CHAPTER ELEVEN: VENUS

The vampire who had just killed the guard glanced up at me and smirked,  his malicious gaze never leaving mine as he flung the guard's heart to the side, then I felt something pull at my hand.

It was Xavier who was pulling on my hand, attempting to deflect my attention away from the terrible vampire, but I couldn't look away, my heart was racing, and I couldn't breathe properly; this was the first time I'd seen a vampire up close and personal. The history books in Khadran surely do not do them justice; in vampire form, they are far more scary.

"Hey Vee, look at me, we need to get out of here before they find us," Xavier shouted as his hands slid up to my shoulders and he shook me out of my trance, allowing me to finally glance away from the vampire's stare; when I looked into his eyes, he had this worried look in his eyes. 

"He just killed him like it was nothing," I mumbled as tears streamed down my cheeks. Xavier threw his arms around me, running his hands down my back for comfort so I could calm down.

"Don't worry, I'll get you out of here in one piece," Xavier said as he took me into the main living room, which had once been beautiful but was now covered with bodies and blood.

"Come on," Xavier shouted as I forced myself to look away from the slaughter, but we hadn't gone far when we were ambushed by a vampire.

"Well, isn't it the bastard son of the werewolf king, and this lovely lady must be Princess  Venus Pellon of Ovithan" the vampire said with a smile, earning a glare from Xavier.

"You guys have guts, I'll give you that, attacking a werewolf Duke Estate, you know you won't leave here alive right," Xavier said, discarding his suit jacket to allow him to move more freely.

"We'll see about that," the vampire replied as he lunged for Xavier, leaving him no time to get ready, but as expected from the captain of his own army, he dodged the vampire's attack effortlessly.

"Come on, is that all you got?" Xavier asked, taunting the vampire, which I thought was a really bad idea, but he seemed to know what he was doing because he was smiling. In comparison to his experience on the battlefield, I'm in no position to criticize his decisions.

The vampire bared its teeth at Xavier before attacking again, this time going for his neck. When the vampire was about two feet away from Xavier, he pulled out a knife and crouched on his knees, taking the vampire by surprise as he drove the dagger through its heart.

Its body dropped to the floor, and Xavier waited until the vampire turned to ash before turning to check on me, leaving him open to another attack because a vampire appeared from the skyline with a sword, ready to strike Xavier.

"Liberuno!" I yelled, generating a football-sized fireball in my fist and hurling it at the vampire, engulfing him in flames.

"Thank you," Xavier said, staring at the scorched vampire's body a foot away.

"No need to thank me, I was just repaying the favor," I shrugged, and he gave me a faint smile as we continued inside the mansion in search of other survivors.

"Do you think they got to the King and Michael?" I asked out of the blue as Xavier looked up at me like I was crazy to ask such a question, and now that I think about it, I must be bonkers to care about those assholes who probably left me to die and saved themselves. 

"You shouldn't be concerned about them right now; if they truly cared about your safety, they would have sent guards to get you, but they didn't" Xavier said as a scowl formed on his face "my father and brother are nothing more than selfish bastards who only care about themselves and no one else," 

"Don't worry, I already know that, I'm married to one of them, aren't I?" I sighed as Xavier just stared at me without saying anything, "Let's get out of here before more vampires find us," 

I really shouldn't have said that last part because we were surrounded by vampires in less than a second, me and my big mouth.

"Fuck!" I heard Xavier curse as his back met mine and as my gaze ran over the vampires, I knew we were truly fucked.

"Let's get this over with," I said as I tore the bottom of my gown to make it shorter so I could move around and cast spells without the stupid gown getting in the way.

They all charged at the same time, and Xavier and I did our best to fend them off, but as one fell, another showed up: if we keep going like this, we will be overwhelmed and likely killed or captured.

"Stay behind me, Xavier, you don't want to get caught in my spell," I said, and surprisingly, he didn't fight me and went to stand behind me. 

I recited the spell in my head as my inner flames began to surround me, and when I had gathered enough momentum, I released my fire and it engulfed the vampires surrounding us in flames, leaving no one standing. 

This spell drains a lot of mana from its user, so I can't do much for him until I recoup my mana. "I hope you can handle the rest because I've run out of mana, and it takes a while to replenish," I said to Xavier.

"You've done enough," he said as he took my hand in his and led us out of the mansion, which, like the inside, was littered with dead bodies. 

"They didn't come here to play," I muttered as Xavier and I ran side by side towards the main entrance. I knew he was slowing down for my sake so I could catch up because I don't have super speed like him.

But our easy escape was thwarted by another vampire, who looked to be more formidable than the others.

"Hello, Prince Xavier of Verna and Princess Venus of Khadran,'' he said as he bowed with a sly grin on his face, and judging by Xavier's look, he knew this vampire.

"What are you and your people doing here, Prince Kory?" Xavier hissed, shielding me with his body, causing the young vampire to chuckle. Wait, did Xavier just call him Prince Kory, as in the Prince of Duskhaven, the vampire realm?

"Can't I drop by and see an old friend, you hurt me Xavier, here I was thinking you would be happy to see me" Prince Kory smiled, but it wasn't comforting; it made him look threatening.

"Cut the bullshit, Kory. What do you want?" Xavier asked, a threatening growl leaving his lips.

"Since you asked so nicely, Xavier, I'll answer your question; I want your heads on a pike," Kory replied, as his gaze locked on me.

"Did you do all this to kill the Royal Family?" I asked, causing his smile to widen.

"Oh no, dear, I did all this to get to you two," Kory answered as he took a small step towards us.

"Why?" I asked.

"A little birdy told me that you two will be a thorn in my side in the future, ruining whatever plans I have, so it's better to get rid of you now,"

"What the fuck are you talking about? Kory, what future?, which plans?"

"Come on, Xavier, you can't expect me to tell you," Kory laughed, causing Xavier's frown to deepen.

"It won't be easy to bring the two of us down," I said, shifting my focus to Xavier, whose attention was solely focused on Kory.

"Oh i know, i'm not stupid, that's why I brought friends," Kory said, and for the second time that night, we were surrounded by vampires. Can't we just get a break today?