The drive to my parents' castle stretched on, each passing minute feeling like an hour. From the corner of my eye, I could see the subtle signs of Krista's nerves. A fine sheen of sweat on her brow, the slight pallor of her skin. She looked nauseous, her fears, I knew, getting the best of her. She took a few deep breaths, trying to steady herself, and then Kilian, ever the perceptive one, reached over and gently touched her hand. I saw her look at him. He sat there, completely unfazed, radiating a quiet determination that surprised even me. He gave her a small, reassuring smile. She actually let out a tiny laugh, a sound so unexpected it made Jeremy and Christian glance over in surprise. "It's nothing," she murmured, a flicker of renewed resolve in her eyes. It was typical Krista - always pushing herself, always finding strength even when she felt weakest. She thought she needed a sense of security, but I knew she was the core of ours.
The massive gates of the castle swung open, revealing the familiar, imposing structure. It was a bastion of pureblood power that held one of my most painful memories: the night I had to break her heart and send her away. I never thought she'd set foot on this property again, and the bitterness of that past loss still gnawed at me. We pulled up to the grand entrance and waited as the second car, carrying the others, arrived. Everyone was here: Krista, Kilian, Christian, Jeremy, Marcus, Ethan, Maria, and me. We'd left Father Sinclair behind; there was no need to put him at further risk.
"Are we all prepared to meet our doom?" Jeremy quipped, his voice laced with forced cheerfulness. A few nervous laughs rippled through our group. He was right; we all had good reason to be scared.
A butler, a pale, stoic figure greeted us. We followed him through the castle's labyrinthine corridors. Finally, we stopped before a massive oak door, intricately carved and heavy with unspoken weight. "Please go in. Everyone's been waiting for you," the butler announced, his tone devoid of emotion.
I pushed the door open. The room beyond was vast, a cavernous library stretching up to a soaring, vaulted ceiling. Shelves upon shelves, overflowing with ancient tomes, seemed to mock the current crisis. It was grander, certainly, than our old school library. And there, at the far end, were thirteen vampires. Council members. Their gazes were like ice daggers, cold and piercing, fixed directly on us. I felt Krista sway slightly beside me, her breath catching, and Kilian's hand was instantly at her back, steadying her. The door closed, sealing us within the suffocating silence of the room. The air was heavy, charged with power and judgment. This was why Jeremy always dreaded these meetings; we lived under this constant pressure.
I started walking towards them, my steps measured, and the others followed, a unified front against the intimidating assembly. The Council members remained unmoving, like statues carved from stone, their expressions unreadable.
"Hello, Mother, Father," I said, my voice cutting through the silence, devoid of any warmth. "We've come to ask for a favor. No, let me correct myself. We've come to propose an alliance."
My father, Lord Alaric, the most formidable of them all, slowly rose from behind a large mahogany desk and moved to sit on one of the couches facing us. "An alliance? What's this about?" His voice was deep, resonant, holding a latent power that made lesser vampires tremble.
"Well—" Ethan began, but a beautiful blonde vampire, with eyes as sharp as daggers, cut him off.
"Five vampires, a half-vampire, a human, and one I can't quite understand what." She paused, her gaze sweeping over Kilian and then Maria, curiosity warring with suspicion. "What an interesting group."
"Sis, I thought you went on vacation," Jeremy blurted out, a hint of exasperation in his voice.
"I was on my way there, but I was told to come back for an emergency meeting," she replied, her beautiful voice laced with a subtle threat. "I never imagined my brother had anything to do with the emergency. What did you do this time?"
"We're not here to pick a fight. We came to report something very important," Christian interjected calmly, stepping slightly forward.
"Alright. Go on, son. We're listening." A male vampire with a gentle face, an older version of Christian, his father, nodded for us to continue.
I met my father's gaze directly, wasting no time. "You remember Krista?"
His eyes narrowed. "Of course. The Church leader's daughter who was convicted of treason and disappeared seventeen years ago." He paused, his voice dropping, becoming a low growl. "I thought you said a few days ago that you have no information of her whereabouts. You dare lie to me?"
The atmosphere in the library thickened, becoming even more oppressive. I felt the others subtly shift, taking a tiny step back. My father, Lord Alaric, was indeed a dangerous vampire to mess with, especially when his authority was questioned.
"I did, and I apologize for that," I admitted, my voice steady despite the tension. "But that's not what's important here. The entire capital is in danger. We have to do something or else the capital will become a bloody battlefield."
"What do you mean by that?" A small, ancient-looking female vampire, her voice surprisingly high-pitched, finally spoke.
"Krista will tell you everything." I gave Krista an encouraging nod, a silent plea for her to take the lead. This was her story, her truth to deliver.
"Well? Come closer and sit." My mother, Lady Anastacia, a sophisticated-looking female vampire whose elegance belied her power, gestured to the couches opposite them.
Krista walked towards them slowly, cautiously, Kilian following her like a shadow. She sat on the couch in front of the Council members, her posture composed but her fear palpable even from where I stood behind her. She looked like a suspect, about to be interrogated.
"Go on. Tell us everything," my mother urged.
Krista took a deep breath, her gaze sweeping across the formidable faces of the Council. "Seventeen years ago, before I went into hiding, I found a child in one of our properties. I recognized her as one of the children from the orphanage. I took care of her, without my father's knowledge, and asked what happened to her. It turned out something weird was going on at the orphanage. Since she was still a child, her explanation was too little to figure out what's happening. And so, I took it to myself to find the truth."
Jeremy's sister, Seraphina, chuckled lightly. "Well, aren't you brave? My brother could use some of that bravery and determination."
"I wouldn't really call it bravery," Krista responded calmly, ignoring Seraphina's dig at Jeremy. "I was more like in denial that something bad was happening in a place I held dear. I investigated the orphanage with the help of my friends. We almost didn't find anything until we found a document which pointed us to a former Church official. The doctor only came to visit the capital when we found the document and fortunately, we were able to ask him for information before he left. And…"
"And?" My father's voice cut in, his curiosity now openly displayed. He leaned forward, clearly wanting to hear every detail.
Krista met his gaze. "We found out that the Church had been experimenting on numerous people, injecting them with vampire venom mixed with vampire blood and some other chemicals, giving those people vampiric abilities."
A big, brawny vampire, whose name I couldn't recall at the moment, slammed his fist on the armrest of his chair. "What?!" His voice boomed, echoing through the library.
"Calm down. Let's hear more," my mother commanded, her voice cutting through the immediate uproar. She turned to Krista. "Continue."
Krista resumed, her voice steady now, resolute. "I wanted to put an end to it. We found the location of the lab, which turned out to be a secret underground facility below the orphanage. We wanted to put a stop to the research since a lot of people were being sacrificed including the children. So, we blew the place up and the rest you know."
My father remained quiet for a moment, his gaze fixed on Krista, processing her words. "I always had my suspicions that the Church is doing something to go against us, but I never imagined it was to this extent." His eyes then fixed on Krista's. "Tell me about this alliance then."