☼ Chapter VI ☼

picture; Ankiel Ylisove

song; "STFD" by TeZaTalks

author's note; Yay! My two favorite characters have finally come along. I know it's only chapter six, but these two had originally been in the very first chapter in the old version I scrapped.

Trent and Ankiel are just such complex, interesting characters — not that the other characters aren't — but I could literally do a spin-off about these two and what they've done and gone through to be honest.

You guys should definitely always listen to the song on the side by the way! It always fits the main point/event of the chapter, and is usually a pretty good song.

What do you guys think so far?

Comment + Vote, enjoy!

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Hyacinth snatched the sword out of its case, the sharp singe of it slit through the air. "Medieval, I know." She admired the sword's girth before raising her eyes back up to the class.

"The probability of you ever using a sword in battle is incredibly slim due to our advantage of having guns in modern day. But it is a weapon in which you can use in a fight, therefore, we will learn how to wield them." The Mentor's obsidian-black eyes settled on me, and narrowed a nanosecond afterward.

"You," Her finger jabbed pointedly in my direction and I stood even more rigidly, clasping my hands behind my back and levelling my eyes directly into her dark gaze.

"Why are you in my class, sixth year?" I stared at her for a while, wondering how she knew I was supposed to be a year six Novice.

"I was advanced a year, Mentor. I wasn't able to speak to you beforehand because I was meeting with my personal Mentor." My voice came out firm and unwavering despite the fact she had put me on the spot, which I hated.

"Who is your personal Mentor, girl?" The sound of her voice indicated that she didn't believe me, and a pinprick of annoyance sparked in my chest. A sickeningly sweet smile was forced onto my face.

"Mistress Genevieve Seilyar." Hyacinth straightened now, the brownness of her skin slightly draining of colour as a new darkness flicked through her abyss-like orbs. "I am Princess Sonya Reinove, Mentor."

"My apologies, Princess." She said quickly, a guilty look smeared across her pretty face. "It must've slipped my mind that Genevieve was planning to excel you this year." She smiled at me and I felt smug at the fact that she was basically kissing my ass now, and squelched the urge to smirk at her.

"It's fine, Mentor. I understand." I dismissed her simply and she nodded to show her respect before turning back to the Combats class.

"Anyway, like I was saying, we're going to start this year off with sword wielding. But first, let's have a few warm up fights, yes?" No one responded. "I'd like to get a range of the level everyone can fight at."

I was second to last before she finally decided to pick me. When I stood to make my way to the front of the class, I heard a few rude snickers follow me.

"Let's see if Princess Sonya Reinove can amount up to her reputation." The voice was female, and an itching irritation curdled over me at the way she sounded so dubious.

Why would I be skipped up a year if my "so-called" abilities was all fluff? I jerked back to see who had spoken.

A girl I didn't recognize from any of my other classes was watching me with lucid hunger. She had burgundy hair that was tied back into a tight bun and dirt-brown eyes.

Her skin was a creamy beige and she was more of an average pretty than unnaturally gorgeous like most of our kind, and I wasn't just saying that because I automatically didn't like her now that she was talking shit.

It's actually probably why I had never noticed her before; she blended well and was unflinchingly plain, and I think that is something you should never want for yourself.

I tugged my curls in my ponytail apart to tighten my hair band, and then did my best to braid up the end of the pony before wrapping it into a sloppy bun.

Shrugging off my denim jacket then casting it easily aside and cracking my knuckles, I faced my opponent head on and almost forfeited at one glance.

I opened my mouth to question if Hyacinth had lost her damn mind, but she cut me off before I got the chance to get a word out.

"As unfair a pairing this may seem, this is what can happen in your life as a Protector." Hyacinth addressed the class before glancing down her clipboard and tapping the hilt of the sword against the gymnasium floor in rhythm.

I stared wide-eyed at Carson, the man I had sat beside in Sawyer's IOS lesson the first day. His blonde hair was much messier than I remembered it being and those brown eyes danced and laughed mischievously.

His face flickered with recognition, and he raised a hand, waggling his fingers flirtatiously at me as a tantalizing smirk tugged at his mouth.

Surprisingly, I felt a lurking warmth formulate in my chest and a sinister grin birthed itself onto my own lips as a trace of his scent pushed into me. A Lycan.

"You will have to fight people smaller and bigger than you and you will have to win, or you will probably die." Now, she looked pointedly at the both of us.

"Do you want to die?" I shook my head quickly, and Carson turned the smirk into her direction. There seemed to be a smear of dark humor in that smile.

"Alright, then." Hyacinth smiled, her shadowy eyes glinted with bleak amusement—reminding me of Carson's smugness moments ago. "I don't want to see any mortality here."

She meant she didn't want us to fight like humans. No anger, only focus and strategy. Hyacinth gestured, communicating she was ready for us to start, and I planted my feet while giving Carson a once over.

So, he was taller, definitely stronger, and bigger, but I could bet I was faster.

From all the Combats lessons I'd had in the past six years, I could remember one that was the most important: never let them grab you.

Once they've got you in their hold, you're dead. I let out a slow breath of air and let my eyes flutter closed. Just before my lids fully shut, I saw Carson move and I listened for his footsteps.

Faint but present, I heard them from my left and I twisted away before he could touch me. I jolted myself into the air and landed on the opposite side he rushed me from, twisting effortlessly and with unnatural speed as roundhouse kick connected into his side.

The kick was so strong that he was thrown away from me, and Carson staggered, caught off guard by my speed and calmness, but composed himself.

For a moment, he kept his distance, and I rushed him. He waited for me to get close before jutting his foot out to sweep my legs from underneath me in order to knock me down.

I dug my fingernails into his upper arm to steady myself, drawing blood accidentally, and twisted his arm back while concurrently twirling on my heel so my body was flush against his—my chest to his back.

With all the strength I could muster, I shoved Carson forward so he would plant onto his face.

He let out a very unattractive grunting noise when he made contact with the floor, and I couldn't stop myself from snickering. Carson tensed up, and I could feel that it was from anger.

He rolled over, so that he was laying on top of me—crushing me. I landed several punches into his side while blocking his blows to my head with my free arm before he finally moved to get away, and I leapt to my feet, not wanting to be at a vulnerable position on the floor.

Carson came at me, unleashing the anger he held and all I could do was revert back to basic hand-to-hand block combinations.

He was moving so fast, I barely had time to think, so I didn't. I ducked under the next hit and rolled behind him.

My foot landed into the center of his back and Carson was once again caught off guard by my quickness to evade him.

With a leap of hope, I jutted up into the air and clung to his back. A memory of the night Meredith died pricked the front of my mind as I moved to incapacitate Carson with a simple flick of my hands.

But then he grabbed at the collar of my long-sleeve and yanked me off his back. The sound of the fabric of my collar stretching and nearly tearing met my ears as Carson pulled me around and then backhanded me. I flew back, shocked by the pain.

Before I could recover, he was on me, hitting me until Hyacinth told him to stop. I lay for a few seconds, testing how much every part of me hurt.

My face was smarting where he smacked me, and my ribs were aching from his hits into my side, but with reluctance, I came to the realization that Carson hadn't hit me hard enough to actually hurt me.

I caught his eyes across the room as Hyacinth bitched him out for "letting his anger take control" and something dark flickered in his gaze. I stood, unable to stay under the weight of his eyes for too long.

Once Combats was dismissed, my body was still wired and ready to fight. I didn't feel like going back to the dorm just yet to relax. I sent a text to Lorelai to let her know that I was going to go off for a run instead of doing dinner with her.

She was annoyed, but I didn't care that much. Something inside of me was spinning and crawling under my skin. I needed to get it out.

All of the training over the past six years had molded me into a true Vampyre. I could run inhumanly fast and I didn't tire nearly as easily as I used to all those years ago.

I wondered if not using your Gifts as a Vampyre dulled them so much that they were eventually barely there. Maybe that's why Meredith had become so weak.

She didn't need to feed because she never allowed herself to Change into a Full Vampyre, and she didn't need to fight either. Meredith lived in the human world, and we didn't come across any supernatural threats until Rene.

Head Vierseut's voice abruptly drifted into my mind: There are others who wish to eradicate the Royal bloodlines. Why hadn't we been a target before?

There were three Reinove Vampyres living under the same roof for nearly twenty years, and two of the three were children. They could've attacked and killed Meredith, Cetilayn, and me a long time ago. The Elders must've been watching out for us much more than I ever realized.

My legs were finally beginning to ache after around forty-five minutes of nonstop running, and I slowed to a jog before leaning up against a nearby tree for a break.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and checked the time; the white digital numbers read 2:46 am.

I sucked in a huge breath of the icy air around me and revelled in the burning of my lungs. The frigidity slithered over my frame and I shuddered, the heat of my run starting to dissipate.

A peculiar awareness settled over me, and my head snapped up as my eyes peered through the darkness. It felt as if someone were there with me, watching me.

Scanning the area, I realized no one was around, but the itchiness of being spied on wouldn't die.

I wrapped my arms around myself as another shiver convulsed through me, but not because of the cold. Taking one last look around, I took off back in the direction of the dormitories, no longer noticing that skittering feeling inside.

When I returned to the dorm, the sensation of another presence had finally melted away and I felt much more at ease. My shower was like satisfying prickling droplets of fire and worked through my skin easily, compelling my body to thoroughly relax.

I dressed in a simple oversized Lilo & Stitch long-sleeve top and my lacey pink panties before retiring to my side of the dorm.

My light was left on and I moved to my radio that sat atop my dresser before turning it on. Connecting my phone, I picked Billie Eilish's "lovely" to play softly in the background.

Moving back over to my desk on the opposite side of the room, I pulled Eloize's journal from my bag. I was supposed to bring it back to Sawyer tomorrow for our IOS lesson and I hadn't read much of it at all.

Settling in my office chair and pulling my feet underneath me, I pulled the first few pages open. The words Sufletul Oglinda caught my attention and my eyebrows rose in surprise. Eloize had another Mate before Sawyer?

28th of September, 406 C.O.

Tonight is the eve of my Coronation day. Father is to present me to the Courte in the evening and announce my womanhood as I have come of age--sixteen.

I have concluded he wishes me to Mate an Alpha of the Councile, however, I am petrified.

Mihai has attempted to hearten me that the Alpha is a virtuous and Powerful man that is loyal to Father's Empire, but I am unassured I am properly prepared to become the Heir and Princess Reinove.

It is these times I yearn to have an elder Reinove sibling, yet it was unfortunate Mihai was given the Preudova gene, so it is I who will cede the Reinove blood unto my children.

I will be a wondrous Princess and Queen. I promise this to myself.

My breath caught in my throat as I read over the last line of her words, and my eyes moved to the next entry.

3rd of October, 406 C.O.

Sufletul Oglinda. That is what he has elucidated we are--the Alpha I am betrothed to. He is my soulmate.

The ardor I perceived when I laid eyes upon him was unlike any other sensation I ever had the pleasure of experiencing.

He is a magical man, such absolute perfection it is nearly painful to gaze upon him. My apprehension concerning my titles and role as prospective Queen and Alpha as the Olicidove Pack have utterly waned.

I am brimming with delight to become Micael Olcidove's wife and Luna.

Shock so severe it caused me to jolt back soared within my mind. Olcidove. Eloize's first Sufletul Oglinda was an Olcidove Lycan, likely an ancestor of Rene.

What the actual fuck?

Anger rocketed through me, and a piece of me knew it was irrational but I couldn't collect it this time. That rage tore through me, unrelenting and repeatedly.

No mercy would be held in this moment with the anger filling me to the brim with insanity.

I couldn't say where the fury was coming from, but it nearly swallowed me up—nearly devoured me until I felt nothing but searing wrath, saw nothing but crimson, tasted nothing but the hunger to fight and destroy.

As the reckless heat crashed into me, the silence around me suddenly became too thick, closing in around my neck.

It was suddenly getting harder and harder to breathe and I gasped for air, Eloize's journal slipping from my fingers as I desperately tried to force oxygen into my lungs.

I realized then it wasn't silence that was closing my throat; it wasn't the too-heavy quiet that was suffocating me. Fingers were pressing against my neck. Choking me, cutting off the air I was trying to force down my throat...

Gradual; the sensation slithered along my skin and shook away the kiss of unconsciousness.

It crept with an aching tentativeness, sluggish and feverishly festering yearning to consume, and then pushed all at once causing me to wake in convulsions.

A violent gasp of shock rocketed passed my lips and through the hysterical tremors that wracked my body, I felt a wild sensation of confusion mingling with white-hot terror.

I grappled my neck for the fingers I had felt there moments ago, but felt nothing.

My dorm was quiet and dark and empty.

Had it been a dream? A very vivid dream?  No. It was not a dream.

It couldn't have been. I was awake. I had been awake, sitting at my desk, reading.

I clicked on my bedside lamp and my eyes searched my room. Everything was the same, no sign of a break-in and the only scents I was able to pick up was my own and Lorelai's. I shook my head in disbelief. Someone had been in my room.

The air felt different, as if something had stirred it up. The frost from outside had made its way in and the dorm was cold like it had went a while with the heater off.

I clasped my palms together tightly, unable to shake off the lasting tremors. I warily climbed from my bed and went to my desk, but Eloize's journal was no longer in sight.

Tugging my bag up, I pulled it open to find her journal was back inside, as if it had never been taken out.

I scrunched up my forehead and rubbed my index and middle finger over my brow.

Was I going crazy? I shook my head.

No, I was not crazy. I had been awake! I vividly remember I had been awake!

I knew that I was alone, but I somehow suddenly knew that that was going to change. The awareness of it coated over my skin with a syrupy thickness, and the pace of my heart quickened.

Violet-amber orbs seared past my vision and ghostly whips of electricity sizzled over my entirety. Trenton... a tantalizing whisper called into my brain.

Confusion pulsated through me, but I didn't have time to process what I'd just felt or heard because the sound of the front door to my dormitory hesitantly eased open.

Hushed voices and footsteps kissed my ears and I spun around, watching my door warily. With great caution and unhurried movements, I took a step closer, grabbing a pair of scissors from my desktop and gradually inched my bedroom door open.

Standing at the end of the hall, just behind the curve of the corner, I could make out two tall male figures. They were arguing—I could tell by the intensity in their whispers, and it only stopped because it seemed like they couldn't come to a consensus.

I slinked out silently and with supernatural speed, grasped the man closest to my door and jabbed the scissors into his neck harshly enough that I drew blood.

His Lycan scent assaulted me and I sneered in disgust at the smell, though there was nothing actually unpleasant about it. "Who are you and what are you doing in my dorm?" My eyes turned up to the other male and I was stunned that I actually recognized him.

Allowing my hand to fall from the man's neck, I took a step away, but kept hold of the scissors.

"Holy shit," My mouth had gone incredibly dry and an image of Lorelai's cloudy gray eyes flickered through my memory as I stared at the pair before me.

"You're Trent and Ankiel."