Zheira was sitting cross-legged on her bed while staring at Vladimir who’s leaning on the wall beside the doorway. “What do you think about that guest?” She tucked some strands of her golden hair to her ears.Vladimir breathed heavily. “He’s not different to my father. Whatever he showed you earlier is just a trick.”“But he knows how to fight my gift. He pushed me, remember? Maybe he can help me control it.” Eyes gleaming, he snorted. “He’s not someone you can trust. Besides, I’m here. I can help you.” He moved a little. In a flash, he’s now sitting beside her. “Are you planning something stupid?” His golden eyes scanned her. It felt as if he could see her soul.She diverted her gaze while fanning her hands. There’s a sudden warmth boiling from inside her with him so near. She shook it by muttering, “Of course not. Why would I do something like that?”His light-hearted laugh echoed in the room, making Zheira’s stomach turned upside down. He ruffl

Zheira was lost. All she could remember was being in a strange room and something about Eleanor. From then on, she had been shunned in the pits of shadows. She couldn’t even see her own body, but she’s not dead. Her heart was still beating, and yet, she felt empty like she’s in the center of a tug war; whether or not death wins her over, she knew she needed to escape this hell-like place. It was then that she started turning. The air pressure was too much for her skin, but what wrinkled her nose was the smell of corpse coming off from the unseen walls.Voices started echoing from her hopelessness. It came from the space itself. The sound waves became louder as the world slowed down. She could make out gray walls starting to visualize in thin air. Her eyes narrowed. Before she could even scream, she landed facedown on rough ground. Groaning, she crouched and patted the dirt away from her shirt. Her body turned rigid when she heard the voices earlier. The

Zheira linked her arms around her knees. Her tears were flowing non-stop, and everything she believed in shattered into pieces. She couldn’t take the truth. Their death was triggered by a rebellion led by Vladimir, but he did not even bother to protect them when they were hunted. His conscience was dominated by his madness, only fueled by his vengeance.She clenched her fist while biting the lower part of her lips. Screaming wouldn’t give any satisfaction. What she needed was an absolute reason why her parents have to die. They’ve done nothing wrong; all they did was to help a man who has forsaken them and has only helped when everything was too late. Now she understood his abandonment. The common vampire’s glares and the mockery of the witnesses were rooted in his rebellion. A warm breeze danced around the room. It caressed her skin, sending an unknown shiver down to her spine. Her breathing quickened as a golden line started to trace the c

Vladimir massaged his temple as he leaned against the soft backrest of his throne. “What did you say?”  Eleanor closed her eyes for a fraction. “She escape—forgive us, your majesty! I—We lost track of her whereabouts in Germany.”  “You mean to tell me, a girl slower than all of you, has escaped?” His voice was as sharp as the ends of a knife, and as though afraid to be pierced, the Elite Guards’ knees hit the ground, pleading relentlessly. “Useless!” He smashed his fist at the metal armrest; it released a deep, gong-like tune. If the Elites were given a choice, they would rather be eaten by the ground rather than facing the king’s wrath. “Forgive us, your majesty!” The Elite Guards bowed altogether. “We are worthy of your punishment!”  A splash of icy blue, water-like line crawled in Vladimir’s golden irises, just as his body radiated with raging water. He towered over the crouching Elite. “Then so be it.” Before any of them cou

The moon, together with the stars, was shining brightly beyond the horizon. It gave a light reflecting down to a small diamond hovering in the air. A blue line-like beam burst out of it, connecting toward the surrounding boulders of rocks. Each rock has a human hostage and one vampire. Their waists were tied by a silver chain, steaming off some smoke as it touched their bare skin.Standing outside the surrounding boulders were the Elite Guards, wearing gray capes and holding a sharp spear in their right hands. Eleanor walked past them, staring with furrowed brows at a man whose skin was shining under the moonlight, horns scratched wildly. She breathed deeply before diverting her gaze toward the hostages.“Are you positive they’re well-chained?” she asked the Elite near her.The Elite narrowed his eyes. “Affirmative. Their chains are laced with poisons. If they get wounded with their desperation to escape, the poison will seep through their skin and melt what’s left