Council before they can be executed. They were powerful and supposedly wise vampires who had been turned long before my brothers and I. They were the original vampires of North America and where the ones who birthed the idea of taking over the world. Ambrose and the Malvado brought the idea into fruition. The meeting was scheduled for the evening like I ordered. I had taken Zander’s advice and gotten sufficient ‘rest’ ahead of this big day. I
DANTE Akbar and Kentrell grunted at being reprimanded and narrowed their eyes at me without saying a word. Ambrose gave me an encouraging nod and I continued. “Thank you, Father. I would admit it, yes, we lost one of our own again in a rather unfortunate manner. I was going to bring it to the council's attention later on, but since the cat has been let out of the bag, we might as well make it the first priority in our agenda.” “Go ahead, then,” Dorothea obliged. She was another elder in the Council and the oldest female amongst us. She was a woman of few words, but when she did speak, wisdom flowed out of her mouth like a river. She was calmer and thought about things more rationally than Kentrell and Akbar. “Sage, one of my guards was murdered in what we suspect to be a ritualistic attack.” I directed Zander to hand the members the files which contained the pictorial evidence of the death. Their reactions were unreadable but a gasp emitted from Dorothe
POISON KIRA My mother always told me that I was destined for a greater purpose, something absolutely bigger than I was. Eight-year old me was too young to truly grasp the sense of her words, but now I do, I believe this was what she meant. I was to be the one to stop Drisellda using Endgame. The knife was firmly secured in my hands as I was transported to the fight. My nerves were trying to get the best of me, but I wouldn’t let them win. I had to do this to save Dante and probably the whole of North America because from what I’ve heard and seen, Drisellda is a loose cannon. I was just in time to see Drisellda trying to kick Dante in the face but he avoided it via his super speed before she could connect with his face. I hid the knife in my robe and Dante spotted me. His eyes widened and pursed in confusion. He was by my side in a flash. “Kira, what are you doing here? I thought I said you should stay with Zander?” he reprimanded. I ignored his reproof. “
KIRADante and Emily where locked in a brawl. From Zander and I’s vantage point, I could see that Dante was trying to overpower her, but was failing miserably. Everytime he would come closer, she would recite a spell or do something to counter his attack.It wa pure chaos.And it didn’t help that glass shattering and door rattling could be heard from even the most silent corners of the castle, making me wonder what the fuck was going on.“We have to do something.” I grabbed Zander’s arm. “For God’s sake, we can’t just stay out here and do nothing! Don’t you see,” I gestured to Emily grabbing Dante by the neck and lifting him up. “She’s going to kill him.” I really did believe she was going to kill him because Emily was infected by the poison of black magic.Tears were threatening to spill but I wouldn&r
DANTEThe smell of death permeated the air as soon as I walked into her cell. I didn’t need to take further steps to know that a mini massacre had happened here- there was blood splatter everywhere, dried blood on the walls and on the window.I looked down on the floor and noticed that there was a dead body beside me, a body of one of my guards. He was lying in the pool of his own blood, a knife in his hands.“For fucks sake,” I muttered. I grabbed the bloodied knife from his pale, limp hands and side-stepped him. I walked in further, looking for any sign of my sister but there was none. Zander was right, she really did break her chains. They were lying haphazardly on the floor.Even though I couldn’t see her, I could smell her essence. Her cell wasn’t large, but it was big enough to accommodate ten people at most.“Emily, I’m not playing
KIRAI love you.” I wanted him to know that. I inched closer and wrapped my hands around his neck, straddling him. I wanted him to see my genuineness in the moonlight. “I love you so much.”“I love you, Kira Song. I meant it then,” he moved closer to my lips. “And I mean it now.”He closed the gap between us and our lips fell into a warm, delicate embrace. It was just us in our own little world, a mangled mess of bodies and moans. Dante said he loved me.I had waited for him to say those words to me since I came to the castle. My love wasn’t one-sided after all.Life is funny that way. If you pinched me years ago and told me that I would fall in love with a supernatural creature- a Vampire Prince for that matter- I would have laughed in your face and told you take a one way trip to hell.But it happened.
KIRAI cherished nights like this.The castle has had little or no action, but I could still feel that there was a little bit of tension. Call it a half-breed’s intuition.Dante was busy, I had watched him leave his room, Zander in tow as he was shooting rapid fire instructions at him. Being the ruler of a whole Kingdom was bound to be stressful and a lot of people relied on him. I understood that before me, he had a family, responsibilities and a duty to his people. We may be a ‘couple’ but I’ve never asked for more than he was willing to give me. It was more than enough.Despite his busy schedule, he always made out the time to see me in the comfort of the night. I think it was the one time where he truly felt free. He was just Dante and not Prince Dante. There was no title that shouldered and carried a weight of problems.Our relationship felt sacrilegious, almost tabo
DANTE“That aside, have you heard from Emily? She hasn’t talked to me nor has she visited and I am getting worried.” Ambrose said. Oh right, he didn’t know what was going on. “Do you know if she’s okay?”How do I tell Ambrose that his only daughter has gone mad due to black magic and she was currently in my dungeon chained like a wild animal?“You’re not saying anything? Did something happen to Emily?’A lot of things happened to Emily.“You might want to have another sip of blood before you hear this.” He may probably need a whole wine cellar. “Emily is alive.” He heaved a sigh of relief and I grimaced. “That’s good, but I feel something is off. You’re not telling me something. I know my children better than anyone.”I struggled to find the words. “Emily is alive, but barely.”“What?” he bellowed, his ey
DANTEEllemea excused herself to go see Emily after I told her Ambrose was here. I told Zander to let my father in. Ambrose walked in and he did not look pleased. I could feel his reprimand coming: the way the lines on his forehead would crease, his eyebrows would knot together like they were bound by an invisible string and his lips would form into a tight frown. When I was a young vampire, I used to dread making him angry. I didn’t want to disappoint the one man that treated me more like a son than my own flesh and blood. Now? I have more autonomy.“Really, Dante?” He was mad. The smoke on top of his head was burning with coal embers.“Good evening to you too, Ambrose,” I offered him my drink with a smirk. “What brings you to my humble abode?”“Dante Rosetti,” he used my government name. “Explain to me why I’m getting a frightened phone call from Master Rindall claiming that you visited t
“You’re late.”“I was busy.”I handed my jacket to Zander, and instructed him that we not be disturbed.“Doing?” she asked. I joined her on the couch in my throne room and raised a brow. Since when was she this nosy? “Nothing of particular concern for now.”“You smell like blood,” she observed. “Vampire blood, mixed with…drugs?.” Ellemea leaned in closer to observe me with suspicion. “What have you really been up to?”“Again, nothing that should concern you for now.” She may be persistent, but I was stubborn as hell.Thankfully, she dropped it and I dived right into the reason I called for her audience. “I know who killed Sebastian.”That caught her attention immediately and she widened her eyes. “Who did it?”“Emily.”“That’s impossible.”Was it r
DANTE“I’m looking for two people.”He raised a brow. “Oh?”“They are members of La Casa Blanche actually.”That made him slam the glass on the table rather loudly, drawing even more than the usual attention. “Why do you want to see them?”“You’re getting agitated,” I noted. “I haven’t even said their names.”I was walking on very thin ice, this I needed to thread carefully. One small slip-up and everything would go to shit.“Do engage me, Prince Dante, who are the members you’re looking for?”“Coral and Zane Flynn.”The bastards that murdered Kira’s family.He threw another drink back and was silent for a while, looking at everywhere but me, before his eyes regained their focus.