S I X T Y-F O U R

Iris and Kai ran out onto the balcony seconds after the screams picked up.

The darkness, void of light, made the bursting red flames rage enough to be seen from the mansion. The sky was compacted with thickening clouds, blocking out the moon. The fire was a flare. A warning. The beginning of something disastrous.

Iris faintly covered his mouth in shock. The fire from the first village was alive in his eyes, whipping and lashing and growing. Smoke built up and fogged the lanterns in the town. The only color in the dark was a furious red.

"We have to go." Iris turned around and started running towards the bedroom door. Kai stopped him before he reached it.

"Wait, we have to–"

"We can't wait! I'm done waiting! They're attacking my kingdom–the people! I'm joining this fight whither you like it or not."

Kai took a deep breath and moved his hands from Iris's shoulder to cup his face.

"Just...."

Iris held one of Kai's hands and pressed his cheek against it. "I will. I promise."

He read the conflicted expression on Kai's face. The way he scrunched his eyebrows together and the way his eyes dulled. He kissed Kai's palm, giving him his final reassurance.

"You be careful, too."

Kai nodded.

They would've stayed together just a little longer if not for the loud boom muffled by the mansion walls.

"I'm going to gather up the guards. Get the dagger and Iris, for the love of God, be careful!"

They were ready to run their separate ways but just needed to get a last few words out before they parted.

Iris rolled his eyes. "I will. Trust me."

Kai opened his mouth to say something. The words were right on the tip of his tongue but he decided to keep quiet. He nodded, sparing Iris a final smile, before sprinting off.

Iris took a deep breath and started running the other way. He heard glass shatter from inside the mansion. Havoc coming from downstairs. Yelling and wailing.

They were on the third floor, his room was on the second. That's where the dagger was.

Iris ran quick. He skipped a few steps on the stairs and held onto the railing to turn himself more swiftly. He almost bumped into a maid who was trying to run to the stairs he came down from.

"Hey–Hey! What's going on down there?" He grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to stand still. Her dress was splattered with blood but it didn't appear to be hers.

"There's...there's so many.....they killed–they–they–"

Iris squeezed her shoulders, shaking them to refocus her. "If you can't get to a backdoor in time find a place to hide and stay quiet. Understand?"

The maid shakily nodded and ran for the stairs when Iris let go.

More and more wailing invaded the mansion. Running footsteps were heard all around Iris and yet he was alone in the hall. The walls were thick, but not enough to block out the horrors the vampires were causing.

When his door came into sight, Iris busted in and slammed the door shut. He ran over to his bookshelf and pulled several out from their spot. He stared at the empty squared area that was hidden behind the books. The area where he hid the dagger, but it was nowhere in sight.

"What?" Iris raked a hand through his hair and stepped away from the shelf. He wasn't worried quite yet. As he glanced at his bed he remembered hiding the dagger under there at one point.

Yes, it wasn't the best of places, but people tend to make poor decisions when they are rushed.

Iris dropped to his knees and lifted the covers up to see under. He reached his hands out, feeling for something even though he could see nothing.

"No no no no.." Iris widened his eyes at the emptiness he found. He dropped the blanket and put his hand over his mouth. "Where could it–"

His train of thought was interrupted when his door violently slammed into the wall from being kicked open. He gasped and turned around to see an unfamiliar face standing in the doorway.

The man grinned at him, two fangs protruding from the two of his mouth and two on the bottom.

Iris tensed and pressed himself against his bed.

The man stomped towards him, a poisonous viciousness in his faded eyes. His nails were sharp and intimidating. He himself was the intimidation.

Iris braced himself when the man got within several feet from him.

But suddenly an object pierced through his chest.

Iris flinched at the blood splattering in front of him and watched in, oddly enough, amazement rather than horror as sparks started flying from the vampire's chest. The object twisted and was plunged further through him.

The vampire cried out and as if his entire body was taken over by the weapon, his arms stayed by his side and he looked up yelling in pain.

Fire burst from the wound in his chest and a thousand thin red lines shot through his skin. The vampire's eyes went black and he inhaled for the last time before going slack. His knees buckled and he fell sideways after the weapon was withdrawn.

Iris then stared in horror after realizing he found that strangely interesting to witness.

"Oh my God." He didn't notice he was clutching the fabric over his heart, which was beating too fast for comfort. "Zoe?"

"Works like a charm." Zoe flipped the dagger and air-kissed it after wiping the blood off on her pants.

She was no longer wearing a dress or heels or a pearl necklace. She no longer looked like a princess; she looked like herself. That consisted of plain tight, black jeans, boots, and a sleeveless shirt that stopped at her high at her neck. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and damn did she look ready to kick ass.

"I'm sorry, Iris, I should've asked before taking the dagger, but I was already near your room when they started charging into the mansion."

Zoe lent Iris a hand and pulled him to his feet.

"Um, I think I'll let it slide."

The two stared down at the dead body then glanced at each other.

"I told you," Zoe said with a smirk.

"One good stab and they're dead," Iris recited her words. Proof laid right next to him and it only strengthened how much he trusted Zoe. He took the dagger from her and held it tightly. He didn't have anywhere to tuck it into, however, he did feel safer holding it.

"They targeted the villages first. Unfortunately, everyone was hit. We can only save those present in the last ten minutes."

Iris squeezed his eyes closed for a long moment. He calmed his emotions, channeling them away from his judgment before nodded his head. The feelings of anger, frustration, fear, and sadness all attacked him at the same time but he knew better than to make a decision based on one of those emotions.

"What do we do first?"

Zoe smiled ear to ear but a wicked gleam blazed in her eyes.

"We go find that scurvy excuse of a vampire. And hopefully kill a few on the way."

Iris could do nothing but shake his head and say, "Lead the way." And prepare for the worst.

***

The only guards that stayed behind were ones who helped fend off the vampires that invaded the mansion. The others let their instincts guide them and they attacked without orders; which Kai was thankful for. Many would have died if they had stayed put.

Kai gave orders to the guards who stayed behind. They were to keep everyone in and let no one out of the mansion. As safe houses began filling, the mansion was the second-best place of security.

The smell of burning wood and wet concrete filled the nighttime air. The dimness the vampires fought in certainly set an unsettling and indecisive mood. Who will win? That question was far from earning an answer. The battle had just begun.

As Kai stepped outside, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end and he turned around once feeling a presence behind him.

Near the door he exited out of, a curvy silhouette stood leaning against the wall.

"I granted you a day." The voice was venomous. "And I gave you simple instructions."

When Annesa pushed herself off the wall and walked into a fleeting beam of moonlight, Kai caught sight of a different person. Different eyes, different fanged smile. An impostor this was. Or rather, the real Annesa.

"And you just had to go ruin things by spilling the one secret I told you not to tell. I wouldn't have started this battle so soon if not for you."

"You have some nerve trying to blame this on me." Kai walked towards Annesa with predatory eyes but Annesa looked beyond intimated.

"I think you've forgotten I'm in charge now." Once in arms reach, Annesa lurched for Kai's shoulders, gripping them, before turning around and slamming him into the wall. "I'll have this Kingdom burning up in flames and your little King begging me for mercy. I'll get what I want, the quantity of lost lives doesn't matter to me."

Annesa held Kai against the wall with abnormal strength. She held his arms with enough power that when she released one he didn't realize. She grabbed his chin and turned his head to the side.

"The all mighty reckless delinquent. I had high hopes for you. Still do and my offer still stands. However, I truly see you know. You're all bark no bite." She forcefully let go and chuckled. "I'm going to assume you never told your prince about your past, thus, I can  assume he hasn't told you his secrets yet."

"Don't act like you know everything."

"Oh, no, not everything. But I do know a lot. And I know a lot about this Deon family. Tell me, Kai, how much do you know about the prince's mother?"

"Other than she's a wretched demon? Nothing. And I doubt you really know anything either."

Annesa chuckled. A vibration that sent sickening shivers down Kai's spine. "True, I don't know a lot about Amilea. But I wasn't asking about her."

Kai furrowed his eyebrows and Annesa's grin grew.

"I meant his mother. His real mother."

"What...are you talking about?"

"I'll give you a hint." Annesa leaned in until her lips grazed Kai's ear. "She's not human."

***

Hello, hi, soooo this story might not be finished by tomorrow but I am still officially starting my new book. I just thought I'd let you know!

I originally updated the chapter at 7:00 but when I went to check on it it wasn't actually updated??? So, sorry this is updating so late(or early, I'm not good with time zones) :p