S E V E N T Y-T W O

Annesa was seething, a sour hiss leaving her lips.

"What did you just say?"

A blond-haired Vamp trembled at her feet. They curled their fingers into fists, nails scratching the concrete.

"O-our followers...they are depleting every minute."

"Did that wretched Queen not send out that note for reinforcements?"

"She's...she's dead."

Annesa stared down at the Vamp. Her nails pierced into her palms, causing blood to drip past her fingers and spill on the ground.

"What?"

"She's dead. They found her in her quarters." The Vamp dared to look up. Their breath got stolen, realizing staring into a lion's eyes would've been better than having two manifested dagger shoved into their pupils as Annesa glared down.

She raised her hand and with one swift sweep of her hand, she slapped the Vamp across the face, the speed causing their head to turn and their neck to snap. They fell beside her feet, not dead, but unmoving.

With a click of her tongue, Annesa reached behind her, sliding out a small knife, one similar to the small silver ones Arlo acquired, from a holster. She bent down, held the Vamp down by their shoulder, and repeatedly stabbed it's back. Their flesh sizzled and ambers flickered from the stab wounds. The veins on their neck turned black and crawled up their jaw like tendrils.

She sighed, licking at the blood that caught the corner of her mouth. She stood and stared. Then, she started laughing.

She covered her face with one hand and laughed, a wicked cackle that drifted into the night air, spooking the birds in the trees. She grinned, chuckling through her teeth.

"That bitch lasted longer than I thought!" Annesa flicked her knife down and it stabbed in the dead Vamp's back. She slammed her foot on it, hearing a familiar crack. "She actually had me at first. I thought we made a good alliance, her and I, but I can smell greed from a mile away. And she reeked of it."

Annesa walked away from the body, a bloody footprint trailing wherever her left foot stomped. She clicked her tongue again and peered around the first village.

"I suppose she did do me some good. But if we lose here it'll all be for nothing, and I wasted months following her orders. She commanded me as if she owned me. Ha! I knew she was going to try and use us, but I was going to kill her in the end, anyway.

Annesa glanced over her shoulder, chest puffing out.

"Say, who killed her anyhow?"

There was another Vamp accompanying her presence. She stood by a tree with her hands linked in front of her. There was blood dribbling down her jaw.

"The guards she appointed, before you killed them all, claimed it was the King. They saw him leaving her room."

Annesa snorted and laughed again. "The King! Oh, how priceless it that?! Though, I am not too surprised."

The Vamp did not join in her laughing. "Annesa, you are losing this battle. Too many are dying out there. If we send for reinforcements, they won't get here till late tomorrow. You should be-"

"Are you questioning your leader?"

The Vamp froze when a hand squeezed around her throat and slammed her against the tree. She coughed.

"Who's the one who gifted you with my blood? Who's the one who saved you from that public execution? I am! And this is how you repay me!"

"I-I am only pointing out the obvious! If-if you don't-" The Vamp wheezed. "-don't do something now you'll lose!"

Annesa picked the Vamp up and tossed her to the side. She gripped her neck, coughing up blood.

"It seems I'm always around pests." She kicked the Vamp, sending them flying back a few yards, before turning around, facing the village again.

"And you're just the worst of them all....sister."

Zoe stood a few yards away from Annesa. They shared the same piercing glare, their anger mirroring each other in the way they stood and clenched their hands, ground their jaws and knitted their eyebrows. Within their identical diamond-blue eyes, the depth of their hatred for one another caused waves to crash over the surface, and disgust leaked out of their gazes.

"All you have to do is call off your followers and I'll spare your life," Zoe muttered slowly.

Annesa grinned. "Oh, how very kind of you! I didn't know you had that kind of heart in you! It's pathetic."

Zoe clenched her jaw. "Call them off."

"No. If defeat is my fate then I want this kingdom to suffer until the very end. I want to watch the casualties rise and blood splatter!"

"You're demented!" Zoe broke her stance first, slamming a foot down and raising a hand. "What happened to you? To us?!"

"Don't ask the obvious, Zoe! Humans dominate the world as if they own it! We were once more insignificant than a speck of dirt in their eyes. We didn't ask to be brought here, to be hated and spat on and shunned, they destroy what they fear! They took our sanity before we even got to develop it. So, if they get to destroy what they fear, why can't I kill what I hate? It's just like stomping on a spider. They aren't always harmful, but we do it because we hate them."

"Humans don't understand vampires, that's why they do the things that they do, that's why they're scared. You do not fear the humans and you understand them. What you are doing makes you no different from them."

"Maybe I don't want to seem different! I want to seem dominant! Better! And I am-we are. We are so much more than humans. We should act like it."

"What are you going to do if this-this plan succeeds? You're going to rule a whole continent? You? You don't know the first thing about being a leader."

"And you do?"

"Yes. Because even though you're older, I was the one who guided you when we were little. I took on that role. I led you and a group of orphans when we were young. And we made it far, didn't we?"

Annesa was quieter than the whisper the trees let out as the breeze blew.

"I know how to be a leader because I just met a great one coming here. A leader is understanding. Though he understood your motives, he saw they were the kind that needed to be stopped. You don't understand anything other than hatred and anger. And sadly, I don't think you ever will. So, for the last time, call. Off. Your. Attack."

Annesa unclenched her jaw and loosened her hands.

"No."

Zoe did the opposite.

"Then you'll perish with the rest of us."

***

Iris and Kai had a goal. Aside from the obvious, their goal was to stay together. And they did but, not so surprisingly, they got separated within minutes.

Iris got knocked over by two fleeting guards. He fell with a thud but hands, which felt like a hundred, instantly grabbed him and picked him up back up. But Kai and his dad were not one of them. They both must have got sucked into the crowd, a mixture of furious citizens, hissing vampires, and snarling Vamps.

There was so much going one, his eyes darted around, skimming over face after face-fang after fang.

He took a deep breath, picked a direction, and started running.

Before this, Sage claimed that Zoe's Vamps and Annesa's Vamps couldn't be told apart. She brought it up but many were thinking the same thing. So, every Vamp under Zoe's wing had their sleeves ripped(if they wore long sleeves) and had a scar made by the dagger just below the dip on the inside of their arm. It was the only thing they could that distinctly separated them from Annesa's Vamps. It also took a while to brand every single arm, but it was worth it since it became beneficial in the end.

Zoe personally adored the idea. She was fond of the glowing scar on her arm. To her, it was a symbol.

Vridora's vampires/guards all wore identical black and gold clothing. They usually only wore the gold portion on special events that happen in the kingdom, but it made them stand out tonight.

Iris also allowed the Vamps and vampires to take whatever weapon they pleased, and all weapons had the kingdoms sigil on it. It was the vaguest way to tell the two apart.

The best and most efficient? For Iris, at least, was that no Vamp of Zoe's tried to attack him.

He jumped out of the way when a Vamp swiped his hand out, trying to catch him with his claws. Iris eyed the man's feet, dodging and waiting until he stepped a certain way.

There!

Iris ducked another swipe and tackled the Vamp to the ground. He wasn't nearly as strong as they were, so he waited until the Vamp's feet were positioned in a way that would make him lose balance with a good shove.

As as soon as the Vamp hit the floor, Iris stabbed the dagger into his chest. The Vamp let out a cry and tensed up. Fortunately, the dagger paralyzed them when used, so Iris didn't have to worry about them attacked after being stabbed.

He ripped out the dagger and staggered to his feet.

He wanted to find Kai and his dad, or even Sage or Zoe. That's what his hyped nerves wanted to do, be around someone familiar. But the longer he thought about it, the more he started to favor the idea that maybe they were better off without him close by. True, he wasn't the only human on the battleground. As he looked around, an admiring amount of humans were surprisingly pulling their weight.

They fought in groups. One attacked from behind, piercing some sort of sharp weaponry into them, stunning the Vamp, before the others charged in, stabbing several other sharp objects into the now helpless body of the Vamp.

There were so many gruesome sights Iris almost forgot he was still just an 18-year-old.

But he was the prince and people like Kai and his dad, Sage and Zoe, they'd put their life on the line more to protect him then to protect a civilian. He also chose to stick alone so he could carry his own weight, too.

He pulled his dagger out of the fifth Vamp he killed. He was sweating and covered in blood. His muscles ached and his head throbbed; there was a constant pounding behind his eyes and in his temples. He pushed through it.

Vamps were reckless but they were predictable. It was just tiring having to keep up with their quick pace and Iris wasn't used to their wild attacks. No one really was, but thanks to his training he wasn't jumping into a fight completely inexperienced.

Iris was just about to run in another blind direction when he caught a small figure in the corner of his eye. When he turned and looked he noticed it wasn't a kid but a vampire crouched near a wall, shrinking like he wanted to sink into the brick material. Something snapped inside Iris. A string that coiled around his emotions, and once loosened, they all flooded out.

He ran over to the vampire and grabbed his shoulder.

"Are you hurt?"

The vampire looked up with petrified eyes. He shook his head.

"Then what are you doing? Get up."

"I-I can't...I can't!" The vampire shook his head frantically and pressed himself more firmly against the wall.

Not even a month ago, vampires were the superior breed. That made Iris glare at the vampire and tug on his arm.

"If you can stand then do it! You have to fight, it's your job to and this is-"

"No-no! I can't!"

"You're saying no when told to fight for your home?! Who do you think you are? My dad saved you in return that you fight for him and you think you have the right to refuse! No one cares if you're scared-we're all scared! Every damn Vamp, vampire, and human! But look around you, they're pushing aside that fear because it's either their duty to protect this kingdom or because it's their home and they have the guts to stand up and help save it. It's your job to protect this kingdom! You owe your life to it!

"You push aside your fear and you harness your anger. Build it up and let it explode! Toss every emotion you have into your attacks and they'll hit! You're a vampire for crying out loud! You never back down from protecting your home. Not only are you doing that here, but you're stopping something harmful and preserving a community. So suck up your tears and stand up! You fall, you stand up! You bleed, you shake the pain away and get revenge! Be confident! Be fierce! And for God's sake, fight!"

Iris shoved the vampire when he was on his feet. He was still shaking but the look of horror in his eyes ceased. He looked Iris over as if he didn't recognize him before disappearing into the crowd, taken by the swarm.

Iris dragged the back of his hand across his forehead, scraping a thick layer of sweat off. He was panting as he leaned against the wall of the house. Yelling like that took a lot of energy away but he couldn't stop himself when he saw that vampire. He never thought he'd see the day where he was telling a vampire to be brave.

Iris finally caught his breath but he lacked in catching a break.

Fingers curled around his arm from behind and nails dug into his skin. He groaned and went to swing his dagger, but he was suddenly lunged back. Instead of slamming into the wall he just moved away from, he went flying through the window right next to it.

He landed on the chipped glass, coughing. The piece of stone hit his elbow, making his whole arm tingle. Instead of catching his breath, he reached and looked around for his dagger he stupidly let go of when he went flying.

Iris saw it laying near a couch behind him to his right. He flipped over and quickly crawled to his feet. His fingers only grazed the handle when he was tugged back by his foot. He fell hard, turning his head in time before he slammed his chin against the floor. Once again, the air was knocked out of him. But he was in arms reached of the dagger.

He grabbed it and twisted his body, swinging his arm out.

The Vamp gripped his hand before the dagger got too close to him. Iris could've struggled all he wanted and with all his might, but his strength was laughable compared to the Vamp's above him.

So, Iris didn't struggle.

He kicked the Vamp right between the legs, causing him to cough and let go of his wrist. Iris leaned up and thrusted the dagger into the Vamp's neck.

He cried out that familiar ear-splitting scream and fell forward. Iris shoved him aside and got to his feet, but when he did he staggered into a wall.

His vision was suddenly blurry. He shook his head and squeezed his eyes closed. His limits were drilled into his mind, and he was aware he had exceeded them greatly.

But he couldn't stop. He didn't have time to! He couldn't afford to! Every single helping hand mattered and one less weakened the probability of them winning. He couldn't stop.

Opening his eyes, his vision was back to normal. He blamed the phenomenon on hitting his head when the Vamp flung him through the window.

He stood up straight and rolled his shoulders, holding back a whimper when every bone in his body seemed to pop. He shook it off and looked through the doorway from where he stood.

Ten to 20 minutes prior, he would've seen flashes of bodies running or sprinting, like fire dancing in the wind, through that doorway. Now, it was five or ten. The numbers were slowly but surely dwindling.

Iris leaned his head against the wall and let out a sigh.

They were winning. He was certain of it. They were winning.

Pushing himself away from the wall, there was a slight limp in his step as he jogged towards the doorway.

He'd rather not describe the screams or the images or the smells. They would be over soon, boiled over and forgotten like bad dream. That's all it was. A bad dream. Or that's all Iris wanted it to be. That's all everyone wanted it to be.

It would never be anything other than a disaster. A tragedy. A day when sorrow and blood and sweat soaked into the soil; when screams and smoke and wails entrapped in the air.

It would also be the day of a victory. A day when the brilliant plan of a malicious, broken soul came to an end.

Iris leaned against the doorway. His gaze filtered past the dead bodies and skimmed over the ones still standing. He acknowledged the fallen but was enthralled by the ones waving their hands in the air. The ones smiling wildly and with tears in their eyes. The ones hugging each other or patting one another on the back. The ones that survived and were now allowed to relax.

Can I relax, too?

Iris closed his eyes and slumped to his knees. His grip was still deadly tight on his dagger. He felt safe with it.

"Iris?"

His body trembled. Everything hurt, breathing hurt. His head, his chest, his legs, his arms, his shoulders, even the soles of his feet pulsed and ached.

"Iris."

The prince fluttered his eyes open. He looked down to see a hand crawling over his, avoiding the dagger. He raised his gaze to see gentle blue eyes looking back.

"You can let go now."