"And as Queen of Sareth I'll lead them to the gates of Appollis and we'll burn them down"

It was the third time that we rewatched the scene. The mage who had gifted me the ring back in the day had explained that by only tapping the first and second ruby I could rewind already viewed scenes. The image of my sister so gleefully planning my demise still made me nauseous and though I'd much rather ban these memories out of my brain, it was of utmost importance that we analysed them thoroughly.

I was still glad that I could present the Appollonian court with some solid evidence of what I had witnessed. At first the king and been skeptical, but after his advisors confirmed that my ring was nothing more than a spying device and no maker of illusions, he agreed to hear me out.

Arrin saw me as a threat, that wasn't exactly news. But I knew that if I had just told him without showing him the portal he would've never believed me. Arrin was waiting for me to 'slip up'. To seem just untrustworthy enough to confirm his so called 'suspicions' about me. Like a petulant child trying to frame an innocent classmate for a nasty sceme. It was annoying to say the least, but to a certain extent understood his paranoia. Although it wouldn't hurt for him to grow up and understand that maybe some (most) vampires weren't out for another blood war...

My patience and empathy had a limit after all and Arrin was a champion at testing it.

"I've seen enough" Arrin mumbled when the lich turned to the portal for the third time.

With a few quick waves of my hand the portal closed and the ring fell back into my palm. The Appollonian king gave a deep sigh, running a hand through his curly blonde hair as his golden eyes turned to the floor. Distress was no emotion I frequently got to see darken the king's face. My gaze flashed over to Queen Peleth who looked equally as concerned as her son, pursing her lips, lost in thought.

We - Arrin, myself and the queen mother- were currently standing in one of the meeting rooms, accompanied by a few soldiers and two royal advisors. I was still dressed in the same thin silk robes as before, the collar and chain still clasped around my neck. Honestly I felt a bit- underdressed to say the least, but looking presentable wasn't the most important thing on my mind right now.

"We need to bring her down" Arrin eventually matter of factly said, shaking his head before looking up at the people in the room.

"As soon as possible, we need to attack by dawn!"

"No!" I intervened, already having dreaded that possible response "We shouldn't make such spontaneous decisions!" I shot back, getting a bit tired of Arrin's 'do first then think' attitude. He was a king for crying out loud, the lives of both Sarethians and Appollonians laid in his hands!

Arrin glared at me, taking a step closer before reaching for the chain that was still connected to the collar around my neck, giving it a sharp yank forward. We were face to face, hairs apart and I could see that familiar churning rage reflect in his regal eyes. I stifled gasped, wrapping a paper white hand around his light brown wrist, warning him with a silent look to let go.

"Arrin!" His mother exclaimed in disapproval.

Arrin ignored her, continuing his disgusting display of power. "Your sister is planning on attacking my kingdom the second she gets the chance and you want me to wait?" He hissed, golden eyes narrowing. I clenched my teeth, digging my sharp nails into the king's skin. Blood, the scent hit my nose the second my nails dug deep enough to hit flesh and Arrin grimaced. To my luck, he reluctantly let go of the chain. Immediatly I took a step back, reaching a hand up to the collar and adjusting my robes. I watched him glance at his hand, making a face when he saw that I had drawn blood. The king placed his other hand over the marks, allowing a soft golden glow to radiate beneath his palm before pulling his hand away, revealing healed skin. The healing powers of the paladin's had always amazed me.

"She is accompanied by the lich, Arrin! You and I both know that he can't just be killed!" I exclaimed.

"I know you're worried, so am I. If a second blood war commences my kingdom shall suffer too. But we can't just prance into battle like that without any preparation" I sighed, my tone softening as the paladin king listened to what I had to say.

—————

He was right.

Attacking Sareth was one thing, but doing so while the lich was on their side? That was suicide. The lich was a mysterious figure, an undead necromancer who had been roaming these lands for generations. Very few had attempted to fight him, but near none returned to retell the story. All but one survived the lich. A young knight named Gwyneth who had gone after the lich with twenty other paladin knights. She returned alone, having lost a leg and apparently also her mind. She spoke of undead creatures, horrific abominations that haunted the nightmares of children and feasted upon the flesh of the living.

After that we hadn't heard from the lich in years.

He seemed to have simply vanished, that was until today.

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

My question earned me a raised brow from my advisors, even my mother seemed surprised. No one expected me to actually ask for Ophyr's advise. The vampire king gave a soft hum, looking equally as taken aback, but also relieved.

"well I can't return home for now... the only thing stopping Lyliane from starting the second blood war is her status as acting queen. As long as I am the rightful living ruler of Sareth she can not lead my people to war" he sighed, pinning a long black strand of hair behind his pointed ear as he spoke.

———-

What could we do? We could spy on Lyliane for just a bit longer maybe? Garner more information before formulating a plan to- oh a plan to what! I didn't even have a lead! I didn't know what to do, but I did know that we had to act fast. As much as I cursed Arrin's impulsive nature, I had to admit that sometimes it did come in handy.

I glanced at the ring in my hands, frowning before looking up at the paladin king.

"I could travel to Gadriar" I suggested, a plan starting to form.

Arrin raised a brow at that idea, obvious unsure as to why I was suggesting it but allowing me to continue nonetheless.

"The lich is a necromancer, that classifies as a Mage. So perhaps the people in Gadriar might know how to defeat him or at least find a way to weaken him. I know someone in particular who could help" I suggested, slipping the ring back onto my left index finger.

The paladin king was silent, looking me over, clearly unsure about if he could trust me or not. Eventually he frowned and glanced at his advisors who simply shrugged their shoulders. They clearly didn't have any better ideas. Arrin turned back to me.

"Fine, but I'm not letting you go alone. I'm coming with you- but the repressing stone stays on" he sternly commanded, pointing a finger at the stone embedded in the collar around my neck. I was fine with him coming along, but did this power represser really have to remain put? Was being locked in a dungeon dressed in nothing but a glorified bathrobe not humiliating enough?

"What if we get attacked? I can't just let you defend us alone, that would get us both killed" I protested, trying to reason with the other. But like always Arrin was having none of it.

"I'm strong enough to defend the both of us, Ophyr." The paladin king replied. "And even if one of us gets hurt, you know I can fix it"

With that he turned to his soldiers, commanding them to go prepare two horses for us and fill a few satchels with traveling supplies. Queen Peleth sighed and stood up brushing her dark intricately braided hair behind her shoulders, the small golden bands and beads woven within them catching the light. It was once again her turn to take on the role of acting queen as her son would be off with the king of the vampires to search for answers.

—————-

We had to keep this mission as low key as possible. I decided that it was best that Ophyr and I travelled alone and we left the soldiers at the palace. It was best we dressed down and pretended to be simple travellers on their way to Gadriar for goods. We didn't need Lyliane figuring out our plans and coming after us. Our best bet was to keep Ophyr out of danger so he remained the rightful ruler and just hope that the mages of Gadriar knew what to do with the lich.

We were currently standing in the woods near the castle, standing beside two horses and making sure that we were fully prepared before leaving for this trip. My eyes slid over my steed, Kai, a big light brown horse with a white mane. He had been a birthday gift and I had had him fever since I turned sixteen. I glanced over at Ophyr who was also checking his horse, a lovely black mare. I didn't know her name but it was the same horse he had ridden onto Appollonian land with three days ago. It was clear that the vampire king also had a special bond with the animal.

My gaze wandered from the horse to Ophyr, sliding up his long black hair that reached his mid back up to his cold gray eyes that were focussed on nimble fingers that were adjusting a few straps on the satchel. Once again it dawned on me that he was just as young and inexperienced as me. We had been kings for how long? Four years maybe? Something like that.

My eyes dropped down to Ophyr's neck, there where the repressing stone silently resting in the cold iron collar securely fastened around his elegant neck. I remembered grabbing the chain that had been attached to only a few hours ago, my face heating up when I remembered how pulling the vampire king towards me had felt. Anger had been the most prominent emotion ,but I also remembered a gentle tingling in the pit of my stomach.

He was my enemy, but I had to admit that he was a sight to behold. A sight that had made my heart skip a beat everytime we met. Back when we were teenagers and I pretended to feel nothing but distaste for him, while secretly in the back of my mind the thought of pushing him up against a wall-

"Why not get the royal painter? I'm sure a portrait will last longer" Ophyr suddenly said, turning to me with a raised brow. I quickly coughed and averted my gaze, embarrassed that he had caught me staring. It wasn't a crush so to say- more a- oh you know a 'carnal lust'? If he hadn't been the king of Sareth I would've tried to bed him, that's the best (though vulgar) way to explain it.

"Sorry- I zoned out" I lied before straightening my shoulders. I hesitated for a second, distrust, lust, anger and even curiosity swirling around in my heart and mind. All four fighting for dominance. The reality of the situation was finally starting to set in and I knew that this blatant animosity that I presented towards the other would be impractical on a journey like this. Friendship was not what I had in mind, no, not now, maybe even never. Though perhaps- I could try to suck up my pride and bury the hatched, just for now.

Slowly I extended a hand towards the other king.

"Look... I still don't trust you, I probably never will, but for now I say we honour the truce. During this trip I shall try my best to not antagonise you or be suspicious of you without reason." I sighed. Ophyr looked at my hand, silent for a minute, contemplating my words. Mild shock, that's what I could decipher from his silence before he gave a soft neutral hum.

A slender hand wrapped around mine in a formal handshake.

"The bare minimum..." his eyes slid up to meet mine "... but I guess it's a start" with that he shot me a soft smile, one that directly made my chest tighten before letting go of my hand and walking towards his horse.

A few minutes later we rode off into the woods, quickly finding the main path and commencing our journey to Gadriar.