If indeed all of this was the king's plan, then Mila should give him a huge thumbs up, for having come up with a plan to such detail.

And after what happened, it felt like Mila became curious about the man whom they were referring to as the vampire king. Perhaps, meeting him wouldn't be such a bad idea…

​​

"Then where are we going now?" Mila asked after she finished putting on her clothes and turned around, while Dom was taking something else out of his bag, a pair of shoes.

"Wear these, we still have a long way to go," he said, kneeling in front of Mila, and was about to put on the shoes for her as well.

However, Mila bent over and put on her own shoes. A pair of black running shoes. Why did they choose gloomy colors like these?

"I thought the king would pick me up," said Mila. "Since he wanted me so much, I thought he would come see me himself."

Dom laughed softly. "It was very difficult for the king to get out of the palace, due to the assassination threats from the humans that never stopped aiming to take his life, but when we attacked the research center, the king ignored all that and stayed quite close to the battle area."

Mila raised her eyebrows. "Who dares to forbid the king from leaving on his own accord?" Because Mila thought a king's word was the supreme law, so who would dare to do that to him?

"The elders," Dom answered as he stood up and surveyed their surroundings. "They are worried that there will be an attack when the king is not in the palace because the position as a leader can't be vacant and besides, we are also worried if the king is far enough from the palace because we can't protect him to the fullest."

This made Mila think that what Aaric said, about her not being able to see the outside world when she became their queen, could be true. If the king himself had to face so many difficulties and pass some elders before leaving his throne then she, as the queen, would face the same problems.

Mila's frown deepened as the thought crossed her mind.

"We have to get out of here before the special forces notice us," Dom said, holding out his hand to help Mila walk through the swamp.

However, Mila refused his helping hand and walked ahead of Dom. "Which way are we going?" she asked.

"We are going into town and there will be someone to pick us up," Dom replied, pointing to his left, where the city lights were shining brightly in the darkness of the night. "After that, you can meet the king."

================

Mila and Dom walked quite a distance from the place where the accident occurred and half way to the pick-up point, a man popped in front of her.

The man was quite short, only up to Mila's shoulders and had a pointed nose and small eyes.

His sudden appearance from the bushes startled Mila and made her stand on guard.

"Don't be afraid, he is Kyril, he is one of us," Dom said reassuringly.

Meanwhile, the short man named Kyril stepped forward and bowed respectfully, crossing his right arm in front of his chest, with his hand closed into a fist. "I am Kyril, princess Mila," he introduced himself and stood up straight while looking at Mila curiously. "This is my first time seeing the future queen up close."

Mila didn't respond to the statement, as she was considering the current situation and in case another memory came back to her just like when she talked to Dom, but it didn't. Maybe because they had never met before.

"He was the one who blew up the car, making it lose control which then got it crashed into the rail," Dom explained.

"What is he?" The word 'who' did not seem to be appropriate, to be used in this sentence.

"His ability is telekinesis, where he can move objects without touching them." Dom held out his hand, making a waving motion so Mila could walk first. They could discuss this as they walked because time was essential now.

"Wow," Mila mumbled quietly, again amazed at the abilities of these creatures. "Awesome."

"Thank you princess Mila," Kyril replied as he walked briskly beside her to keep up with their pace. "It is an honor for me to be able to join this rescue mission."

Mila didn't know how to respond to that statement, so she chose to remain silent.

The night was very cold with the wind blowing, but strangely Mila didn't feel that cold, or maybe it was because of the jacket she was wearing now, but when everything became quiet, Mila again remembered the thirst that tormented her and this time, the discomfort hit her twice as strong.

From time to time Mila cleared her throat to get rid of the feeling, but to no avail.

"Are you okay?" asked Dom.

"No, I feel bad," Mila replied.

"What is wrong?" Kyril walked in front of Mila and saw the pained expression on her contorted face. "Oh, no… she needs blood."