The Ballad of the Vampire Prince (Elven Fantasy Romance #2)

1. Prologue Svenn

Prologue Svenn

T he night breeze carries a chill with it, but I do not notice the cold. I haven’t felt anything for a while after my curse.

You will never know peace.

A single glance at the gray blocks of this abandoned keep tells me that this is a memory.

One that is a thousand years old, long dead and buried. But the ghosts and skeletons from my past rise from their tomb, threatening to drag me to hell once again.

I settle by the windowsill, casting my gaze southward towards the human settlements. Night has settled over the peaceful town of Caerfyrddin, its denizen deep in their slumber, blissfully unaware of the three lethal predators lurking in a distant fortress.

A gentle moan draws me from my thought. I shift my head to look at the three figures on the bed. Two Strigons and one brave girl.

“Your turn,” the red-haired girl says with an exhausted smile, offering Han her wrist.

He merely smiles at her and kisses her hand. “I’ll find my meal around the harbor later. But I do want a taste of something else.”

She lets out a sharp gasp when he pulls her ankle and buries his head in between her thighs.

Turned at twenty-two, Han still has the boyish charm from his human life. I pity the fisherman, sailor, or whoever he finds at the dock. He takes his time and plays with his food—the same way he draws pleasure from the girl.

The girl’s cries get louder, breathless, until her legs tremble over his shoulders. Han loves it when women moan for him. She pushes his face, trying to get away, her body squirming and writhing in desperation. From behind her back, Bas restrains her arms just to fuck with her. The movement is easy, effortless from their difference in strength.

“Don’t stop, please,” she begs, her voice needy. Usually, Han is a bastard who will keep on edging her until she can hardly take it anymore. But he is merciful tonight.

Another throaty scream and her back arches. Her lips part and her eyes flutter as she is lost in a daze of pleasure. Some might call that glowing look breathtaking or beautiful.

The girl did not look that way the first time we met her at the side of the road several moons ago.

We were riding in the countryside to complete our assigned task when we noticed a body near the road. A mortal might have missed it easily as it was covered in the bushes, but our senses are far keener.

The pitiful creature dragged that frail and weary body to Han’s foot. He nearly kicked her head because he thought she’s a ghost that had crept out of a well.

Please, she begged him, but not for her life.

Save the village. Save my family.

It was Bas who leaned down for a better look. He lifted her chin to study her face. Freckles cover her skin like stars, but other than that she was bland, common.

“A plague has taken my village. The children… please help them.” Her lips trembled from the cold and her sickness.

To me the girl was too pale. It was not worth the effort to lean down for a bite. She would’ve probably tasted like shit too because of her illness.

We had a kingdom to conquer and our tasks to complete.

But Bas saw something else in her brown eyes, a resilient fire and the will to live. The strange Strigon had chosen to treat these humans as equals despite Lilith telling us that they are lesser beings.

He swept her into his arms without a word and carried her to our lair. The girl became his ward and he declared her as untouchable. She stayed with us long after Bas healed her home village. He taught the girl how to read. Over several late night readings, many teas, scrolls, and parchments later, she could read and write better than most lords and noblewomen in town.

The girl is a fast learner and always eager for knowledge. In that regard, she is similar to her guardian. It’s only natural that she eventually developed a strong attachment and adulation towards her savior. Bas more than cherished her companionship and reciprocated her feelings instantly.

And it wasn’t long until Han started having affection for her too and they all started fucking.

Just like that, the girl becomes a constant presence among us, like the pair of crows nesting on the bookshelf and the stray cat roaming the castle.

She was scared of us when she first found out we are the undead, me most of all because I never took her to bed. If you’re not a toy to a vampire, then you must be food.

But Han frequently forgot whenever Bas was away that their human pet needs to eat. I always make sure the girl is fed whenever I stock up the castle with supplies. She understands now despite my disinterest, I will never harm her.

Another sharp moan echoes as the girl unravels for the seventh time tonight. Could be more but I’m not really counting. I briefly glance at their new position, Han pumping into her mouth and Bas slamming into her from behind, their bodies moving together in tandem rhythm.

A deep husky groan leaves Han, his features tightening with pleasure as she takes him to the hilt. He withdraws from her gently before he can finish, spilling onto her back instead. Unusual for him. Han must be fond of this girl.

Bas is not far from his own release, thrusting relentlessly behind her until he bellows her name out loud, rattling every window in the castle.

The air is filled with the sound of their harsh breathing.

“Come join us,” Han invites me from across the room.

“No.”

“You used to be fun,” he mutters begrudgingly.

Bas knows better than to pester me when I’m not in the mood. But Han is persistent when he wants something.

“Is Gwyn not good enough for you?” he asks again.

At this question, Bas whirls his head in my direction, curious for my answer.

I let out a long breath. “You know that’s not it. I’m just… tired.”

“That is sad… You have a cure for that, don’t you?” Han asks the other vampire.

Bas is a great scholar and healer who hails from a continent different from ours, a land of great civilization, where their pharaoh god-kings build magnificent structures reaching to the heavens. I should have liked to visit there someday. He is the best at what he does, and it’s the main reason Lilith picked him as her Strigon. She chose me, my brother, and Vlad for our physical prowess as warriors. Han, the traveling young merchant was selected purely for his looks.

There we are, five unfortunate souls who encountered Lilith, now doomed to an eternity as her immortal slaves.

“Leave him be. Gwyn is tired anyway,” Bas says, raking a hand through his dark hair. He grasps the girl’s chin to check on her. “Let me get you more wine.”

Her eyes widen as he rouses from the bed. “You don’t have to do that.”

That kind of kindness is uncommon to her, she is used to harsh living conditions in the village. The kind of life where she has to carry heavy pails of water from the river, of scarce food to make it to the next day, of hunting and collecting firewood to keep warm. Even a single candle is considered a luxury to her. I remember how she wept when she saw me lighting up dozens in the room.

“I want to.” Bas smiles at her.

Warm light flickers in her eyes as she watches him slip out of bed. No surprise there. He must’ve seemed like a god to her when he saved her little village.

What truly fucks me is the look that he gives her right back.

This can’t be good.

While Han has been feeding and messing around in the nearby towns, Bas has not been with anyone else ever since he met Gwyn. Last month, he actually growled at me for standing too close to the girl.

Fuck no. Not this again.

His last infatuation with a human took him almost a century to forget. The astronomer’s friendship with Bas was born purely out of their fascination with the stars. Their short acquaintance was enough for Bas to look after the human in his twilight years, and he held his hand on his deathbed. The vampire’s grief lasted long after the man’s passing.

That is what a mere friendship does to Bas…

What he and Gwyn have appears far more dangerous, more potent.

My heart paces uncomfortably in my chest.

“I’m going to take a bath,” Gwyn announces.

“I’ll join you.” Bas trails behind her.

Han doesn’t accompany them this time and he disappears in a flash of motion to the kitchen on the lower floor of the castle.

There’s just something different about the way Bas treats the girl compared to his previous muses.

It’s worse.

For someone so smart, he fails to learn that this never ends well. He’ll be heartbroken again and again when they die.

Sweet giggles fill the air, marking the couple’s return from the bath. Bas hoists the girl to the bed once more. Han arrives just a little later with a covered metallic platter. I don’t recognize the scent of the food inside. It’s sweet and buttery. I stop mulling over the peculiar thing when Bas suddenly clears his throat. “I don’t want to share her anymore.”

I fucking called it.

The air shifts in the room as Han and I share a quick look.

Gwynn gazes down to the floor, heat scorching her pale face. Bas caresses her cheek, drawing her to look at him. “You’re mine. Forever, now, always.”

“I’m yours,” she replies easily.

My eyes casually wander to Han over their exchange. I’m prepared for the worst if they decide to rip each other’s limbs to fight for the girl. The other vampire’s face simmers with disappointment but it is quickly replaced by something sanguine. “Can I still play with you two sometimes?”

Han can be a little dense sometime. But Bas surprises us all by replying, “Only if it pleases my Gwyn.”

The guy is falling for her hard. Shit.

“Well, now that all is said and done, I have a surprise for you, Gwyn.” Han claps his hands.

The girl blinks curiously but she remains wary. She knows that surprises from Han could range from showing a head he dismembered earlier in the day, to a four leaves clover he discovered in a field.

He removes the food cover with a mischievous smirk. “From where I come from, we celebrate someone’s day of birth to something sweet. This is something made of cocoa, honey, and wheat flour. It’s called a cake.”

“You never told us you turned twenty-eight last week,” her lover chides softly as he smooths his hand over her shoulder. “I had to learn that from the innkeeper in the village.”

“Yeah, I’m an old lady,” she says, blushing.

A lighthearted chuckle escapes from his chest. “What does that make the rest of us? I have a present for you too.”

He drops a ticking metal into her hand.

“What is it?” she asks him, studying the trinket in her hand.

Bas smiles at her. “It tells the time.”

“Like the sundials at the centre of town…” she muses with twinkling eyes. “It’s beautiful.”

Han passes her a slice of the cake on a small plate. “Go on, have a bite. Tell me how it tastes.”

I almost smile at the rare time when he remembers that the mortal needs more than just wine to survive.

After years of living in Lilith’s servitude, this is the first time I feel a kernel of warmth. I didn’t get the girl anything, but I want to be involved in their small celebration. I move to the bed to present the girl with my gift.

A mild fear flares in her eyes, quickly banked, replaced by surprise.

“It’s for you,” I say, passing the bundle into her hand. This map of the known world is something I had procured for myself, but I know she would like it. I overheard the girl telling Bas she always dreamed of traveling.

“It’s beautiful, thank you,” she says, offering me a polite smile.

“I have more gifts.” Han disappears from the room for several seconds and returns with a pile of fabrics. He dumps them all in her lap.

She clasps her hands to her mouth, her eyebrows crinkling in surprise. “Seven dresses? What am I going to do with them?”

“Now you can wear a different one each day of the week,” Han says with a wide grin playing on his face, exposing his sharp-pointed fangs.

For a peasant from a poor village, even a single dress is considered an opulence and unheard of. Her hand trembles as she runs her hand on the pearls and beads embroidered into the gown.

“This is too much,” she whispers with a shaky breath. Her lover passes his next gift into her hand to draw her attention back to him. “A book I bought from the next town.”

The girl looks at them with a smitten expression, completely overwhelmed by their affection. Everything is new and a delight to her eyes. I suppose there is a certain charm to the girl. I can see why Bas would fall for her.

“Wait until you see the shoes to pair with the dresses.” Han exclaims, refusing to be outdone.

A strange warm feeling spreads in my chest seeing the wide smile on their faces as they attempt to outdo each other’s gifts to win the girl’s heart.

This memory makes me realize pain isn’t the only thing I’ve known during those times. It’s just all that I remember.

The candle on the mantel burns to nearly half of its length by the time they retire. Han lays dormant at the foot of the bed, as still as a statue—a state of rest we take instead of going to sleep.

Bas remains awake with the girl leaning on his chest. He is whispering sweet dreams and secrets, describing each of the places she points on the map.

Fear grips me to the bone.

“She’s here.” I tell them.

All of us go silent.

Han has his hand clasped on Gwyn’s mouth.

I wish I had caught their scent sooner. They must have masked their presence this time. But we are well prepared for emergencies like this. Bas turns to his girl. “You need to leave now, my darling.”

The girl nods without question as they head to the small escape route behind the bookshelf. It will lead straight to the river where a raft awaits.

He strokes her hair gently and kisses her temple. “Just like we practiced. Stay safe, Gwyn.”

One would consider twice before crawling into a dark and narrow tunnel. But the girl is brave.

She hugs him and creeps carefully into the pitch-black pathway like a little mouse. Han is already throwing every trace of her into the fireplace with inhuman speed. The dresses, the shoes, the book, everything. I spill the lantern oil around the room to mask any lingering human scent.

The anticipation is gnawing in my chest, pounding my pulse into a chaotic rhythm. I close my eyes briefly to sense them again. The intruders pass the first ward on the gates, then the second on the entrance. They should arrive at the door any second now. A pit of dread forms in my gut over their approaching presence.

The mammoth door bursts open and a blonde-haired woman in a red dress steps in.

Bas and Han tense, glaring at her. Petite, lovely, and deadly. She may take a different form in one of her new heirs, but this is definitely her.

Lilith.

“Hello, my boys,” she greets, her voice carries a musical lilt to it. “Have you been good while I was gone?”

Not one of us answers her.

Only the devil knows why she has come here. Last we saw her was a year ago, before she left in search of some magical book.

She moves to the shelves at the back wall, humming a merry tune. Her movements around the room are familiar, as if this is her second home.

“Do you need the report on the success of our raids?” Bas asks politely, but I recognize the prickling alarm in his voice.

The enchantress can easily summon us whenever she desires. Lilith doesn’t show up unless there is something she wants from us.

She juts her chin with a childish pout. “You don’t write, you don’t visit. I was beginning to think you’ve forgotten me.”

A deathly silence falls into the room as Lilith stares at the fireplace.

“But I tell myself, there’s no way you would abandon me, the one who gave you a second chance at life, the one who made you immortal, the one who gave you this power,” she continues.

Second chance at life? She murdered us in a fucking ritual.

The woman turns around to face us, eyes glimmering like molten metal.

“We have not forgotten you,” Han states, swallowing the dryness in his throat.

“Awww… I knew you missed me,” she croons with a smile. “Well, I’m here now.”

He stares at her blankly, a muscle in his jaw twitching. I think he recognizes the malice in her eyes. So do I.

“What’s the meaning of this ambush?” I ask her, my tone darkening. “We won you the Kingdom.”

“You did. You did… I just want to say I appreciate everything that you do for me, and so…” she pauses for dramatics, “I brought a snack for you to enjoy.”

Vlad enters the room with his hand around Gwyn’s waist. Dark-haired and lean built, the warrior has a hunger of knowledge that rivals Bas’s. Lilith calls him the perfect Strigon.

Tension creeps in my muscles and I inhale deeply.

It’s fine.

We can still salvage this situation by pretending to drink on the girl and keeping her as a prisoner. I will distract Vlad long enough for Han to sneak Gwyn to safety at the first opportunity. My mind works quickly, conjuring plan after plan.

Any chance of putting on an act vanishes the moment Lilith reads the terrified look on her lover’s face. Bas has gone so still, I’m not sure if he is even breathing.

In an instant, a swirling vortex of shadows appears right above us.

The Rhunhraefn.

Its darkness bleeds around us like ink. Ribbons of shadows creep around my body, burning and heavy. We kneel to the ground from the force of that raw power. The pain is immeasurable, like flaying skin from flesh.

“Fuck…” I can hardly manage to spit out a proper fuck you. Trying to talk against the Rhunhraefn is like trying to speak after your lips are stitched with a barbed wire.

Han becomes completely mute from the torture. He’s never good with pain.

“Stop hurting them!” Gwyn cries out, tears rimming her eyes. One look from Vlad and she is silent. I don’t know if it’s his stare or if the Strigon had used his compulsion on her.

Either way, it does the trick.

The girl keeps her mouth shut.

“Don’t do this,” Bas manages to grit out desperately, fighting against the overwhelming pain.

“Who knows what secrets might have passed through her ears the many moons she stayed with you?” Lilith asks, keeping her voice light. “It’s been nearly a year, has it?”

The witch knew all along. We never stood a chance from the very beginning.

“She is innocent. Do what you want with me but let her go,” Bas prostrates lower in front of her, planting his forehead to the ground. “Please, Lilith, I beg of you.”

In the years I’ve known the man, he has never pleaded, not even through the worst of the witch’s torture.

“It’s true.” I fight against the excruciating pain to back up his claim. “The girl had no knowledge of your existence until you showed up. She knows nothing.”

Lilith sighs, shaking her head in dismay.

“She knows you’re the undead. She knows you drink blood,” she mutters, filing her sharp nails. “I’m not going to wait for the humans to bring their pitchforks and rise against us.”

“I promise I won’t tell a soul,” the girl says, her voice barely a squeak. But I’m impressed she can still talk despite being in Vlad’s lethal grasp. The guy has such an oppressive presence that mortals often faint at his proximity.

Lilith whirls around and struts to the girl. She smooths a strand of Gwyn’s soft hair with her hand, her manner gentle, motherly even. “Of course you won’t, my dear. I’ll make sure of it.”

Her eyes flick toward Vlad. “Get rid of her.”

“No!” Bas screams and a wave of power erupts from him as he stands.

I can’t fucking believe it.

Bas is resisting the Rhunhraefn.

He takes a step in rebellion.

Then another.

It’s impossible. How is he doing it? The pain from the small movement of lifting my head to disobey the curse is excruciating, like a thousand tiny needles spearing my every nerve.

Vlad has not made a move to kill Gwyn despite his orders. He watches the other Strigon’s resistance silently, his eyes cold and forbidding.

“You will bow before me. Get down!” Lilith snaps her fingers, commanding Bas to obey. I can hear the panic and terror in her voice. He is nearly upon her and she actually has to retreat to get away from him.

Lilith’s hold on me is easing as she focuses on subduing Bas.

This is my chance.

I’ll take his girl somewhere far beyond the reaches of Lilith’s evil grasp. Perhaps we’ll cross the Land Beyond the Veil and hide her among the fae and elves. She can be reunited with Bas later.

Vlad and I are on par in terms of strength, but he can’t match my speed. I wrestle against the Rhunhraefn and bolt towards them.

A black silhouette tackles me inches before I reach the girl, slamming my back hard against the wall.

“Hello, brother.” Ruth greets me, his eyes flaring wild.

“Release me,” I grit through my teeth, pushing against his grasp. We may have been born from the same womb as humans, yet Bas and Han feel more like brothers to me than this bastard.

“Let her go,” Han pleads, doing his best to fight against the Rhunhraefn’s command. His body trembles as he tries to lift his chin.

I see their struggle and a realization dawns upon me. The girl means more to the two of them than I thought. I snap Ruth’s arm and storm towards Vlad.

Lilith claps her hands to the ground and the Rhunhraefn reveals its true form. A giant snake, slithering and coiling around us. The weight of the curse is bone breaking, soul crushing.

The witch’s gaze is full of hatred as she stares back at our disobedience. It’s taking a toll on her to control the three of us. We fight against her dark leash like dogs.

If only either Ruth or Vlad would betray Lilith right now, this witch is done for.

Bas keeps moving towards Vlad and the girl. Only five more steps. But that small distance feels oceans apart now.

Gwyn’s terrified eyes go to Han’s and mine. I see the horrifying realization sinking in them.

“Thank… thank you—for the delicious food, the shelter, the books, the warm bed and clothes. I appreciate it. It was wonderful and beautiful. I’m truly lucky I got to meet you.” She tries for a smile, but no one can truly muster that in the face of death. “Thank you for letting me be a part of your lives. I’m so grateful to receive such warmth.”

“Kill her, and be done with it,” Lilith murmurs to Vlad.

Gwyn’s gaze falls on Bas last. Suddenly she doesn’t look all that scared anymore. “I’m so glad I get to meet you. Thank you for bringing me a home. I’ve never been so happy in my life.”

My chest sinks with every passing word.

Gwyn’s life is sad and full of hardship. As a mortal that life is always going to be pathetically short, but still, it’s hers.

Yes, that sad little life is hers. They can’t take that away.

I struggle against the Rhunhraefn. Han and Bas are doing the same thing.

“I love you.”

There it is. Three damning words that will haunt Bas for the rest of his existence. He never gets to say it back.

Vlad sinks his teeth into her neck and a soft gasp leaves her throat. He begins drinking, gulping until her heartbeat stops. Her eyes shutter close and her body turns limp in the vampire’s hold.

I hear a crack in the realm, like the snapping of a branch. Maybe it’s just Bas’s heart. He drops to his knees, his eyes turning hollow.

All the fight has left him.

“What have you done?” Han mutters, his voice quivering.

“They’re just cattle,” Vlad reminds him. Little did the bastard know, he too will fall hopelessly for one of these ‘cattle’. But that will be centuries from now. Right now, Vlad is a loyal servant to Lilith.

“You killed her!” Ruth suddenly barks at Vlad like a rabid dog. “I told you to leave her to me!”

“The mistress commanded it,” the other vampire replies calmly.

My brother drags his casket of horror to the centre of the room, the one he carries everywhere, and chucks out a pair of heated iron shoes from it. The metal hisses as it burns through the soft woolen rug. “You let her finish her speech but can’t wait five seconds for me to get her to dance?”

Perhaps it is a mercy that Vlad ended Gwyn’s life quick.

Lilith crouches next to Han. “I expected this from them, but not you. How disappointing.”

Ruth is still seething in his tantrum, prowling the room like a lion in its cage.

“You’ll get to play yet, my darling,” Lilith says in a musical voice.

Everything that follows is just a series of horrors and torture I can hardly remember. I hear the others’ screams of agony shattering the night. I feel their pain as if they are my own.

“Tell me where that little bitch crawled out from.” Lilith sinks her finger into my scalp, pulling my hair back.

I say nothing.

It’s not that I care much for the lives of the humans, but this feels like an act of defiance towards Lilith. Not one of us betrays the girl’s village despite the torture. Not even Han who hates pain more than anything.

Ruth’s torture is especially hard on me. The pain leaves me in spasms as I try to cling to the last vestiges of my consciousness. When he finally pours the silver down my throat, I lose sight of the world and everything turns black.

The next thing I remember is I’m chained to the ground with my mouth sealed shut and a mask covering my face. Lilith stands in front of us, her eyes alight with triumph and power as she casts a spell on our manacles.

Vlad lays Gwyn’s still body gently on the couch. He makes sure her pretty face is turned away from Bas. Another small mercy. Her decomposition days later will surely wreck him. For now, Gwyn seems peaceful, almost as if she is sleeping.

Bas tries to crawl to her.

“Look at that idiot.” Ruth snorts a cruel sort of laughter. “Short of cutting your own calves, there is no way out of the stone shackles.”

Bas would have done that in a beat, break every bone in his body to get to Gwyn. But that strange spell Lilith casted ties us to these enchanted fetters.

“I tire of this. Let us leave now,” she says to her two Strigons. Her eyes leer at us for a final glance. “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll come back for you soon.”

Six months from now to be exact.

The witch will visit this desolated castle again to burn us into ashes. It took years for us to fully regenerate and become whole beings again. The long thirst has formed a madness in our brain. We turned into something feral and animalistic after the awakening, slaughtering anyone who stumbled upon our path. Perhaps that was always what Lilith wanted.

Han’s cries of torment pull me back to the present memory. He’s still stuck in that goddamn hound’s mask over his face. Bas and I have removed the filthy metal from our faces.

A boar masks for Bas and a vulture for me.

Time passes and Gwyn’s corpse is beginning to decay. Bas summons his familiar, an owl to ward off the rats and other scavengers. I listen to the choking gasps from his throat as he stares at his lover’s lifeless form on the settee. He never took his eyes off from her, not even for a second. But as hard as he tries, he can never reach her.

It’s going to be all right. I want to tell them what I know. We will betray the witch and seal her in a tomb in just a few years. But for now, there is nothing else to do other than suffer in this prison of terror. We lay dormant, frozen, becoming nothing more than sentient stones in the aftermath of Lilith’s cruelty.

This is just a memory, I remind myself.

I fail to understand why my mind has brought me to this miserable night. It’s not even the worst of Lilith’s torture in my scarred existence.

Gwyn’s bones have nearly yellowed by the time the door creaks open once again.

A girl enters the room in hunting leathers. Her silver hair cascades smoothly and freely past her waist. She studies the room carefully, marveling at the architecture of the abandoned palace.

Is this the new curse bearer?

Perhaps a lost traveler… Yes, I’m so thirsty. I think of ways to trick her into coming closer.

She rummages through her satchel looking for something. A smile brightens her face as she whips out a notepad and a quill. Her soft scent is sweet and familiar.

No fucking way.

It can’t be.

Rhianelle?

The girl wanders around the large room, her bright eyes blinking curiously like a deer, completely unaware she had just entered a wolf’s den.

Get away from this place, Nel.

Her eyes suddenly catch my presence from across the room. “Svenn?”

She runs towards me without hesitation.

“What happened?” she asks, her face full of concern and sorrow as she leans in closer.

I try to speak but my throat is filled with silver.

What are you doing here? I want to ask her.

The girl raises her hand to reach for my face.

Her touch is like heaven.

She strokes my jaw and I focus on that small movement.

“How do I free you from this thing?” she says, her voice wavering.

The thudding of her pulse triggers a hunger that sets me alight from the inside out. And her scent… I’m glad Ruth had poured that metal into my throat. At least, I won’t be able to hurt her.

“It’s all right, Svenn. I’m going to heal you,” she says soothingly.

Rhianelle’s expression is fierce and determined as she channels her blessing into me.

Fear slams into my gut when I remember the presence of the other two starved vampires in the room. Sane thoughts had left them months ago. Their red eyes glint in the dark, staring at the vulnerable prey in the room.

Rhianelle is too busy healing me to notice the threat to her life.

You need to go! I want to scream at her.

Bas is stalking the girl like a hungry panther. Moonlight from the window illuminates his face, decayed with Ruth’s torture and the removal of the mask. I imagine that’s how I also look right now. The starvation impedes our healing.

Han’s low snarl rattles through his chains, drawing Rhianelle’s attention. Her soft gaze turns to the pair of deadly Strigons behind her.

Run, please, Nel.

“I’ll help you soon. Don’t worry,” she tells them without a hint of fear in her voice.

Fuck…

Go away, little fawn.

Save yourself, please.

Of course, she doesn’t understand. I need to tell her to get away. I start clawing through the metal fusing my jaw, trying to free my vocal cords desperately.

“Oh, Svenn… don’t do that.” Rhianelle throws her arms around me, pulling me into a hug. “I’m here now. You can trust me.”

She is so short, she barely reaches my chest.

“Give me a chance, Svenn.” She strokes my back. A strangled sob leaves me at the touch. She feels so warm, soft, and safe. I bask in the comfort of her embrace, letting it erase the pain and weariness in my bones.

The door swings open once again.

True fear pierces through my husk of a heart when a woman steps into the room. A different skin, but the same fucking red dress.

Lilith.

Rhianelle releases me from her embrace and turns to face the witch. The two stare at one another.

“Hello there.” Lilith smiles sweetly.

“Hi,” Nel says softly, rising to her feet.

“What are you doing in my castle?” the witch asks rather politely.

“I’m just passing by,” Nel answers, her eyes falling on Gwyn’s skeleton. “What happened to her?”

Lilith’s lips curve to a wicked smile that says, ‘That is exactly what will happen to you soon.’

Please, God, don’t let the witch hurt her. I beg the devil too, just in case he’s listening. The fucking universe, anyone, please help the girl.

Not her.

“Allow me to introduce myself.” The witch extends her hand in greeting, approaching slowly. I immediately catch the slender blade she hides behind her back with the other hand.

But Rhianelle doesn’t.

In the corner of the room, the black shadow of the Rhunhraefn coalesces like columns of night ready to devour Nel.

My bone cracks as I try to break free from the stone shackles.

No…

Rhianelle moves closer to take her offered hand, falling easily to the trap.

But something strange happens the moment Lilith touches her. Everything happens in the blink of an eye and yet I feel like I’m locked in an eternity.

Smoke rises from the contact and Lilith’s dagger clatters on the stone floor. Her mouth drops open from shock.

She hisses and backs away from Rhianelle. “Stay away from me!”

I’ve never seen such fear in the witch’s eyes. Not even in the future when we sealed her. The enchantress merely gave us a smile then.

I’ll see you soon.

But right now, she is staring at Rhianelle like the girl is the reaper at her deathbed.

The girl turns to me. Her voice is as soft as midnight rain as she tells me, “It’s going to be all right.”

Lilith’s lips move rapidly, chanting sorcery from the vilest of dark scrolls. The Rhunhraefn strikes like a serpent, ready to deliver a fatal blow. Nel draws her sword, the blade glowing as brightly as the sun itself.

The plumes of light banish Lilith’s wicked spell, devouring it like the light of dawn murdering the shadow of night.

Lilith crawls to the corner like a retreating spider. “Who are you?”

“I am Rhianelle Wiolant.”

I open my eyes.

Instead of the human town of Caerfyrddin, the elven city of Windhaven greets me with its white pavilions and tall spires.

What the fuck just happened?

Vampires don’t dream.

I shake my head and walk to the bed. The elven queen I married lays on the mattress in her deep slumber.

I remain there for a long while, watching the way her silver hair is spilled all over the pillow, counting her heartbeat and breathing.

Did I just fantasize myself getting saved like a helpless damsel? By this little fawn, of all people?

I mentally laugh at myself. How absurd.

The amusement fades and a sombre emotion takes hold of me. I pity this bright little thing. Her fate was sealed the moment she met me.

She will die in three years. Or less.

I’ve made it as damn clear as I can without sugarcoating the truth. Recalling back that moment in the bath, perhaps I should have found a better way to reveal the dreadful tiding.

I brought this damnation upon her.

Pain circles my heart over the memory of her freeing me from the labyrinth. If only she had never met me, Rhianelle could have lived a blissful life without worry.

I have not been kind to her either.

She bared her soul to me, and I use that to humiliate and hurt her. I suddenly regret my hostility to her during those early days. I was angry at the universe. I ended up lashing out at the only person that showed me kindness. The girl who reached out her hand and pulled me from darkness.

“Give me a chance.”

The girl said that a week ago. She truly believes she can break the spell. Sometimes I wonder where she draws that kind of confidence.

Maybe her credence is not entirely unfounded. I’ve done many things that prompt her to use the Rhunhrafn and yet Rhianelle remains untainted and completely pure.

Her lips part and the girl mutters something in her sleep. A single tear drops from the corner of her eyes.

I reach out to wipe it with my thumb.

What the fuck am I doing?

The Rhunhraefn is my damnation and Rhianelle is the curse bearer, Lilith’s new heir.

Despite knowing she is my downfall, I can’t fight against this strange pull.

I rearrange the pillows around her body to keep her comfortable. Her sleep is riddled with endless nightmares. I don’t want her to be corrupted by the Rhunhraefn, but it seems inevitable.

Curses prey on the vulnerable emotions of one’s soul. Hatred, vengeance, envy, and greed.

I’ve seen the elves’ desire for bloodshed. War is waiting just beyond the horizon for this sweet queen. I know she will force me to fight her battle.

The command will come.