KAIST:
“How did it happen? Why did he take them,” I asked my father who was looking at me as if he had really lost his marbles.
“The vampire took my Merlissa and my baby! He took them,” was all he could say.
“Where did they go,” I asked once again.
My father could only point out at the direction of the grand portrait that was behind his bed.
I bit my lips in frustration. That woman who called herself our mother must have been hiding her minions all along at that secret passageway behind the blasted portrait. She must have planned this as her means of escape!
I stood up from the floor and ran towards the portrait. Bearing no weapons, I drew my father’s prized sword, Maximus, which was propped on the side with its scabbard before I opened the passage and peered inside the hole behind it.
“Kaist! Kaist, save them! Save my wife and my baby!”
I went back to my father’s side
KAIST: I wandered aimlessly around the passageway, groping in the darkness for what seemed like an awfully long time. I cursed at my own self in frustration. Where was Cruz? Now that I needed him the most, where was he? I couldn’t see through the passage well. It was designed to trap Talandor’s enemies into their own deaths should they try something as absurd as taking over the castle and killing the king. Suddenly, I heard a soft whimper inside my mind. I called over to the wolf I recognized crying. ‘Cruz, you’re finally here… Why are you crying?’ I have a hunch why, but I dared not to say it out loud myself… ‘Kaist… I’m dying,’ he grunted softly. ‘What? Why?’ ‘Your magic… It’s killing me. It’s stripping away my form.’ I didn’t understand what Cruz was saying. How can he die? Don’t wolves stay alive as long as their human counterparts continue to breathe? ‘Kaist… without our spirit stone, I won’
KAIST:“No, Cruz!”I slumped against the wall. Just like what I felt when I was ten years old, my body was once again wracked with a tremendous amount of pain.‘Kaist, snap away from this,’ an angry voice interjected.‘I… I can’t,’ I said back to the brown wolf who looked like he wanted to pounce on me.‘You can do it! Take control. Own the magic in your bones!’‘I… I have no magic.’‘You have it in you! The blood of a Shadow wolf runs inside you. You have the magic, and only you can stop his death!’I looked miserably at Cruz’s rapidly disappearing form. Now only half of his body remained intact.“What do I do? Tell me, what the hell must I do,” I shouted at the top of my lungs against the brown wolf.‘Take my hand, Kaist! Call my name and take my hand,’ he roared at me.‘I&hellip
KAIST: Ignis rushed to the place where he could smell the scent of Count Jeteris. If we could see him, perhaps we would be able to know where his men had taken my mother and Lady Livia. As expected, he was at his manor in the Capital. I treaded quietly, escaping all the guards that were positioned at the gates and the garden. I was even able to evade Count Jeteris’ servants, who walked about all over the place despite it being night time. At last, I came to the door of his room and found his bed. Ignis was swift. He wasted no time and pounced on the bed with his burly body. Unfortunately, the count was not a fool who would fall for such an obvious attack. The thing that lied under his sheets was someone else – a servant…a woman. “S-Spare me, please,” she said to me. As expected of the filthy count, he left her here without any clothes on. Before I could speak, I became aware of the sharp edge of a sword glistening at th
KAIST:I threw Count Jeteris’ beaten body on the floor.“The hell with your lies, count! After beating up my sister, you dare lie to me about my father? Do you want me to cut off your head,” I growled, my eyes turning into a wolf as my hatred of this evil man intensified.I wanted to see him cower in fear. Instead, he had the nerve to laugh at me mockingly.“You heard it right. Dear prince, do you really think you are a true descendant of the Lyons? Are you kidding me?”He looked at me as if I were a pest that should be crushed under his booth. “You are nothing but a piece of trash! Your blood and Livia’s blood - they aren’t the blood that belonged to Talandor! Especially you – an usurper to the throne! You and your sister are even worst that dogs!”My hands that had earlier tightened at the count’s collar lost their grip.What was he saying? Is he telling me the absolu
KAIST:There was sorrow in my father’s eyes. I dreaded to hear what he will say.“You are my son Kaist, and Livia is my daughter. I know it would be hard to believe even if you knew the entire story, but believe me when I say it. You are my and Merlissa’s child and no one else’s…”That was enough for me. I could see my father was not in the mood to talk about what had happened in the past, and I didn’t have the strength to push it all out of his mouth. What he said was enough for me... for now.“Where are we going,” I inquired.“I have a feeling where the vampires will be going, so let’s meet them there…”“And where is that place?”“Laudicia – the lair of the fallen Shadow Runes.”A heavy atmosphere had set itself before us. I hated the tension between my father and I. This was the first time we have really been alone w
TRISTAN:I looked at Dahlia’s weak form. She was still on her knees. I put an arm tightly around her.I eyed the rogues and vampires around me and calculated how long it would take for me to kill each of them. Of course, that would mean I have to make sure Dahlia was safely out in a corner when I do that…“Give it up now. You don’t stand a chance against them,” Samalah said. I look at her, and her face was still cold and emotionless. How can she still look us straight in the eye after selling us off like this?“Samalah… sister… What does this mean?... Are you cooperating with these people now,” Dahlia said right next to me.“I’m sorry to disappoint you, sister… Surely, you’d understand why I needed to cooperate with them. Didn’t you also break your promise of giving Naskan back to me,” Samalah replied, her eyes fixed on the silver wolf tattoo that was show
DAHLIA:My stomach tightened into knots. Even before Samalah and these men came, I had been feeling quite unwell. After hearing what Samalah had to say, however, I felt sicker.My hands trembled as I held into Naskan’s neck…Oh, I forgot… I should call him Tristan now… right?“Please let me down,” I said weakly from the white wolf’s back. He reluctantly eased me from his back just a few second after I threw out on the ground.“This won’t do,” I heard Albus grumbled. “She needs to rest.”“Very well,” the leader of our captors said. “There is a river a few more steps near here. We shall make camp for now and continue our journey tomorrow.”The rogues gave us a stern look, but I didn’t care. I was far too busy holding myself up after a round of morning sickness.“Dahlia, are you dizzy? Do you want to lie down?”
DAHLIA:I backed away from the vampire leader who was towering over me and looking at me as if he had no intentions of letting me go unscathed…Just then, a hand landed on my shoulders.“Don’t worry about it, Lord Irvan… I will make sure our guest here will be every bit pleasing to the king when the right time comes…”I look back at Samalah’s undaunted stares against this Lord Irvan. Even though the vampire leader did not look friendly at all, Samalah never shrunk under his gaze.“Very well. You keep her beside you until we get to Laudicia. I don’t trust that partner of hers anyway,” he gruffly said to Samalah.“As you wish,” Samalah said, giving the man a coy look.How did Samalah even have the courage to do that when the man clearly had bad intentions against her written all over his face?As soon as Lord Irvan walked away, Samalah pulled my hand and l