Bloodred tears filled my eyes.Trapped for years, but somehow she always believed in her daughter.I blinked them away and turned to let the others take me away from the dungeon.
“All the guards are with him,” one of them whispered. “They’re likely too few to have them roaming about.”
I nodded but said nothing else. We continued in silence until we came to a fork in the hallway. Right would take me back into the house and the throne room. Left led to the garden.
We went left.
“Thank you,” I said, calling their attention back to me. “For restoring my faith in vampires.”
They paused and turned back to face me.
“We would do anything for you, Princess,” the woman said.
“All we want is your safety,” the man added. “Now, if you?—”
I took a step down the right hallway. Their expressions dropped.
“Thank you, but I’m not running away this time,” I whispered. “I couldn’t stand up to my father, but I have to do this.”
“Princess,” the man stepped forward, panic lacing his expression. “Do not call a Royale. It’s too risky in his current state. Please. It could mean?—”
“My death,” I finished for him with a sad smile and took another step back. “I know. But I have to. No one else will.”
They started after me, hands raised as if they could stop me. But my mind was made up.
Stay fierce.
I turned on my heel and ran in the opposite direction as fast as I could.
It wasn’t long until I could hear the music and smell the blood. Anger flared to life in me when I smelled Vesper’s. I used it to push away my fear. To fuel me forward.
Pushing through the crowded throne room felt like an out-of-body experience.
People barely looked at me, only moving out of the way when our bodies were almost touching. Moving to the middle of the room, I stared at my brother.
He was enjoying a feeder on the throne. Vesper was kneeling next to him, her wide eyes on me. Tate was next to her, his poor body covered in blood.
“Adrian Castle, I challenge you to a Royale. A fight to the death. You are not worthy of this position. Better yet, you are not worthy of being in this world.”
He pushed the feeder off him, but it was too late. I dug my fangs into my wrist, slicing it open, before letting my blood fall to the ground.
It was the way to start the Royale.
“You kill me, and then what? Take the throne?”
I shook my head.
“Like I said, this family shouldn’t have existed in the first place. I am killing you and bringing the legacy down with me.”
Vesper tried to stand, but Adrian was there, forcing her down with one hand.
He’s going to lose his fucking hand just for daring to touch her.
She was panicking, trying to push against his hold, but even a newborn vampire wasn't a match for the power that was coursing through my brother.
“You always have to ruin everyone's plans, don't you?” he hissed.
I now realized how much my brother had changed since the first moment I saw him in the woods. Back then, he looked like a normal vampire, and I could see the resemblance between us and our father. Now? He looked more like a beast. His eyes sharper, double fangs sticking out of his mouth, long-clawed hands. He was turning into something I didn't recognize.
