Chapter 4: The Throne I Must Inherit

Brixton Cardinal's Point of View 

I picked the wrong woman to save and resurrect. If only my father wasn't looking for my mate or a slave, I wouldn't bring her back to life. She's an impudent, hot-headed bitch, and I don't like her. However, her lips tasted so sweet that I became addicted.

Issoria was annoying. I locked her in my room for her to be punished. Soon enough, the hunger will take over, and in the span of three hours, she will die if she has no blood to drink.

I left the room and was redirected to the office of my father, the King. My three brothers are present, while our parents are across from us.

"How's the trip to the other kingdom, Carter?" My father, who was the king, asked the youngest among us.

Carter proudly gave our father the item he told Carter to look for. "I did a good job."

Our mother, the Queen, only smiled.

"You must train more on how to swing your sword, Carter," the King remarked.

"I will, father."

The king's gaze went to Wesley, the third of my siblings. He gave a couple of pamphlets and an envelope to him and received nothing when he had also done a great job.

When my second brother was now the one who was going to report, my father smiled as Barron began to walk toward him and gave him the item the King had told him to seek for. It is when the King stood on his throne, congratulated Barron with a hug, and I remained standing, trying to control myself and drift my gazes around.

"As expected, my son," he mumbled in joy.

"Lumir said my combat skills are improving. You can now assign me a difficult task, Your Majesty," he said whilst grinning widely.

"Sure, I do. We'll talk about that later."

 Our father gave us an assignment to recover the things that had been stolen from our kingdom. The location where I got there was the human world, where humans who were pathetic and stupid in my eyes were.

 I thought that my father would also do the same to me, as I was his successor and the first one he bore. I just accepted my fate that he didn't say anything about my accomplishments, even though I had the toughest task among these three. 

"I killed almost half of them, father." I used my casual yet formal tone.

His Majesty only rested his back on his throne and then spit out things I didn't want to hear.

"Almost? You would have slain all of them, but you still had Amber to help you." He bitterly spat it out.

My hands turned into fists after he said those. It is when our mother stood up, gave me an embrace, and the sweetest smile I only get even though she has three more sons.

"Good job, my future king!" the queen enunciated.

His facial expressions changed when my mom said I was the future king. He always does that as if he doesn't want me to be one, even though the firstborn should be the one who inherits the throne.

I have been my father's pet since the moment I was born. I noticed his unusual treatment toward me compared to my brothers who were close enough to him, especially Barron, the second son. I see him as a threat to being my mortal enemy once my father steps down.

Since I was a kid, people have said that I should be the strongest vampire living in this world so I could protect our kingdom. I was handled by an elite warrior, who taught me how to fight and taught me things I had to learn. Honestly, the elite warrior who happened to be my master was the one whom I treat as a father instead of the King himself.

His Majesty's affection for me was shallow, unlike his attachments to my siblings. So in order to catch his attention, I lived training and being the well-trained warrior and prince of our kingdom, as my goal was to amuse him in every open fight I had. A lot of people praised me, and our mother was proud to have me, yet I felt it wasn't enough to make the King proud.

"All of you should head back now to their training center, except for Barron," His Majesty enunciated.

The two are the first ones to quit his office, followed by me. My parents were there, along with Barron. Watching how he grins widely at Barron makes my heart ache, as His Majesty couldn't do the same whenever I was the one who was overachieving everything between us.

"Can you grant me a wish, Your Majesty?" My brother Barron had said

I didn't leave completely, yet I stayed behind the door as I watched them celebrate Barron's success.

"Was it the mission you were asking for? The toughest one?"

Barron bowed his head a little and then upraised it afterwards.

 "Yes, Your Majesty."

The King patted Barron's back and then spoke. "As of now, Brixton is the only one I see who fits in this mission along with his subjects. Do understand that I can't put your life in danger, Barron. Even though you're improving a lot, I can't allow you except for your older brother Brixton."

Does he mean he treasures them the most compared to me? I was also his son, yet he was frequently stating the obvious that he loved them more dearly, completely disregarding me.

I took the alternate route toward the location I was headed. There was one specific place I frequently went whenever I felt alone. exasperated, felt I wasn't enough, and whenever my feelings got invalidated,

I hate that the obsession I had with the throne was poisoning my mind, making my siblings my competitors, even though people around me said I was the chosen one. Yet my instincts and my inner self couldn't accept it. As if my father's decision will change when the time comes, as with all the things I built, all my sacrifices will go to waste if he chooses Barron as his successor, even though it should be meant for me.