Chapter 3

Alyssa

Maze has left the castle together with my grandmother, and it feels so empty without them! My father isn't talking with me since I rejected Fabian for the billionth time, and my mother is her usual snarky tea-drinking self. Nose in the air, eyes half-closed whenever I catch sight of her delicate frame. It's as if she can never relax, not even around the ghosts of the castle.

Sighing, I kick myself up from bed while still wearing my nightgown, it's white and old, but my grandmother gave it to me. So I guess wearing it makes it feel as if she never left.

And wearing it isn't that wrong. There is a spell that blocks out the sun on our castle grounds—it's eternal night here.

I walk out of my room, stopping in the window once I see a horse carriage standing in the courtyard. Dread immediately covers my mouth like death's hand, and I stand there, paralyzed as I witness Fabian set foot outside. Not a sound dares escape my lips. I'm terrified he will turn around and notice me!

What is he even doing here?!

We have a protective spell on the castle!

Shit, this isn't good!

Shaking my head, I turn around, only to almost tackle my father, who is silently standing behind me. His eyes are glazed over, and his expression is empty. The white beard around his face is a mess, hair not combed or styled in the slightest. There are dark circles under his eyes—hasn't he been sleeping?

"Good morning, father!" I give him a sheepish smile.

There isn't a reply—my father stands before me like a tower, eyes entirely emotionless as he approaches me. Sudden fright gnaws my mind. Something is wrong, and my bare feet begin to backpedal, get away from my father, who is zombie-walking.

I lift my chin to read his face, only to scream once his bear paws land on my fragile shoulders. His vampiric claws dig under my dress, drawing blood from my skin as if he were possessed.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" I slap at his hands, and when it doesn't work, I kick him in the groin—it works.

My father bends forward, but there isn't a sound escaping his lips, not a groan or even a complaint. He must be under some heavy compulsion, and I decide now is the best time to leave and find the puppetmaster controlling him—Fabian!

Snarling viciously, I run down the corridor like a lioness on the hunt for prey. This compulsion-thing happened the last time I saw Fabian was around. Maze, my grandmother, and I were down in the village watching a late-night comedy show, and the guy slipped into the mind of everyone who watched it.

Strangely enough, Fabian can't put me under his compulsion. I'm immune to the madman's magic, which I'm eternally grateful for since I've heard everyone working in his castle is under constant brainwash.

Panting, I make it down the staircase, shouting once I catch the vampire himself standing in the courtyard with his back facing me. He pulls white gloves over his pale hands and turns around with a wicked smile once he hears me storming towards him.

Fabian looks like I remember him, evil and insane, with his yellow eyes glowing in the night. His hair is dark, cropped, and short, while his clothes are fancy and designed with his favorite colors, black, eerie white, and bloodshot red.

"Alyssa!" Fabian's arms part as if he for one second believes I would hug him. All of his teeth are sharp like a shark's, and his eyes are too intense, insanely invested in me. "I didn't think you would come and greet me yourself!"

"Stop controlling my father!" I yell at him, not caring about the difference in power between us. Fabian is a famous vampire, known for taking over lands and defeating kings, but I'm not afraid of him. "Release your hold of him right NOW!"

A sharp smile graces Fabian's lips. "What would be the fun in that, princess?"

I stand still when his slender hand grabs a few strands of my red hair between his thin fingers. Fabian is taller than me, but his body is sickly and frail—this is a vampire who has lived since the beginning of time. I've heard he is getting weaker, but his aura doesn't describe a feeble man; he feels powerful and way more potent than before. How?

"I've been running experiments on my body, Alyssa," His breath is putrid and revolting; I take a step back to avoid it. His glowing eyes observe me, and his smile turns brighter as if he finds entertainment to see me nauseated. "I take it you still don't want to marry me, child?"

I snort at him, not afraid of challenging him by meeting his eyes. "I would never marry the likes of you. You eat children, destroy homes and live like there aren't any consequences, but you're growing old, Fabian. Old age finds vampires too—it just takes some time,"

Fabian nods. "What if I had found a way to stop withering and instead grow stronger with age?"

I squint my eyes in suspicion. "Then I would say you've truly turned into a monster,"

Fabian laughs; it's a sinister sound. "If you won't marry me, Alyssa, then I can't waste your opportunity," His hand grabs my wrist, and I try to escape but find my strength vanishing. Fabian smirks. "You see, I've found a way to grow stronger, but it requires blood, lots of it, and your blood is special—I can't fathom what eating you will do to me!"

Paralyzed by his words, I stare at the older man as his bones and joints seem to crack and turn to dust. He does this weird neck shake, fracturing it until his nose shifts into something grotesque. His eyes turn massive, and I scream when he shape-shifts into a giant bat that only keeps growing larger before my eyes.

Frightened, I try to pull away from the creature that once was Fabian. Unfortunately, his hand has been replaced with razor-sharp claws that are pushing me into the ground. The nasty monster is easily keeping me in place as every limb seems to stretch on his body.

I'm lying on my pack, watching the bat screech at the sky and then bend its head with an ugly smile aimed at me.

"This is what a true vampire is supposed to look like!" His voice is more profound, instilled with power as he speaks—he sounds like a god. "Can you feel my energy, Alyssa? Soon you will be part of it too!"

Fabian lifts his head, revealing his teeth before coming for me with incredible speed. If I keep lying here, I will die. I have to escape somehow, and I keep pulling my arm, screaming piercingly when Fabian's humongous teeth dig into my shoulder.

Slurping sounds come from his mouth. "So delicious,"

Tears are prickling behind my eyelids, and as a last resort, I scream the only name I know might somehow frighten Fabian.

"AZRAEL!"

I know the angel won't come to my aid, but the plan worked—Fabian blinks in confusion, and I use his distraction to flee myself from his claws.

With haste, I lurch to my right, ripping my dress in the making. Not that I care. I have to get the hell away from the enormous bat, run as far away as I can before the monster eats me.

Looking up, I notice that the castle is on fire. Fabian brought his men here, all of them angry humans under his mind-control. It doesn't surprise me he made them destroy our castle—Fabian was always envious of what we had achieved here.

I bite my lower lip at the sight of flames and rush over to the trees, determined to stay away from Fabian's view. I don't know what to do or how to stop this from happening. Saving my parents feels unmanageable and impossible—I don't possess any magic abilities to fight Fabian.

"ALYSSA!" Fabian is screeching behind me, viciously searching for me with his wicked eyes and towering form. The man is no longer a vampire but a horrific monster. "Come out and play, Alyssa, or I will eat your parents!"

I sneak behind some bushes with a thousand thoughts running through my head. What am I supposed to do?!

"Is this a friend of yours?" Fabian laughs darkly. "She smells like that werewolf you used to hang out with; it's such a shame that she has to die!"

Looking over my shoulder, I detect Catrina. The woman walks out of the castle with her eyes glazed over, and I silence my mouth not to cry.

I know what is about to happen and resist the urge to scream when the enormous bat slung himself over the woman. Fabian devours Catrina within seconds; his large mouth opens wide, and then she is gone, vanished from the face of the earth.

Tears splatter on the ground, and I slump my shoulders and sink to the dirt with my palm pressed to my lips. I'm shaking and feeling more helpless than I've ever done in my entire life.

Courage, it thought it was a part of me, but running out on the courtyard wouldn't save anyone—it would only add me to the list of victims. I don't possess enough strength to save anyone!

A bush rattle and I look to my left—my mother is looking at me with concerned eyes. I've never seen her wear such an expression. Her eyes were always distant in the castle, always somewhere else; sometimes, I questioned whether she loved me.

"Alyssa," My mother whispers in a voice so unlike her own; it's filled with love and regret. "Why are you still here?" She asks and smiles briefly. Her cheeks are defined and beautiful, her hair blonde and straight. When I was little, I used to wish to look more like her and less like my father. "You need to run darling, far away from here,"

My lips slightly part. "But I can't just leave you!"

Sadness brush her features, and I hold my breath as she walks over to where I'm sitting. Part of my brain is screaming, telling her to get away from me because Fabian will notice us, but the other, darker part of my mind knows this is a farewell.

"You're so beautiful, Alyssa," My mother whispers and keeps her hand in front of my mouth; she wants me to bite her. "I'm sorry for letting your grandmother raise you. I wish I had been stronger, but I intend on setting things right,"

I meet her eyes. "How?"

My mother smiles. "By making the greatest sacrifice,"

I can hear Fabian screeching in the distance, laughing because he has finally found our location. The sound of him dragging his body is deafening, and I don't think—I bite my mother without regret and let her memories fly into my skull.

I won't be able to reach into them without her dying. A vampire can see the memories of the person whose blood they drank when they die, which means my mother is preparing to fall.

"I know where you are!" Fabian is talking to himself and shrieking in delight as his wings flap in the brisk air. His form is genuinely monstrous; he is breaking things and slashing through trees without effort. "You can't hide from me, Alyssa! I'm your god! I was born to rule and your blood; your rich blood will make me stronger!"

"Thank you," My mother whispers, and before I know it, she lifts herself with her eyes set on the gigantic bat coming for us. There is not an ounce of fear on her face, only purpose. "You need to run away from here, Alyssa,"

I know my mother is right, yet I hesitate before I feel something like an electric current entering my body.

What is happening to me?

My mother speaks again. "I was always able to compel people myself. I can't enter Fabian's mind, he is too strong, but I was able to reach yours,"

My body moves as if under possession. The entire inside of my body is quivering, hurting at the loss that is about to come. I want to stay, protect the person I love, but my legs are stretching, taking me further away from my mother.

"No, wait!" I try to call my mother, but she isn't listening to me. "You don't have to do this! Run with me!"

As I run as if put under a spell, I manage to turn around to watch my mother lift her head to the giant bat screeching into her face. Fabian is breathing putrid and blowing around her blonde hair. He is threatening her, letting her know death is coming for her, yet she doesn't scream.

Instead, hear my mother whisper: "I love you, Alyssa,"

And then she gets eaten, activating the memory she burdened into her blood before dying.

I can see my mother's father forcing her to marry my father; tears are falling from her eyes as she locks herself into her tower. Her head is buried in her large pillow, and the emotion of hatred is swirling around her like venom.

And then, I can see myself in my mother's arms as a baby, hear my screams and feel the love within her chest blossom like a flower. She is trying not to love me. Her pride is in the way. And her hatred for the man she was forced to marry lingers in the back of her head. My mother is a woman filled with bitterness, and yet I can hear her sweet voice whisper to me yet again.

"No matter what happens, I will always protect you, my sweet Alyssa,"