Lucian's PovYears had elapsed since Deluna’s fall, and despite the wounds of war, the world had begun healing. What once had been a country full of tyranny and fright lived with hope in its heart. Vampires, living under Deluna’s tyranny, were free at long, long last. And I, with Naomi, had sworn ourselves to seeing freedom stretch to each and every soul yet living in shackles. We fought together, forging alliances, destroying whatever of Deluna’s corrupt empire lay in its path, and providing refuge and protection to souls that lived for too long in misery and agony. And yet, even with all that we accomplished, the greatest transformation hadn’t been in the world at all—it had been in me. Naomi tamed my rougher corners, taught me in virtue of love, in hope, and most of all, in the fact that redemption existed. And I, seeing her sit out on our balcony, in sunlight and in gold, bathing in sunlight, I saw that my greatest purpose no longer lay in commanding a people, but in protectin
Naomi's P. O. VLife had a very funny way of making you grow stronger, you know. It would strip you off things that you needed the most, and leave you stranded, or hanging by loose threads to it, like a fucking over used puppet. It was the same case with my life; I had become nothing but a rag doll, playing in the silly theater called life, an actor in a large game of the world. Hate the game, don't hate the player, they said. But in my case I just couldn't help but hate both. It must've been the day time again, or perhaps night. I didn't know any longer, considering that I had lost track of time, a very, extremely long while ago. I now existed in an unknown plane, at an unknown time, probably unknown to the world. It should have bothered me, that I was probably unknown, and most likely forgotten by the world on the outside, but it no longer did. It no longer stung like it did, a few years back. But then again, it might not have had been years. I might've just been reliving the
Naomi's P. O. VI shut my eyes so tight and turned away, unable to bear the sight of what was going on. Their screams tortured me, and made me remember things that I tried my best to lock away. My eyes stung with unshed tears, each passing second making it harder not to cry as the sound of multiple cord whips sliced through the air like knives, before the sound of them landing on bare skin came. Then the screams followed. The boy and the girl begged; they begged for them to stop amidst tears. I didn't have to open my eyes to see that. Truly one could get used to their own pain and suffering, but never other's. Or maybe it was just me. Maybe I just still had that little sliver of humanity remaining in me, that made it impossible for me to bear the sight of the suffering and pain of others. Even when I couldn't do shit about it, I always wished that I could. But unfortunately I didn't own even my own life. The stupid mocking laughter of Albert and the others echoed within the large
Naomi's P. O. VI stood before him in my usual attire that they dressed me up in, anytime he requested for my presence; a light pink colored, strapless body tight dress, and some high heels. My hair was held up into a high ponytail, and there was light make-up applied on my face. I looked like what he wanted me to look like; a doll. A Barbie doll to be precise. That's how he liked his "toys". My eyes were cast down as usual, and a plastic fake smile was plastered on my face. He liked it when we smiled. In a case where we didn't, he would make sure to punish us in the most severe of ways. My whole body was already hurting, and the rod bruises we're just the icing on the cake. I didn't think that I could have handled more, so I'd rather be something that I hated with passion. The bright side of it though, was the fact that I had taken a shower, gotten all cleaned up, and my bruises were tended to. We all waited for the days that he would pick us, only for the anticipation of feeling
Naomi's P. O. VI sat in the tiny cubicle like structure, as water from the shower head above cascaded over me. The relatively warm water soothed my muscles, and merged with the slow tears running down my face, totally drowning them by making them a part of the water that dripped from my cheeks and face, to the floor. The events of the day flowed before me, like scenes of a silent movie playing in strips of films. My body ached all over, making me feel like I had gotten into a brutal fist fight, and got more bruises than I should have. Maybe I did get into s fight. How else was I to describe the way in which I was violently treated, if not as a one sided war? The only thing that I could do was take all the hits, all the torture. I could only lay motionlessly on any surface that I was placed on, before being made use of in every way possible. My heart wrenched at the memories; how had I become nothing more than a rag doll to fellow human beings? How had the world turned so twisted t
Naomi's P. O. VI stood there confused and shocked about the flood of girls that suddenly rushed into the showers, not able to reason what was going on. There were like a hundred girls of all ages in here, if not more, and all naked. I just stood there, unable to move due to fear that I would perhaps hit someone or something. I knew that I had to ask someone, or else I wouldn't know how to move, or what to do next. Nothing made any sense, and it wasn't an all that wonderful feeling to be caught unaware by your surroundings. "Hey, please excuse me..." I asked, trying to call the attention of a girl with long dark brown locks and beautiful large green eyes. She had to be a few years younger than me, perhaps seventeen or so. She had scars on her back and arms, most of them terribly fresh, the rest slightly starting to fade away. Looking at her carefully, I knew that I had recognized her from somewhere, for her face looked so familiar to me. That is when I realized that she was the
Naomi's PovMy legs froze for a minute as I tried to fathom what was happening. Why was I the first person called? Alex would never allow me to be sold or would he? A hand hit the door and I jumped out of my thoughts. "I'm sure that you're not deaf are you?" As if free from bounds, my legs finally moved. The girl I hugged earlier stared at me with pity and fear in her eyes. I was going to be sold. I was leaving this place that I had become very familiar with and it was really baffling. "I'm sorry about that.""Now, go to that room. Marcella would prepare you. We can't have you looking shabby. Your buyer is not a pauper." The man sneered at me. Well, these men were horrible people and they would do whatever they liked just to feel good and most importantly make money. I had gone past the point of caring if they had a conscience. It must have been seared a long time ago and I didn't have time to worry about them one bit. Marcella turned to inspect me from head to toe and she clicke
Naomi's PovMy eyes stared at the man who bought me. Ten million dollars was a whole lot of money. My goodness! What was he thinking?"You can go over and meet your buyer." Alex announced and I sighed. What a way to remind myself that I was nothing but an object of sexual gratification.He didn't rise like I expected him to do when I approached and I stilled when he didn't move a muscle. Who was this man who was acting like a statue?"Let's go." He said when I neared him. It was so low but I heard the unmistakable command in it and I was a bit worried.He didn't seem like a friendly man. There was a way he carried himself or better put, there was an air of confidence around him, he oozed danger and warmth.Okay, Naomi, you're beginning to be distracted. I noticed a man walking close to him giving me the stink eye and I wondered what must have caused this."I'll send it to your account. Forward the details to me later." He said and the man noddedWe walked out of the hall together in m
Lucian's PovYears had elapsed since Deluna’s fall, and despite the wounds of war, the world had begun healing. What once had been a country full of tyranny and fright lived with hope in its heart. Vampires, living under Deluna’s tyranny, were free at long, long last. And I, with Naomi, had sworn ourselves to seeing freedom stretch to each and every soul yet living in shackles. We fought together, forging alliances, destroying whatever of Deluna’s corrupt empire lay in its path, and providing refuge and protection to souls that lived for too long in misery and agony. And yet, even with all that we accomplished, the greatest transformation hadn’t been in the world at all—it had been in me. Naomi tamed my rougher corners, taught me in virtue of love, in hope, and most of all, in the fact that redemption existed. And I, seeing her sit out on our balcony, in sunlight and in gold, bathing in sunlight, I saw that my greatest purpose no longer lay in commanding a people, but in protectin
Naomi’s PovThe battlefield hung in a dead, matted quiet. Once, with a reek of death and sorcery, but now with a mere whisper of wind, it breathed. The sky, which was shrouded in Deluna’s shadow, seemed lighter.I turned and looked around us, and saw the faces of my companions who fought with us. Some I recognized, scarred in battle, with looks of both loss and relief etched onto them. Others… Others were not with me.Travis.Alexander.Bane.They'd gone, some dead, and gone, whose fate I could not say. But one reality I could not deny is that those who fought with Deluna, who fought to maintain Deluna’s tyranny, died with her.Some of them, perhaps, still lay in shadows, but if ever again… They'd have to answer to us.I breathed out, a slow, deep one.Lucian, noting my hesitation, stroked my hair behind my ear, out of my face. His fingers were rough but kind, a reminder of battles won, of wars won, and of love won in choosing him."We did it," he whispered, eyes bloodshot and intent
Lucian's PovThe seconds ticked in slow motion as I saw Naomi’s delicate form move towards me. The whole scenario seemed dreamlike, a nightmare I couldn’t awaken from. And then, in a matter of a split second, her form collapsed onto the ground. Everything else melted, my eyes refocusing onto Naomi's dying form at my feet. My heart thudded savagely in my chest, a thudding beat drowning out everything else. "No… Naomi…" I faltered, dropping onto my knees at her side, my shaking hands extending out towards her. “No, no, no. This can't happen.” I touched her face, and her face was dispiritedly cool to my fingertips. Something deep and suffocating took over, its talons closing in my heart. Her eyes shut, her mouth a little apart, but no sign of life moved in them. My voice died in my mouth, taken over with horror. "How far are you willing to go, Deluna?"A faint echo of laughter sounded over my head, Deluna’s mocking laughter, sharp and cutting and rough-edged, like broken glass. How
Naomi’s PovThe battlefield lay covered in shadow, thick with smoke, burning wood, blood, and residues of lingering magic. Under my feet, the earth shuddered minutely, unsure whether this war had actually reached its conclusion. Deluna was a distance of a few feet, her black cloak fluttering a little in the evening breeze, her eyes squinted in observation of me. She yet seemed powerful, untouched by events transpired about her. But I could detect it now, the tiniest tremble of doubt in her eyes. She was starting to understand. Understand that she wasn't as unscathed as she long convinced herself to believe. I breathed in, slow and deliberate, then moved to speak. "What request?" Deluna questioned me, with a taint of distrust in her voice. I jerked my head, raising my chin a notch. "What way would you like to breathe your last?" Her mouth twisted in a cold sneer, but I could detect tension in her shoulder. "You can't do that," she taunted me. I took a pace in her direction. "I
Lucian’s PovI'd long been convinced wickedness took a face and one I'd seen in both monsters and in men, too. But tonight, with dusk consumed and sunset gone, I saw an atrocity that challenged my definitions of wickedness and forced me to redefine them. I'd seen evil I could hardly have dreamed in my most fevered imagination.The sky wasn't at its radiant best, but one contrast alone remained: one silver glow of the moon painted everything with an eerie, dark radiance, and I could almost feel its vigor. I kept moving onward, a burning fury in my heart burning brighter with each pace I took. "Your face, moon," I whispered in a snarl of anger, "tonight, your face bore witness to my friend’s murder." Travis’s dying memories looped in my head forever: laughter, soft comforts, and a shocked cry of betrayal that took him from me. I hadn't seen him coming.Travis, a man who firmly insisted wicked souls bore a glimmer of virtue, lay dead, robbed of life at our hands through a wickedness I co
Deluna’s PovDid I just kill Travis? The question echoed in my mind as I stood in the middle of the battle, blood on the floor. The taste of blood and regret was in my mouth, and I could barely breathe. The silence after the fight was louder than all the noise before.I staggered back, my limbs trembling as I tried to steady myself against a shattered column. Every heartbeat throbbed in my ears, a cruel metronome marking the passing of a moment I could never undo. The pain consumed me deeply; it was as though the very essence of my soul was being torn apart. I felt as if I might die from the weight of my own remorse.For a long while, I recalled our fight. Travis, even in his final moments, had pressed me with questions that now haunted my every thought. His eyes, full of anguish and bitter disappointment, burned into me as though searing my skin. I could still hear his voice in the clamor of my memories: "Why did you do all this, Deluna?" he had demanded, his tone a mixture of sorr
Naomi's PovMy pleas were swallowed by the chaos around us. Amidst the din of battle and the cries of wounded men, I could only hear my own heart breaking. I remembered Travis’s promise from earlier, a promise made with a laugh and a spark of defiant joy. I remembered how he had vowed to come back victorious. And now, that promise lay shattered like glass on cold stone.Lucian looked into my eyes, and for a moment, the anger in his gaze shifted to sadness. "Naomi," he said softly, "we can't bring him back, but we can make sure his sacrifice wasn't wasted." His words felt like both a blessing and a burden. A reminder that this war's cost was counted in blood and lost love.The thought of Deluna, the traitorous witch who caused Travis’s death made me burn with a need for revenge. "Where is she, Lucian?" I demanded, voice trembling with a mix of anger and despair. "I must face her. I must know why she did this. I want her to answer for Travis’s death!"Lucian’s eyes darkened further, and
Naomi’s Pov"Wake me up, someone, please wake me up!"My voice echoed through the pain, like I was calling out to a bad dream. I blinked at the bright light, tasting blood and sweat in my mouth. Everything around me was a blur of red and shadow. I could barely remember the morning, only broken memories of the night before the screams, the clash of steel, and the grief still twisting in my chest."Travis...?" I whispered, my voice breaking. My mind spun with disbelief. Travis Scott, my dearest friend, the one who had always been there to watch my back, to make me laugh even in our darkest moments, was gone. Gone, as if snatched away by some cruel fate. And all because of this cursed war and the betrayal that has splintered our lives. I pressed trembling fingers to my lips, tasting the bitter tang of my own tears. "How… how can this be?" My heart pounded painfully against my rib cage, each beat a reminder of the promise he had made earlier that day. I remembered the way his eyes had sp
Lucian’s PovDeluna’s voice echoed through the hall like a death knell. With her dark eyes burning, and her words laced with venom, she had suddenly declared war in the grand dining hall. “Kill them all, bring Naomi to me!” she roared, her command reverberating off the bloodstained walls. My heart thundered as I took in the chaos. The hall transformed into a nightmarish tableau: broken bodies strewn across the flagstones, heads severed, and crimson pools of blood pooling around fallen soldiers.“Has she forgotten who she’s dealing with?” I spat internally, anger coiling inside. I was not merely a man. I was a rabid vampire warrior fueled by vengeance and duty. I could not let Deluna’s treachery stand.I stepped forward, my voice cutting through the din. “Deluna, face me!” I demanded, halting her advance with my challenge. For a brief, electrifying moment, her eyes widened in astonishment, as if she had not expected me to stand so defiant. It was then that I realized how much our fates