Little flecks of red dancing in his eyes coalesced to form a deep sea of crimson that spread over his irises rapidly until only a rim of green was left untouched. It didn’t just stop there. Soon, the voracious ocean of crimson started morphing into a darker shade, swallowing the pupil that came into its path as well. Soon enough, his eyes were looking like a pair of onyxes. There seemed to be no light left in them. The green of his eyes had caught fire.

Despite the pain radiating in her scalp, she couldn’t tear her gaze away from the king’s terrifying presence. She thought she had seen Ares angry before but nothing came close to what she was witnessing at that moment. From the root of his hair to the tip of his expensive leather shoes, everything was drenched in all black, the underside of his lips included. His complexion seemed to have turned paler as well, causing the nexus of green blue veins running under his skin to become more visible, more so around his face and neck. He had looked like a porcelain doll the last time she had seen him but now, sitting cross-legged on his gilded throne, he truly appeared to be a predator on top of the foodchain. His eyes, set on his prey, held the intent to kill.

“Those eyes, do they not belong to The Hunter?”

She blinked back as she turned her gaze away from Ares to look at the person who had broken the thick silence in the room.

She watched as a vampire with jet black hair stepped down from his seat on the left row, raising his hand towards her face as he approached her with slow careful steps.

“Stop right there.”

Even though it was not a warning directed towards her yet the king’s resonant command made a cold shiver pass down her spine.

“Why, my king?”

Listening to his king’s command, the elder vampire who had been approaching Faith turned stiff, stopping in his tracks to look inquisitively at Ares.

“She has the king’s scent on her.”

Another deep voice chirped from one corner of the room, causing her to whip her head in its direction. She had expected it to be someone old but the voice belonged to a fairly young man with platinum blond hair. He was sitting comfortably on his chair on the right side, much closer to the king. One leg draped over the other, he had his bemused ruby eyes trained on her figure.

‘He seems bemused.’

“Athan speaks the truth, my fellows.”

The moment Cyrus affirmed the blond vampire’s statement, all elders shifted their attention towards Ares who was still busy glaring at Cyrus with utmost hatred.

“This is your current queen, a mere hybrid arriving from a lineage tinted with the blood of the former vampire queen. This!”

As he said this, Cyrus pulled harder on the chunk of hair he was holding from Faith’s head making her grit her teeth in pain.

“I said LEAVE HER ALONE!”

The force disappeared as soon as it was applied, making her tumble forward. Her knees hit the ground painfully before she caught herself in time from meeting the ground headfirst.

‘What happened?’

Through the small windows created in front of her eyes by her scattered hair, she witnessed Ares, no longer resting on the throne, was grasping Cyrus’ neck clutching it with enough force to snap the bark of a tree.

Cyrus on the other hand didn’t seem much affected by it. He was grinning in Ares’ face like a madman.

“Betraying flesh for a hunter, my dear nephew? Seeing the king so possessive over our sworn enemy, I worry for the future of this kingdom.”

With each word Cyrus spit out, Ares’ grip on his neck tightened,

“You worry for the future of this kingdom? You, Cyrus? It is you who conspired with that actual hunter to murder my mother, without your help he could have never entered this castle, and then you murdered him as well to get rid of the last piece of evidence. You captured his four years old daughter Eve and turn her into a vampire when she reached adulthood to use her as bait. She ran away from your clutches, and you followed her to another continent and killed her as well as she was of no use now. The previous king had already died. Unfortunately for you, you remained unaware of the fact that she had birthed a daughter. You were behind it all along.”

A loud cackle followed Ares’ accusing words. Cyrus had thrown his head back in laughter— a laughter devoid of any humor; its emptiness chilled Faith to her bones.

After laughing coldly for another one or two seconds, he straightened his head back to look Ares square in the eye,

“And what proof do you have of this?”

“Faith’s birth certificate, Identity Card, Eve’s pictures, documents, information collected from their neighbors, your absence from here when my castle caught fire in East Sussex and when Eve disappeared from New York. Who could gain the most benefit out of the queen’s death? Who got me exiled knowing fully well that his son was alive? Everything points at you!”

Detecting movement from the corner of her eyes, she watched Henry handing out a bunch of documents to every elder sitting there.

“The documents seem original.”

It was the same blond who had spoken earlier. Faith frowned as she noticed that he had already finished scanning through the thick bundle handed to him by Henricus.

Before anyone else could comment on the situation, Cyrus shoved Ares’ hand away from his throat, breaking out of his hold easily,

“Everyone here knows my wife revived Felix with magic and her life force, which is the very reason that you, my dear nephew, were able to become the King. The moment my wife realized that there was some hope of saving our son, we informed the late king and started travelling around the world to bring you back home, hence the reason I was absent during that time period from here, Romania. And speaking of that woman named Eve, I know nothing about her. You truly believe that if I had gone to another continent to end a woman, I wouldn’t thoroughly do a background check to ensure I’m not leaving any potential threats behind? I’m Cyrus. I show no mercy; I leave no one behind.”

From what Felix had told Faith about Cyrus, she knew it was very unlikely of Cyrus to leave behind evidence. He was a merciless killer which only means Felix was right.

Everything was going according to Cyrus’ plan. He had left Faith and her father alive on purpose. He wanted their existence to become an alibi for his innocence.

‘Cyrus is indeed one cunning bastard.’

She could see how many eyes had become clouded with uncertainty in that place.

“From what I see, you have no convincing evidence against me. There’s no point in trying to save that woman now. Either you hand her over to the council or…”

Cyrus paused to cast a cold glance her way before turning back to stare apathetically at Ares,

“Face a war against me.”

‘He’s doing exactly as Felix had told me.’

“I accept your challenge to the throne.”

Her eyes turned to saucers as she realized Ares had wasted no time in agreeing for war in return for saving her life.

She was still busy staring wide-eyed at Ares as in a flash, he moved to stand in front of her in a protective stance. His broad back was blocking her view of Cyrus. She couldn’t see what expression was playing on either of their faces.

“Faith is my wife, your queen. Denying her existence is equivalent to denying my command. Those of you who are willing to put their trust in my ruling, those of you who never saw me doing any unjust act in my reign till now, and those who deem me capable enough of saving this kingdom from falling into chaos, STAND BEHIND ME.”

She watched as after a bit of mumbling, one by one several vampire elders walked briskly to stand behind Ares and her; they briefly knelt down on their knees, demonstrating their loyalty to their king and queen.

On the other hand, many elders had walked to stand behind Cyrus as well.

The process went on for a few more minutes until only one vampire was left sitting on his chair—Athan.

“Ah, a fight till death. How interesting. Inform me when one you’re done.”

Uttering a nonchalant response, the vampire slumped back into his chair, closing his eyes without a care in the world.

‘Does he have a screw loose?’

Faith was still busy staring at that crazy vampire resting comfortably in his chair when she suddenly felt a shift in the air.

‘Danger!’

Moving around just in time, she saw Cyrus’s fangs missing her neck by barely an inch. If Ares hadn’t thrown himself in between them, her neck would’ve acquired serious damage.

“Uh...”

Not having time to register the sudden attack, she fell back on her butt as both vampires turned into blurry figures. Even with her supernatural senses, she failed to detect their extremely fast movements.

“It’s a war!”

In a blink of an eye, the room was turned upside down. The elders were trying to rip apart one another as well. All of it seemed like a game to them, a chance to prove their power and they were taking absolute advantage of it.

Out of nowhere she felt someone trying to approach her from behind causing her to grip their arm and tug them towards her to throw them over her shoulder.

“My lady!”

“Henry?”

She stopped her attack immediately as she heard Henry’s startled voice. He was holding his free hand up in a form of surrendering.

“You’ve gotten stronger, my lady.”

“Uh, thanks?”

Henry’s emotionless eyes widened a fraction before he gripped Faith’s shoulder hurriedly moving her out of the way. Just as they finished running to the other side of the room, a vampire’s limp body fell onto the floor where Faith had been standing previously.

“We need to leave, my lady.”

Henry said urgently as he tried tugging faith by her arm towards a dimly lit corridor.

“I won’t leave Ares behind.”

She stood rooted to her place as she looked up through her tousled hair to stare into Henry’s brown eyes. He was trying his best to hide his emotions yet his worry has managed to slip into the corners of his eyes.

“With all due respect, don’t be irrational, my lady. What help are us weakling would be against all these purebloods?”

“Some help is better than no help at all.”

“There is help, my lady. You do not need to involve yourself in this.”

Her eyes turned to slits as she realized what he was saying. Ares had backup.

“Tell me, Henricus Christensen. What’s the plan?”

Her gaze was fierce enough to make any grown man squirm. Henry wasn’t an exception. She could see Henry contemplating his choices for a brief moment before finally answering her,

“I’ll tell you if you agree to escape from here with me. There are too many ears here.”

Her frown deepened as she cast a glance around the room. The previously eloquent room and its occupants were covered in a scarlet liquid. It looked as if it were raining blood in hell.

“Tsk.”

Unwillingly, she grabbed Henry’s hand, urging her to lead her out of the devastated room.

They ran for a few minutes, slowing down only after reaching a comparatively quieter part of the castle.

“Enough, tell me now!”

Pulling on Henry’s arm, she motioned for him to slow down as she uttered those words.

The nightwalker stopped at once. They were standing in a dark hallway with multiple doors on both sides. There wasn’t a single source of light illuminating their path. She could only manage to stare at Henry’s back due to her vampire senses. She could see his shoulders moving up and down as he inhaled large amounts of air inside his lungs,

“Royal guards will evacuate the castle and suppress the rebellion according to their power. Anyone resisting will be put behind the bars. Once done, they’ll set fire to the castle. My lord will hold Cyrus here and make sure that he stays inside as the castle burns to ashes.”

Something seemed off. There was a tinge of an unnamed emotion mixed into Henry’s usual emotionless tone

“And what happens to Ares, Henry?”

“Nothing.”

Henry’s back remained facing her as he let out that single word in a small whisper.

“What?”

Slowly, he turned around to meet her eyes with a helpless look painted all across his usually impassive face. She felt like she was once again back to the past, standing in front of the human Henricus Christensen.

“There is no way out for him, my lady.”

He took a small pause to release a frustrated sigh before continuing,

“My lord stayed away from Romania because he knew he couldn’t overpower Cyrus yet. Cyrus is older and much more cunning while on the other hand, Lord Ares remained trapped in nothingness for centuries. This was not the right time to face Cyrus, but the moment you disappeared he lost his sense of rationality. He immediately decided on coming here without thinking it through.”

‘He’s going to… sacrifice himself?’

She couldn’t believe her ears.

“W-What happens now?”

“If he tries his best, he’ll be able to match Cyrus’ strength. He’ll be able to kill Cyrus but he’ll die along with him.”

Henry’s usual impassive tone had slipped back into its place. It seemed like he had turned his emotions off.

‘Die…?’

Her storm colored irises turned cloudy as a memory started playing before her eyes,

“It’s your child too, even though you consider the life growing inside you a monster, a nuisance-”

“Go to hell!”

“You’re killing me, Ares.”

The words from their last interaction were playing again and again in her head like a broken record.

‘Would this become our last memory of each other?’

Grabbing Henry’s hand again, she used her index finger to trace two oblique lines followed by a horizontal one in the center of his palm.

She went on with the process till she was done writing all the letters on the skin of his palm.

Henry’s eyebrows furrowed as he realized what Faith was trying to tell her.

“Where, my lady?”

Taking a deep breath, she again hurriedly started tracing a series of his letters on his hand.

“My lady?!”

Henry seemed genuinely concerned as he found out about baby Aria’s location.

“They’re reliable, Henry. Please, trust me.”

She knew how hard it would become for Henry to trust someone who was deemed as his mother’s killer in the past but she needed him to trust her, desperately.

After a small moment of internal turmoil, Henry lowered his head as he gulped before saying his next words,

“I believe your reason, My lady.”

The corners of her mouth stretched into a small smile as she gently grabbed both of Henry’s hands in her smaller ones,

“Thank you, Henry. I know what I’m asking of you is burdensome, but please trust me one last time and go. Go and do what I asked of you. I have something to do on my own.”

Slowly, Henry lifted his head to look back into Faith’s eyes. His irises had turned completely red, a rare thing that she had never seen him doing before.

He had let his emotions take over.

“Come back alive, my lady. Both of you.”

These were his last words to her as he gave her a small nod before sprinting out of the room.

As she watched Henry disappearing into the darkness, she turned her head back to the direction she had come from,

‘This ends today with you, Cyrus.’

Before she knew it, she was running back in the direction she had come from. It took her several turns to find her way back to the court room. She was blindly following the strong stench of blood emitting particularly from a specific location.

After going round and round in circles for a few minutes, she finally found light shining at the end of a dark hallway.

“There it is!”

In her carelessness to reach the throne room hurriedly, she failed to notice the presence lurking behind her. It was too late as she felt cold fingertips touching her back, ready to dig deep inside her chest and rip out her furiously beating heart.

An indescribable sound escaped out of her lips as the nails of her assailant scrapped the skin of her back. Trying her best to slow down without getting caught, she hastily whirled around to scratch her attacker’s abdomen open yet her claws were only met with air.

The vampire was already on the floor, dead, with a hole in his chest.

“Huh…”

Standing above the corpse was a blond. He was leaning against the wall behind him as he let his arms dangle to his side. Her brows furrowed as she noticed him clutching a throbbing piece of flesh in his right hand.

“Athan.”

Her attempt at sounding tough didn’t seem to work out well as her voice had come out visibly shaken.

“Faith, was it?”

Gulping inaudibly, she cast a quick glance at the dead vampire once again before shifting her gaze quickly back to the elder grasping his heart in his palm.

“You saved me.”

“Oh, yes. You’re welcome.”

A hint of a smirk had tugged one corner of his mouth up.

“You didn’t choose Ares’ side. May I inquire about the reason behind this benevolence?”

It took all of her power to not step back as he started strolling towards her with the bleeding heart still clenched inside his hand.

“You may not.”

He was standing right before her yet most of his features remained hidden in the shadows. Slowly, the elder leaned down to graze the crook of her neck with his take a small whiff of her neck, before letting the heart drop near her feet. Before she could manage to blink, he was gone, vanished into thin air.

‘What just happened…’

Passing a hand through her wild locks, she turned her head back to look at the bright end of the corridor.

'I need to hurry.’

Struggling to collect herself, she once again started running towards the throne room, stopping only as she reached the small entrance hidden behind the throne itself.

Her mouth opened in a mixture of surprise and horror as she took in the condition of her surroundings. It was a wreck but the purebloods were nowhere to be found. Only two figures remained visible brawling in the center of the room..

Ares and Cyrus.

Both of them had a similar set of injuries on their bodies. Ares was copying every move of Cyrus rendering Cyrus unable to get the upper hand on Ares. Every blow that Cyrus landed on Ares was met with a similar one finding its way back to him.

Hiding behind one of the chairs, she watched for a few more minutes as Ares kept using Cyrus’s own strategy against him. That was until Cyrus got impatient and jabbed four of his fingers straight into Ares’s ribcage, they tore his flesh, travelled between his ribs, stopping merely an inch or two away from Ares’s heart.

The reason why Cyrus hadn’t crushed Ares’ heart by now was solely because Ares had done the same and his fingers were also barely an inch away from Cyrus’ rotten heart.

Both men were on their knees, their hands buried deep inside each other’s chest.

It left Faith horrified to her core as she registered what had happened. She could hardly manage to suppress a scream from tearing out of her throat.

‘I… I have to catch Cyrus by surprise.’

She didn’t trust her arm’s strength in piercing Cyrus’s chest from behind but she had to try. There weren’t any sharp objects nearby that she could use as a stake. She didn’t want to alert Cyrus with her clumsy movements either.

‘I have to act fast.’

‘Just like your husband.’