I hurriedly went toward the place where I last saw the hunters leader entering. This room was on the opposite side of the entire palace! My legs were paining due to wandering so much around the palace already! By the time I reached that place, I was already taking deep breaths due to exhaustion. Sweat beads formed on my forehead as the droplets scrolled down my temples, toward the back of my neck making me shiver because of its sudden coldness.
I took a moment to calm myself before u knocked the door not once or twice, but many times. My sister was in danger! How could I just sit back and wait for someone to kill her? I must hurry up and find this leader!
But no matter how much I tried, the door just wouldn’t open! Frustrated, I knocked harder. After what it felt like hours, I heard a sound from the other side of the door. Just a moment later, the door flung open, revealing a familiar man standing before me with a cold expression on his face.
Wasn’t this the man who had always been walking behind the lady boss? I narrowed my eyes at him and said, “Where’s the boss?”
“Why’re you here?” He just dodged my question and frowned as if genuinely thinking why in the world I was traveling all over the palace in the middle of the night.
His reaction made me angrier. “Where’s she?!” After saying that, I attempted to march past him inside the room, but he easily blocked me, pushing me outside the room.
“Go back.”
“No! I want to see her!” But this guy didn’t even give me a chance to say anything else before he closed the door at my face! I gnashed my jaw and knocked again. Even though the other person didn’t open the door, I knew he must still be inside.
Let’s see how you will sleep if I keep knocking throughout the night!
Angrily, my knocking speed and sound gradually increased. If there was a normal person inside, they would have just opened the door already because of the noise. But that guy didn’t budge. It wasn’t until I heard a second set of steps that I heard a click sound and the door opened again, revealing a familiar figure of a lady with a mask, only revealing her sharp blue colored eyes.
I was stunned for a moment before I jumped at her angrily, hitting her with my weak claws. But the lady boss continued to look at me coldly.
“Release her!” I demanded, glaring at her with all my might.
“Who might you be talking about?” The lady boss acted like she didn’t have anything to do with it.
I got angrier at her reaction. How could she?! First she kidnapped my sister all of a sudden, and then she acted as if it wasn’t a crime that she committed. Such a hypocrite! Gritting my teeth, I squinted my eyes at her. “Release her.” My voice turned darker by each passing second. If I had full access to my powers, I’d have rushed her life and soul already. Sadly, the locket around my neck seemed to suppress all of my powers, leaving me with empty energy veins.
“Do you know your mistake?” The lady boss’s crisp female voice echoed in my ears, making me stunned. Mistake? What mistake? But I wasn’t focusing on that. Instead, anger had consumed my mind and I could only glare at her at this time.
Seeing my reaction, I heard a helpless sigh from the man behind her before he turned back and went inside. That was when I noticed the room. It wasn’t just a bedroom unlike other rooms in the corridors. This place was just like an entire flat. In front of me was a big living room and an open kitchen was attached to one side. Other side contained two separate doors, perhaps leading to the bedroom.
“If you’re done, please get out. You don’t even realise your mistakes and you want me to save someone. Have some conscience.” Just as she said, she gestured to someone standing behind me. Just then, someone grabbed my arms, dragging me outside. I turned around only to see an unknown bodyguard behind me.
Panic hit my heart. If this guy took me back, I’d have to stay inside my room. What would happen to my sister? Even thinking about it made me feel frightened. My heartbeat sped as I turned toward the lady boss and yelled, “You can’t shut Lucy inside the room forever! Take her out!”
At this moment, the lady boss’s eyes seemed to be filled with amusement as she gestured to the bodyguard to stop and inched closer to me. “Oh? Then do you want to accept your mistakes?”
I didn’t know what she was talking about, but I nodded anyway. Lying was the only thing I could do to save my sister.
Seeing my expression, the lady boss chuckled and her fingers moved against cheeks as nails scratched the surface. I flinched at that, but I bit my lips, standing in my ground. I didn’t want to run away because of pain because this time, it was my sister who was in danger!
“Next time, remember to kill your husband. If not, I’m afraid your family will no longer be alive.”
Hearing that, I couldn’t help but froze. My eyes widened. How did she know I contacted Liam?
The lady boss laughed as if reading my mind. “You weren’t careful when a spy easily followed you.”
My lower lips quivered at that as tears formed in my eyes. This lady was able to contact a spy to follow me all the way to the forest where I was meeting Liam. How did she know I was searching for my husband at that time? Thinking about how much this lady might know about Liam’s and my plans, a chill was sent down my spine.
But the lady boss didn’t stop there. She looked at me in disdain and said, “Since it was Lucy who had urged you to see him, I have punished her for this. Now let’s talk about your punishment.” She tapped her chin with her index finger as if she was thinking a lot. Then her eyes lit up. “I know!” Her glance darted toward the bodyguard and something dark flashed in her eyes. “Lock her up for a day.”
“No!” I struggled, but it was all futile. I couldn’t get away from the bodyguard because of the lack of power within my body.
…
Hours later, I found myself sprawled on the cold ground that felt familiar. This was the same place where I was brought earlier after being kidnapped. But the only difference was that the door that had opened in a few minutes stayed shut for what it felt like hours. I didn’t know what time it was. There wasn’t a clock. And I didn’t even have my phone with me. The moment I was kidnapped, these people had taken it away. I could only bite my tongue and endure.
To preserve my energy, I kept lying on the ground. In this dark room, I was able to silently think about many things. For instance, the locket I had around my neck. It seemed that the lady boss controlled this locket, and it would only let me use my power after I touched that black book to practice that dangerous spell meant to kill vampires. Other times, it would suppress my power to a higher extent so much so that I’d end up feeling weak like a human.
I didn’t think I’d ever return to being a human after all this time. Lying on the floor lifelessly, I could only lick my dry lips and swallow saliva to soothe my throat. My stomach was making noises because of hunger, but I couldn’t do a thing.
My hands traced my belly as my gaze filled with warmth. At least, I wasn’t alone here. My baby was with me. But what was happening on Lucy’s side? Was she even alive? I couldn’t help but be anxious for my sister.
Just then, the door opened and someone entered. At first, I thought it was the lady boss herself so I just ignored the guest and continued to lie down lifelessly.
“Eat it.” A male voice suddenly sounded above me as someone placed a plate filled with pizza and a glass of water. I was surprised at that. I struggled to look up and saw the same man I had seen earlier. Frowning at his sudden appearance, I didn’t move, but continued to stare at this guy.
He sighed helplessly and pushed back his silky black hair. “Just eat, my sister won’t find out.”
Sister? This got a reaction out of me. “Who?” My voice was hoarse as it struggled to come out from my dried throat.
“Oh you probably don’t know. It’s the boss.”
My eyes widened at that as I suddenly got the energy to get up and stare at the man in disbelief. That lady boss was his sister?!
“Yeah, you don’t have to react extremely like this.” His expression turned even more helpless seeing my face.
I was really shocked. I hadn’t thought that the lady boss, who was famous for being cruel, and was even the person meant to be the demise of the world according to a prediction, would have a family member. I was very curious about it, but I wouldn’t ask anything about it. This man was perhaps trying to trap me in the net of his words. I wouldn’t believe him easily!
Before I could even open my mouth to say something, the man sat on the ground, legs crossed. “Ask away, whatever you want to ask me. Sister’s not here, and seeing how you will help her fulfil her desires, I feel a bit compassionate.”
I sneered at that. If this was what they call being compassionate, then I was probably a God of compassion. They would shut me off in a dark room without any food or water, and suddenly they would bring food to me the next day saying this is how they show their compassion.
I lowered my eyelids to hide my emotions and asked, “Why’s she doing this?” I figured that this person perhaps wouldn’t answer any of her questions about leaving this place. So I might as well ask more things about the lady boss’s personal life.
The man sighed. “Lilith wasn’t like this, you see? I’m her twin brother, but we’re nothing alike. Still, our parents were proud of us, even though I don’t really remember their faces anymore.” A sad smile formed on his lips.
So the lady boss’s name was Lilith. I didn’t know what to say anymore to that. So I just kept my head low and continued to listen.
“But then, that thing happened that I dreaded the most.” A bitter smile formed on her lips. “They were brutally killed by Derrick.”
I was surprised hearing that, but confusion clouded my vision. Why in the world would a person like Derrick kill someone? I tilted my head as I continued to dwell on the topic. Even though I didn’t know him personally, I could still tell that he hadn’t lacked compassion.
“I remember her being a bubbly girl back then. That’s the only memory I have of a normal family. My mother was a magician who had married a vampire. Our family used to live in the outskirts of the city, just outside the realm of vampires and magicians.”
“Why outside?” I couldn’t help but blurt it out. They were vampire magicians! How could they live outside before the second war? I didn’t think magicians were banished outside America before the second war. Liam had decided to banish those people as a result of the war because they had sided with the British king. These people even dared to create an organization called hunter’s. But this was what happened after the second war. Then why was this person saying that they lived on the outskirts of the vampire’s realm in America?
Such information only confused the hell out of me. I scratched my head and stared at him in confusion.
Seeing my bewildered face, he chuckled lightly and explained, “It’s because my mom was one of the people among the outcast magicians back then.”
That was when I remembered this event. There was a magician who was responsible for making everyone vampires starting from Derrick. But wasn’t there only one person? My face twisted even more due to the overload of such confusing information.
“There was more than one person banished outside the magician’s group back then, but this fact was hidden by the magicians because they didn’t want to let people know the embarrassing fact that so many people had decided to turn toward the dark side. If the vampires had found out, they would have killed the entire magician clan. So you see, they had to hide everything about our existence.”
Realization dawned upon me after hearing this. But one thing still confused me as hell. “Why’re you telling me all of these things?”
The man cocked his head and smiled. “Because you remind me of how my sister used to be.” Then he paused and added. “But that doesn’t mean I’ll be able to help you. To be honest, she has become a control freak. If she knew I came here today, she’d kill me as well.” A sad smile formed on his lips that almost made me believe his words.
“Then why are you here?” If this guy knew he would be in danger if he talked to me, then why would he come here?!
He winked at me and said, “I can transport my body anywhere anytime without telling a single soul about it. Even Lilith can’t tell where I have been, but my power comes with a limit. I can only hide myself. So all I can do is give you a bit of food, but this is my limit.”
I ignored his expression and frowned. Why did it seem like this guy wasn’t really close to the lady boss? He even dared to say that I remind him of the young Lilith. At this thought, I couldn’t help but blurt, “And if she was really anything like me, she wouldn’t have turned out to be like… like…”
“A criminal?” He chuckled and supported his chin with his hands.
“Yes!” But why did he bluntly call her a criminal? Wasn’t she his sister?
“I hate the person she has become now. She doesn’t even acknowledge me, and I have to call her boss all the time even though she’s the younger one.”
“But why did she change so much?”
The man frowned at that and shook his head. “That’s probably because she wanted to get revenge for our parents’ death.” Then he rubbed his temples in a frustrated way. “If only she wasn’t so stuck on revenge, she wouldn’t have changed into a completely different person. Right now, forget about revenge, destroying the entire vampire family has become her obsession. She doesn’t even remember who she is!”
He kept muttering under his breath. I was stunned. What I learnt today was more important than anything! At this moment, I didn’t even think about whether I should believe this guy or not. The only thing that was in my mind was how I could rush to Liam and tell him the truth of this matter.
I glanced at this guy. He seemed to know many things about the past of vampires and magicians. Did he know my parents personally? If yes, then he might have seen them! Perhaps he was even aware of how they actually died. Wait, they didn’t die easily, they died during the second war. They were murdered!
I couldn’t help blurting it out. “Who killed my parents?”
When I realized what I had just said, I covered my mouth. Even though I was desperate to know more about it, I didn’t want to ask this guy out of all people! I had to take back my question and ask something else! This person looked trustworthy from the surface, but I still had to be careful. Didn’t Liam say they were after my child? Perhaps this was one to coax me into giving up on my kid! I gritted my teeth at the thought.
Just as I said these words, the man went silent as if he suddenly went into shock. He raised his brows and looked at me with confusion in his eyes. “You don’t know? I thought Liam had told you already before getting married. If not, it’s just cheating.”
I furrowed my brows. “What does that have to do with him?”
“Wasn’t he the one killing your parents?”