Chapter 12

At the Vampire world the brothers were getting weary from the fight, none of them had been successful in eliminating each other. It had taken a great toll on them moving up and about across their world consulting the oldest known vampires but none of them could reveal the secret.

The only ex-king that lived, Gomez's father Jeremy had disappeared immediately he handed over the throne. The three brothers back at the palace had almost lost hope, only Roman and Thomas had decided to take a break for the day while Roman decided to drop a bombshell on Thomas.

"Bro I think I better get going, we have turned the entire world upside down and got nothing, it's now your fight." Roman said and got up from his seat. The two had just come back from a three day search but went back with nothing. Since it hadn't been his aim to become king, Roman decided to distance himself from anything that might cost him his dear life, he might be caught at crossfire.

"What do you mean by get going, you promised to help me till I got the throne, and I'm far from attaining that. You can't just leave me like that Roman, I won't let you.’ Thomas said as he threw away the towel he had wrapped around his shoulders.

"But I've really tried my best only that fate is not on our side, plus how sure are you that it would be you to finish off the others. I don't want to be around when you get killed, I might accompany you to dust but I don't want that. This is now your battle, you have to proceed alone.’ Roman said almost making his way out of the door.

Thomas was enraged by Roman's sudden change in attitude, why did he have to pull out at such a crucial time? Thomas decided to escalate the matter, he could not take this lightly. He felt betrayed and immediately changed into the blood thirsty vampire that he is, his fangs already elongated and his eyes turned red.

Thomas leapt down on Roman who had envisioned about this earlier, he couldn't let his guard down so immediately he felt the sudden change in the atmosphere, he knew better than prepare himself.

Roman immediately caught Thomas midair about to pounce on him when he sent Thomas flying to the other side of the room and hitting the wall like a sack of potatoes. The impact was so great that it left a hole on the wall. But this seemed like nothing to Thomas who got up immediately and charged back at Roman at lightning speed.

Roman had been aware of almost every possible move that Thomas could make against him as the two had been training partners for most of their lives. The only problem with Thomas was that he was so impulsive and didn't plan his move carefully before attacking. This enabled Roman to evade his attacks once more and land a heavy blow to his head the moment their bodies made contact.

Since Thomas seemed serious about this fight Roman decided to give in to his invitation to fight it off with him. Roman waited till Thomas got to his feet before saying,

"Dear brother did you forget that there wasn't any occasion that we had a match and you defeated me. I'm always going easy on you since it's embarrassing for an elder to be defeated by his junior." Roman said.

"Only in your dreams Roman, I taught you almost everything you know in battle, how dare you insinuate that you can defeat me, that can never happen and we can prove it right here and now." Thomas said disdainfully.

Thomas had never really loved his brother but since he could be of use to him he decided to use him. His usefulness was now over and there was no need to pretend anymore.

"Did you think that all these years I have loved you? No my dear brother, you are always the thorn in my flesh, so I had to keep you close and watch out for you so that you won't dare try anything stupid again me. Father had definitely loved you more as his second born and forgot all about me, so I figured maybe he could tell you about the secret of attaining the throne, so that through you I would grab the opportunity." Thomas said mockingly.

"You think I hadn't noticed that about you, you really have no idea what went on in this palace these few years. I've always trained myself before arriving for your training. Did you think I could trust you blindly after I had witnessed what you had done with my girlfriend back then. Thomas it's definitely me who has loathed you for the longest time possible." Roman said as he adjusted

himself and faced him directly.

It had been many years back when Roman had fallen in love with a woman for the first time. She was so beautiful and serene that she captured Roman's heart in every possible way. Thomas who had known about his liking of this girl normally accompanied him whenever he went to see her.

It was on a rainy day that Roman had just left his girlfriend back at their special hideout and made his way back home with his brother who had stayed behind a rock waiting for him as the rain continued to pour down. Arriving home Thomas pretended to be tired and needed rest so he left for his room. However Thomas had sneaked out in the middle of the rain and went back to the special hideout that Roman had left his girlfriend.

He found her still lying in the mat waiting for the rain to subside, that was when Thomas took the chance and forced himself on the lady.

At the same moment Roman had decided to go back and accompany Rose as he couldn't stop thinking about her. The sight that met him was something he had never expected in his entire lifetime, there was Rose's unconscious body lying on the cold floor while the tired Thomas lay on the side not noticing a pair of darkened eyes watching him.

That was the day he decided to break things between them, but never in any occasion did he reveal this to Thomas. From that moment he had been keeping a

close eye on him, waiting to find the perfect moment to strike.

That was the same reason why he decided to help him fight for the throne, by leading him to the most unlikely places where he could find answers on what they had to use.

Roman had been elated to know that Thomas hasn't been successful till then. He was sure that Thomas would surely get himself killed in just a matter of time, there was therefore no need for revenge but let the situation unfold on its own.

"Do you remember when you sneaked your way out of the palace and made your way with my girlfriend." Roman said and immediately caught Thomas by surprise, that was something he had almost forgotten about, he hadb been sure that back then no one was able to witness what had transpired, so Roman himself had seen him.

"You have been such a coward, why didn't you confront me back then, you were definitely afraid that I could finish you off by just one punch." Thomas said provocatively. He felt that this was something they had to settle fast so that it won't affect his search for the weapon he could use. It became clear to his mind that Roman had not been helping him but was a hindrance to his efforts. How could he become a fool for such a long period of time?

"You think so, Roman said and landed a blow squarely on his face, black spots of blood already started forming at the sides of Thomas's mouth. Thomas staggered backwards after the intensity of the kick, this woke him up from his slumber. He had to put up a serious fight if the two planned to settle their scores once and for all.

Thomas first blow landed weakly on Roman who couldn't help but laugh out in a menacing voice,

"Is that all you got, I can tell you haven't trained in a while thanks to me and the distraction. I’m sure by now my brothers would find you an easy target and finish you off within the shortest possible time. I would really want to see the look on your face the moment your body begins to form into dust, my lovely brother.” Roman said angering Thomas even more.

Thomas could not help but imagine how much Roman had plotted in his entire life to deal with him, was he able to counter all the plans he might have in store for him. He could not help but rebuke himself for failing to see through Roman earlier enough.