(Kate) “MOMMY, does your shoulder still hurt?” My hand automatically stopped from brushing Mira’s hair when I heard her question. Did she remember the past? We are currently in Zachary’s chamber. He summoned the Mages, the head of the knights, and the Council for an urgent meeting. He promised that he would be back before lunch. I also intend to talk to the Mages later. “My shoulder is fine, sweetheart. Why did you ask?” “I never forgot about it, Mommy. I remember what I did. I remember how I bit you,” she said in a low voice. “I remember how you bled and how I hurt you.” Mira turned to me. She looked like she was about to cry again. This was what I dreaded the most: the explanation process. How do I tell her the truth? Where do I begin? I held her hands and softly kissed them. “If you remembered what happened that night, then you should also remember me telling you that it was not your fault,” I started after a long silence. She nod
“YOUR highness, is everything okay?”I turned on the faucet and wiped the blood off my mouth before responding, “Yes, Violet. I’m okay. You worry too much. My stomach just hurts a little. I’ll be out in a while.”The coven will be staying in the city. Violet volunteered to protect me along with Jonathan, Damon, and the Vampire knights who had sworn their loyalty to me. The number of people around me had increased so much. Half were assigned during the day and the other half was during the night. Mira was currently being protected by both Mages and Vampires as well.Violet was here beside me; she was on night shift today. She was the most promising Mage in her generation and also one of the most powerful.I feel like the Mages were seeing Dayanara in me. All of them had sworn to serve me the way they did to her. They even performed a blood oath in front of Zachary, of the Council, and of the knights.I could now feel Dayanara’s presence and love through these people. She may not be by
(Violet)I CLENCHED my hands. Then and now, there was only one vampire in the whole world who could raise me up so high to the point that I’d feel invincible. Sadly, that vampire was also the same person who could drop me so low to the point that I’d feel worthless.And he was this man in front of me.If it was up to me, I would never associate myself with anyone in this kingdom, in this city, and with any vampire. But my duty as a mage had brought me here.Queen Dayanara had called me back to the very place I swore I would forget. I have her daughter to protect that’s why I have to endure seeing Damon again who still looked at me as if he was seeing an enemy in me.I stared at his hand holding my wrist and smiled mischievously. He was holding me so tightly it hurt.I pretended it didn’t sting. This was the best I could do: to put this playful mask again to be able to save my pride at least.Come to think of it. This masquerade ball suits me. I don’t even have to wear this gold mask I
(Zachary)MY BLOOD pressure rose at its peak the second I saw Kate wearing her black lace bikini as the men feasted on her body. I was so furious that I wanted to burn their eyes but I could never win against Kate. She was wicked, she knew my weakness.When she showed me that winning smile, it was game over. I heard the men behind me took a deep breath upon the incredible view.I knew it. I should have accompanied her. When the butler sent me her picture wearing that silver gown, I wanted to hurry home and just hide her in our bedroom. I wanted to be the only man who could see her in that provocative dress.But our little princess was enjoying the amusement park too much that I could not just get away. I could not remember how many times she grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the roller coaster and Ferris wheel ride that around the fifth time we rode in that blasted thing, I was too damn dizzy that I forgot about the party.I just remembered it on our way to the castle. I could not
(Kate)MY HEART raced when I heard a commotion outside. As soon as I finished changing my clothes in the guest room, I followed where the noise was coming from.I saw Aleman, he was currently being surrounded by the knights. He was holding a sword with blood still dripping from it. There were two dead bodies on the ground, a man and a woman, both were still wearing their swimming attire and both died from the sword.Aleman was quicker and stronger than the knights and warriors tonight. When he wielded his sword, the vampires surrounding him flew away. All had cuts on their stomachs, but thankfully, they were still breathing.I knew that move. I had seen that many times before.Jonathan showed up in front of me, ready to protect me anytime while Zachary was in another corner with the hellfire in his hand.When I saw the king about to attack the culprit, I ran to Aleman to shield him from Zachary and from the knights who pointed their swords at him.“Please stop!” I shouted.Zachary’s e
(Kate)“DID you receive the flowers, sis?” I remembered Terrence asking me before via phone call.I embraced the bouquet of yellow roses and nodded even if I know that he couldn’t see me at the moment. “I did, but what are these for? It’s not like it’s my birthday today-oh, wait.” I stopped and glanced at the calendar that I hung on the wall when I realized the date today. “It is indeed our birthday. I’m sorry, Terrence. I forgot again. I just came back from a mission. I didn’t notice the date.”We treated the day we were found by the nuns as our birthday. Between us, Terrence had always been more thoughtful. He would always send me flowers during days like this.“It’s okay. I understand.”I bit my lower lip. We were both busy. And yet, he still remembered. “This is so embarrassing. I didn’t even get you a gift again.”He laughed. “I told you it’s okay. You don’t have to buy me anything. For my birthday gift, can I just make a request instead?”“Anything, Terrence. Anything at all. Ju
(Zachary)THE SPELL had been lifted. Unlike the first time when Kate got emotional in the rose palace, tonight, there was no rain. The wind was calm and gentle. Silence filled the air. No one was moving, including the guests and the owner of the manor, as if they were afraid to create even a little sound that would distract her.Kate remained staring at the knight’s face. We now knew who he was. We had heard their conversation; we heard them weep for all the lost times. We had witnessed their final reunion. Terrence may be using another person’s face and body, but we clearly saw him break down.We saw how the siblings shatter. The royal family died a tragic death. Kate was now officially the last surviving member from the Gregory clan. They were all victims of the century-old war between the witches, hunters, and vampires. The twins were the ones who loved each other the most in this world, and yet, they ended up pointing their swords at each other. All we could do was watch from afar
AFTER confirming the witches’ location, I did not waste time anymore. I kicked the steel gate of the two-storey house where the witches had been hiding and immediately set their hideout on fire.I heard them shriek. The furious warriors broke the door. We found the witches in the middle of casting their spell, all of them were sitting on the floor. They formed a circle and were holding each other’s hands while chanting but Jonathan and Damon were quick to throw their swords at the witches’ heads.Despite the two witches who died, the chanting did not stop. Instead, their voices became louder. The warriors’ ears bled, but none of them stopped from marching forward.I allowed these little devils to live before. I gave them mercy when they begged me thinking that they could not do any harm to me and my people anyway. It was just recently when I discovered that they were the ones backing up Dimitri’s disciples.Showing them mercy was my mistake. That same mercy I gave them had bounced bac
(Zachary) IT WAS almost five in the afternoon. It was time to pick up swan from her campus. I was about to call the twins who were running around the lawn when I saw how Mira swooped in and carried Alain in one hand and Algernon in another. The twins were playing with their guards who were now sweating so hard. After getting caught by their sister, the boys pouted and lowered their heads. Their playfulness had never worked on my eldest. “What time is it now?” she asked the twins. “Five,” Alain answered. “It’s still three minutes and eleven seconds before five in the afternoon,” Algernon added. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” Mira asked again. The twins gasped and together, they said, “It’s time to pick up Mommy from the human realm!” “You finally remembered. Now go to your rooms and fix yourselves. Don’t come to her campus looking like that. Both of you were the ones who insisted on picking her up today and yet, you forgot?” The t
(Kate)IN THE middle of checking the photos the butler had sent regarding Algernon, I noticed Jonathan peeking at his wristwatch. There were more photos to look at. Others were about Mira. She sent the pictures herself. She was getting along really well with her friends. She had completely adapted to her hybrid life.Whenever I’m away, I can’t be at ease unless I see the reports about my children. Even with the blood link, the trauma the witches and the hunters had caused me will take a while to get rid of. And I was glad that Mira understood. She was the one who volunteered to send her daily pictures to me to keep me posted especially whenever they had school activities.But in time, I know the trauma will disappear.The other photos were regarding my husband and Alain who had caused troubles in the office. Violet sent them to me after giving me a call since she visited Damon there and brought him his blood bag. He caught the general in the l
“GREETINGS, your majesty and the prince,” everybody greeted. The women held onto the bottom of their skirts because the wind kept blowing them away.I held my little guy’s hand and put it down. The wind vanished. But when he looked up at me, he looked like he was about to cry as if I ruined his fun.“Don’t look at Daddy like that. Here. I brought your favorite toy,” I said and gave him his teddy bear. His smile came back as he grabbed the toy.The people sighed, relieved. But the aftermath of the trouble my son unconsciously caused was still palpable. I snapped my finger. In a blink of an eye, everything had turned back to normal.When we rode the elevator, Damon caught up to us. After bowing to give his greetings, he looked at me curiously.“My wife is in a meeting. I can’t leave the twins under the servants’ care. They already looked so stressed. I had to bring one of them. That’s the only way to appease my wife as well. I didn’t want her to worry all day,” I said before he could as
SEEING my wife like this reminded me of the phone call I received while I was still inspecting the border. That was around six in the evening.‘Your majesty?’ she asked in a low voice.I smiled and loosened my tie. There was something in her voice which made me feel hot even if it was windy outside. ‘Yes, swan?’‘What time are you going home tonight?’‘I’m not sure. There are still areas we haven’t visited yet. Why? Do you miss me already? What’s up with this sudden call?’ I teased.I never needed phone calls when I could always teleport whenever I miss her which happens constantly. Most of the time, I would show up in her workplace or in the twins’ room to steal a kiss from her and if I get lucky, we would do it quickly. I just could not get enough of her.I guess I never gave swan the chance to miss me that’s why after two years of our marriage, this was her first time calling me first.‘Nothing. I just called to say that… I’m not wearing any underwear tonight. And I’ve already prep
Two years later…I KNEW I would find her here. These past few months, I rarely see my wife in our chamber. She was constantly in Alain and Algernon’s room. Even if our twins had their own servants, she was still hands-on when it came to them.It was past eight in the evening. I normally come home at five in the afternoon but today, I went with the knights for the monthly inspection around the borders. Mira greeted me at the doorway a while ago and told me that she already had an early dinner with her mother. Still, I caught her stealing a blood bag in the fridge for a snack.When I heard that her mother was sleeping upstairs, I sent our eldest to bed after her snack and after monitoring her mana and her blood intake since today was Thursday and it was my turn to monitor it to keep her mana and her powers in check. The kingdom may be peaceful now and there were no more threats but after what Kate and Terrence had experienced, it would not hurt to be careful.Our children’s blood was li
(Zachary)I FINALLY get it. What they say about family, about parents. I thought I knew enough about parental love after being a father but Dayanara Gregory had shown us what a mother’s love was and why it was important.I had seen it when Swan covered for Mira after she bit her, when she looked at our daughter with wonder and affection in her eyes as she watched her play in the garden, when she brushed her hair, when she worried whether she had taken her meals or not, and when she kissed her at night as she wished her a sweet dream.Lastly, I saw it the night Swan was shackled. I saw how she strived to make sense of the situation when Mira ran to her, barefooted and with tears flowing down her cheeks. I saw how she broke her heart to appease our daughter’s heart while I stood there, unsure what word to say and what step to make, because I never understood the gravity of having a parent and losing one.All I understood was the pain of a husban
(Damon)ON the way to the castle, no music could be heard. Unlike before, there were no festivities. There were no children playing on the streets either. All the establishments were closed. The people I saw were wearing white.They hung lanterns in every house as their way of sending the queen off believing that the lanterns will light up her path towards another world.I continued to drive and stopped in front of the castle. The gates were opened for everyone who wished to visit the queen. There were more and more people coming by. I stepped out of the car and instantly heard the sound coming from the flute. It was from Jonathan who was in the garden, her highness’ favorite spot.He looked so lost as he played the flute which gave off a heart-wrenching sound. He hadn’t spoken a single word since yesterday. He hadn’t changed his clothes either. The queen’s blood on his uniform was still there. Even his hand still had her blood on
I KNOW it was wrong to feel this way because swan is still alive. She has to be alive or else, all those traveling, all those twelve duels just for one silly flower would not mean a thing, or else I would regret not being by her side for the past two days as she waited for me while enduring so much. “Swan, hang in there,” I whispered and forced a smile. “We are about to reach the top. Just take a nap for the meantime. I know you are tired. I will wake you when we get there.” It was already bright when we reached the top. I took the final step and stopped to look around us. The wind blew. My chest felt like it was being squeezed when I said, “Wake up, swan. Open your eyes, come on. We are on top of the mountain now. We fulfilled your wish. Do you see it? The scenery is as lovely as you said.” Again, there was silence. “You also said that it would feel liberating when you are one with nature like this. But swan, I don’t feel liberated at all. The beauty I
I WAS stunned. I could not move. I could not even speak.But when Kate was about to fall, my body automatically moved to catch her. The wind and the rain had stopped at once. The hunters vanished one by one as if their lives were linked with hers. Blood was still gushing from her chest when she tried to open her eyes.They were back to being blue.Jonathan pulled out the sword from her and kneeled before us.Kate proudly smiled at him and said, “T-thank you, Jonathan. You did well.” And then she turned to me. “Where have you been? I missed you, my husband.”I held her hand. “Doctor Juno is preparing the medicine. Wait a little more, swan. I will take you back home and-““No, Zach. I don’t think I could survive this anymore,” she whispered as she caressed my face. “Love, what took you so long? Where were you? I waited for you.”Tears streamed my cheeks. “I’m sorry, swan. I’m sorry for leaving your side. But why did you do that? I don’t need to live forever! What the hell am I going to