Chapter 11:
Trisha’s P.O.V:
A knock on the door brought my attention back inside the room. Neema stirred at the sound but didn’t wake up so I hurried towards the door, wincing as my injured leg strained, and opened the door to a worried looking Mark.
“Morning, Mark…” I greeted him awkwardly, not knowing what else to say.
“Sorry if I woke you up, Lucas asked me to come fetch you, and to bring you these.” He held up a duffle bag in his hand.
Ignoring his use of the word ‘fetch’, I took the bag from him and proceeded to close the door when his gruff voice stopped me. “Your wallet and ID are inside the bag.”
“And my phone?” I asked frowning.
“We had to destroy it. Can’t have those leeches tracking you all the way here.” Mark said in a heavily accented voice.
“Those leeches are my friends and family!” I snapped at him. “And I need to see Lucas, right now!”
Mark gave me a dar
Chapter 12: Trisha’s P.O.V: “Where are we going?” I asked as Lucas stood up and rounded the table, heading for the door. “You’ll find out soon enough.” He opened the door and I saw two wolves standing guard outside, their eyes holding the same golden gleam. Lucas must have had a conversation with them telepathically because they bowed their head and moved out of his way. We walked through the same path we’d taken yesterday when he’d dropped me off at the bathroom. It reminded me of the wound I’d suffered in my own house. That wound was now completely healed, thanks to the salve the wolf Healer Dylan had whipped up for me, but mostly, it was Damien’s blood. I pushed all thoughts of Damien at the back of my mind before they could compromise my judgment. He probably just wanted to stir up trouble, distract me from the case. As we walked the short distance towards the bathroom, I felt quite surprised
Chapter 13: Trisha’s P.O.V: “You’re not going to go all Dracula on them, are you?” Lucas asked from beside me. And although his tone was teasing, I could hear the seriousness behind it. “I’ve fed this morning.” I reminded him. I did however; feel like reminding him that I stay with Neema all the time and even sleep next to him, but then again, Neema wasn’t exactly human. “Very well,” Lucas pointed towards the sprawling village in front of us. “Let’s go meet everyone.” Calling this place a village would be an understatement. The humans seemed to reside in the buildings that were abandoned during the Wipeout; they were worn down and broken in several parts, but most of it was functional and looked as good as new. “How long have they been here?” I asked Lucas. “Sanctuary had been created right after the Wipeout, but at that time, the people living here had been hiding from us immortals. Several of them we
Chapter 14: Trisha’s P.O.V: I left the Sanctuary with my palms itching and my heart heavy. I was so close. Whatever Granny Dilliana knew was highly valuable. It felt like I was getting closer to understanding the relationship between Damien and Vandal. If only I could’ve found out today… “Is this the proof you were talking about?” I asked Lucas on our way back. “Yes.” He nodded. “Granny Dilliana is very old. The fact that she’s spoken to you for as long as she had is a miracle. But we couldn’t stress her too much. The people in Sanctuary love her and treat her with respect. It would’ve been impolite to stay longer with her condition worsening every day.” “How long does she have?” I asked, understanding now why the people and her family had requested us to leave her to rest for today. “Not long. She’s over ninety years and it’ll be sad to see her go, but at her age, it would be a relief.” Lucas
Chapter 15: Trisha’s P.O.V: “I was waiting for your call.” I barely contained a scream as I heard Damien’s voice from behind me. I placed a hand over my racing heart and let out a deep breath as I turned around to face him. “Never. Do. That. Again!” I spoke through clenched teeth. “Why?” Damien tilted his head to one side and the large sapphire in his left ear caught the overhead light and caused light to scatter on the wall behind me. And that was when I noticed that Damien wasn’t dressed in his usual dark shirts and dress pants, but instead, he had on a dark red velvet jacket with intricate red on red designs on the front and cuffs, paired with black pants and the clothing were paired with his family jewelry. A sapphire and emerald encrusted chain necklace fit for a king and the sapphire earring on one ear and he also wore the gold ring with his family crest on it. “Because it’s rude.” I answered his previou
Chapter 16: Trisha’s P.O.V: The world disappeared around me and I instantly felt nausea churn inside my stomach. Everything around me was pitch black, or did I just lose my eyesight? I wanted to ask Damien what he’d done to me, but it felt like if I did speak, I’d just throw up everything I’d had for dinner. And just like how the world had gone out of focus, everything came rushing back; sights, smells and colors…and the nausea. “The toilet’s that way.” I felt Damien turn me in the direction of a toilet as he helped keep me steady and then I was running towards it and pouring my guts out. Damien even held my hair back. It did take a bit of time to register that the King of all landforms was holding my hair back while I emptied my gut…but then it did register. Too bad I was too sick to care. I didn’t know vampires could puke until now. When I was done throwing up my dinner, I felt Damien press
Chapter 17: Trisha’s P.O.V: Vandal was a turned vampire and the first turned one in our history to ever become a nobleman. He was old, having been turned at a later age and thus, even Vampirism couldn’t prevent his graying hair and wrinkled skin. Although he was over a thousand years old, he was still handsome and looked like someone who had aged gracefully. That’s one thing I hate about the man; you wouldn’t be able to tell what a bastard he was just by looking at his face. Broad shoulders, nice physique with a height over six feet and long hair that he liked to tie at his nape, he was someone who demanded respect and obedience and took them all for granted. “Lord Rudolf.” I grit my teeth together as Damien addressed him as Lord, but I focused all my energy in keeping my heartbeat steady. “What a lovely feast you’ve arranged Your Highness.” Vandal smiled widely. “I must say you’ve outdone yourself.” He took a sip of
Chapter 18: Trisha’s P.O.V: When I woke up the next morning, it was already past lunchtime. I took in the golden hue of the late afternoon sun through the open windows and slowly got up from bed. The disposable phone that Lucas had given me was lying by my side and my shirt was sticking to my chest from the heat. This high up in the sky, my room got quite hot and humid during the afternoon; that’s why I always send Neema to Mark’s room on a lower level so he can stay cool. But today, tiny hands on my back told me Neema had stayed with me. “Morning sleepyhead!” Neema greeted me with his arms around my neck as he snuggled close to my neck. Did the little man just mimic my dialogue to him every morning? “Hey kiddo.” I snuggled my face closer to him. “Morning.” “You missed both breakfast and lunch.” Neema giggled before speaking in a hushed voice. “How was the ball?” “Awww, baby!” I took his hand
Chapter 19: Trisha’s P.O.V “Come in.” Lucas and I entered the cottage together to find Granny Dilliana sitting alone in her bed. Talia, her granddaughter, was nowhere in sight and Granny Dilliana was having lunch on her own. It was yesterday when I had my confrontation with Dylan and so far, he hasn’t ousted my secret. I do hope it keeps staying that way. “Ma boy!” Dilliana patted the empty side of the bed with her wrinkled hands. “Come sit. You too vamp.” I had been jittery and nervous all the way to the Sanctuary and maybe it was the fact that Daniel knew Damien had come for a visit or the fact that I was finally going to get my hands on the evidence I needed to get rid of Vandal and free Neema for good, I couldn’t tell. But my palms were sweaty and my heartbeat was erratic. What if Granny Dilliana forgot where she put the evidence? What if the evidence was lost? Fuck, what if the evidence wasn’t ev
Trisha’s P.O.VEverything is a lie.My life, my love…everything.I couldn’t tell the difference between reality and dreams and the more I thought, the more my head pounded, making me feel sick to my stomach.This wasn’t the first time that my life had turned upside down within a moment’s notice. But this was the first time in my life I wanted to question whatever divine power ruled the universe…why did they keep me alive?My entire town in the countryside had been slaughtered. No one had been left alive as the werewolves shred through the populace, splattering blood and guts on the walls and ending precious lives one by one like it didn’t mean anything. My precious little boy, my David, as well as my husband and my mother…they had all died a painful death as the wolves entered out house, breaking through concrete and used their sharp claws and fangs to rip everyone to shreds. I cle
Trisha’s P.O.V“Damnit!” I threw aside another book that had a promising title but did not have what I needed!I needed scandals and dirt on the Elders, not flowery words and love poems on their beauty! So yes, I was pissed off enough to throw around books that had hundreds of years of history, but I wasn’t a monster, so I instantly regretted my decision and ran after said book, picking it up from the floor and properly keeping them back in place after making sure I hadn't made any damages.So far the only thing I had gathered was that the Council consisted of four members, three men and one woman. They were considered over ten thousand years in age and they were certainly not the first vampires, but…the last of the first? And there was more misinformation about the Elders than information, because the records kept varying from one data to another.So not only was I angry, I was frustrated and exhausted and
Trisha’s P.O.V“Hey, champ!” I called out to Neema, watching him sitting on his bed, bent over his notebook in concentration. “What are you up to?”“Hi, mommy!” Neema gave me a sleepy smile, but rubbed his eyes to drive the sleep away. “I was doing my homework.”“Homework? What subject?” I went to sit on his bed as he made room for me.“Math.” He showed me what he was working on. “The teacher said I need to finish by tomorrow, but I’m sleepy.”“Really?” I raised my eyebrows at his sheepish smile. “Who was it that stayed past their bedtime again?”“Sorry.” He wrapped an arm around my waist and placed his head on my chest, holding on to me tightly. “But it was your and Damien’s wedding! I couldn’t miss it!”Smiling, I wrapped my arms around my precious boy. “Ne
Trisha’s P.O.V“Someone’s had a lot of fun last night?” I smirked at Rosanna as she entered the cafeteria late in the afternoon, having skipped breakfast. “It’s almost lunch time.”“Fuck you!” She groaned, fixing her messy hair into a bun, revealing the love bites on her neck.“I think you already did that…with Lucas.” I laughed at her sour look.“Bitch! If you didn’t have vampire healing, I’d like to see how you would fair, Mrs. Vampire Queen.” Rose glared at me. “Where’s the hubby? Aren’t newlyweds like, attached to the hip or something?”“He went back to his castle to gather Intel.” I shrugged, taking a sip of my coffee. I had been working all morning and I needed caffeine to keep me going. “This newlywed couple has a sword hanging on top of their heads.”“Yeah…I kno
Trisha’s P.O.VThat night, Damien and I held our reception in the ship’s deck with everyone on deck having the time of their lives as we celebrated our union. Lucas and Rose seemed to be enjoying themselves a bit too much and it did raise some eyebrows, but in a good way.If Rose and Lucas decide to be together, I would be really happy for them. They had both been through a lot in their lives and they deserved their happiness.Neema seemed ecstatic as he danced away with the crew, so much so that I almost missed his bedtime. But I guess, skipping bedtime for one day wouldn’t hurt, right? This was further from the calm before the storm. This was us coming together to celebrate one small victory. And even though I was a bit worried about the amount of pastries he had consumed today and skipped his bedtime, I was willing to let it slide just this once.It was a beautiful star filled night and the ocean was quiet for the mos
Trisha’s P.O.VI walked out of the room with my father, Lucas and Rose following behind us, but they separated from us as we neared the altar.The music was light and the entire hall was filled with the scent of fragrant flowers. White roses were used as decoration, but within the purity of the white, I spotted the dark velvet petals of the black roses. However, behind the altar, there was a humongous garland made completely of black roses and it was just magnificent.Candles illuminated the room along with the electric chandeliers; it was a mix of the old and the new. I think it was a harmonious match, just like Damien and me. He was over nine centuries old while I was only two. Vampires didn’t count years as humans did and I had long since understood that passage of time for us was far different, but somewhere deep in my heart, the heart that had once been human, told me in a wondrous whisper that Damien might just have waited for
Trisha’s P.O.VI stared at the mirror across the room, unable to recognize the woman staring back at me.Damien had kept his promise. He was giving me everything I had always wanted. A grand wedding at the castle with only the staff and close friends in attendance. And a wedding dress that would be the source of envy for many a woman.The dress was pure white with a boat neck and fit bodice, but the bottom half was a flared skirt with the most gorgeous pearl embroidery I had ever seen. The sleeves were full and it was embroidered the same, with real pearls and even though there was so much decoration, the fabric was soft and breathable. The person who had done my makeup had told me that this was all Damien’s special request and that he had ordered it half a year ago. I had no idea what to feel after knowing that Damien had been planning for this way ahead of time.My stylist had even changed my hair by removing the black dye a
Trisha’s P.O.V“Damien wh-?”The world was engulfed in darkness for a few seconds and then, we were no longer inside the jungle and the ruins of the Avestenin castle. The room Damien had taken me into was dark as well and before my night vision could kick in, I saw tiny flames flicker to life.Candles. There were hundreds of them all around the room and once all of them were lit up, I found myself in a fairytale. A huge chandelier hung from the ceiling and the crystals scattered the light of the candles in all directions making it look like fractured starlight on the walls. There was a huge bed in the middle of the room and the windows were draped with blood red silk curtains. There wasn’t much furniture in the room except for the bed, a large closet and a vanity, but it was spacious and beautiful. Since the curtains were drawn, I couldn’t see outside and also because wherever we were, it was night time; but I heard
Trisha’s P.O.VRose and I joined Damien and Lucas on the table and Rose motioned for Rissa, the woman in charge of the Kitchen, to bring out our food.I was given a bag of blood along with a small bowl of beef stew and rice, while Damien was just given a bag of blood and a suspicious look. I gave Rissa a disappointed glance, but Damien shook his head, accepting the blood without complaints.“So? Any progress with the expedition?” Rose asked outright, getting straight to the point. “You didn’t immediately teleport back, so I’m assuming you had some form of success.”Damien nodded, taking a sip of his blood. “I found the castle. There was a fountain in the courtyard with the statue of a baby angel. It was made completely of jade, that’s why I remembered it. Turns out, that statue is still in pristine condition.”“And the castle?” I asked, a sliver of hope bloomin