chapter 81

ARIELLA.

It was David. He finally found us. I couldn't move my legs from fright, but he wasn't even looking at me, but his brother. "David..." I mouthed, scared that he might have already done something to Eli. If he was already here, then he must have seen Eli patrolling the area.

"I know that you lost interest in living as a vampire, but to betray me like this, your twin brother? I have never expected this from you." The disappointment in his voice was real.

But Darius was not having it. "You're not one to talk about betrayal, David. You have betrayed me many, many times before and you never apologized. You never considered how I would feel when you do something crazy. Not even once. So I decided that I will do things my way."

"This is new," David commented. He was still calm and I could not sense any hostility from him so I took it as a good sign. "You have always been reserved and timid. You never joined in anything related to our enemies. But now, you're suddenly helping Ariella. I knew that it was you who helped her get out of the castle because Lawrence's ability doesn't work there if he's going to use it on a non-vampire. So my question is, why are you helping her? Is it because she is the daughter of the Moon Goddess' latest reincarnation? Are you trying to help Ariella because you feel responsible for her?"

"And what if I do?" Darius asked. "What if I really decide to help Ariella escape from you and your wicked plans? What will you do?"

David's face went smug. "Don't joke, Darius. You are still a vampire, and I am still your King. You should follow my orders no matter what, and my order is to capture Ariella and help me manifest the prophecy for our future. You need to set aside your feelings...."

"And why would I do that? Why would I even listen to you? Most of our family is already dead, and Lawrence doesn't even want to be with you anymore. Most of our warriors also got beaten at New Forks which you could have entirely avoided. You have proven that you're not a good leader, David," Darius clapped back. "So tell me, my dear twin brother... Why would I still follow your orders when all of your previous ones were failures?"

David didn't like that. If looks could kill, I'm sure that Darius and I were now on the ground. "You dare? You talk back to me now all of a sudden? Why? Because our parents are no longer alive?"

"Yes!" Darius confirmed. "I dare to speak up to you now because the people that poisoned your mind are no longer here. Our parents have corrupted you over the centuries! Now that they're gone, you have the chance to stop what they told you to do, but you're still following their orders even if they're already gone! Think about that!"

"It's too late now for that, Darius," said David. He was looking at us with murderous intent--- his eyes were so intense that it gave me goosebumps. "You don't have to lecture me anymore because no matter what happens, I will see to it that the prophecy will be fulfilled. I'm not going to let go of the opportunity to bring the Heir to this world. So if you are going to stop me, you better do it with more than just words."

"Fine. Let's fight then," Darius replied and I gave him a worried look because I don't know if he can go toe to toe with David. "But let's make it fun. If you win, you carry on with your plans and I'll let you be. But if I win, you're going to step down as the Vampire King and you will leave Ariella alone."

"You sound so confident, Darius. Do you really think that you can beat me in a duel?"

"Why don't we find out?" Darius replied with a mocking smile. He then turned to me. "Listen, Ariella. This is your chance to escape. David won't back down from his word to fight me, so you better run and do your best to get as far from here as you can. Escape together with your mate and don't worry about the witch and my younger brother. Got it?"

"But, Darius, what if you get killed? You're putting your safety on the line!"

"Yeah, but that's how it should be."

"You're going to risk your life for me when we just met? I'm very grateful that you want to help me but you have to think about yourself too!"

David gave me a sad smile. "I already told you before, Ariella. That I find you interesting. You are the reason that I woke up earlier than I intended, so there must be a reason for it. Who knows, maybe your mother's necklace had woken me up to ask for help from me."

That made me tear up because that could be true. And the idea that my mother could still do things for me even if she was dead made me emotional. I don't even remember anything about her but she still does remember me even if it's just through her necklace.

"Enough with the drama. Fine. If that is what you want, Darius. So don't blame me if I kill you. And when I'm done with you, I'll finally focus on you, Ariella and this time you will no longer escape from me."

"But that will only happen if you defeat me," said Darius and then he suddenly charged at his twin brother. His fingers became sharp as knives and they elongated long enough for Darius to use as claws or blades. He was aiming for David's throat, but David easily dodged all his attempts like they were nothing. "What are you still doing here, Ariella? You have to run now!" he yelled at me as soon as he saw that I was still on the spot where he left me.

But that was only because I wanted to make sure that he could really fight his twin brother because I had doubts. But Darius seemed fine. David could not land a hit on him too because he was very agile. By the looks of it, Darius seemed to know what to do to avoid David's ability and I watched him do it for a couple of seconds before finally running away from them.

I ran towards the forest in front of me. I wanted to go back to Blaire and Lawrence, but I felt like taking them with me would only put them in danger too. So I just ran and looked for Eli. I called his name over and over but I couldn't see him anywhere. I was hoping that he wasn't injured again because he already went through a lot. And as I ran through the thick trees I started picking up his scent.

And then I heard voices. It was definitely his voice so I panicked. He sounded like he was in pain again, calling for anyone. Luckily for me, my sense of smell was heightened to the next level as a side effect of the vampire blood in my body. So I finally found Eli. There was a small cabin in the middle of the woods and there he was by the door. "Eli! What happened?"

I got scared when I reached him because he was lying on the deck, bleeding. "David attacked me... But thankfully, I escaped from him and found this place where I hid myself."

"Thank God you're okay!" I almost choked on my own saliva because just as I said that, I saw that there was a big chunk of flesh missing from Eli's chest and he was bleeding out.