Stained By Sin

TWENTY

Aki’s eyes flew open, his breath irregular. He looked around him and realized that he had fallen asleep in the war room. Just a while ago, the Crow fighters had barged in to his room and demanded they started taking action on getting Elara back. Aki assured them that he would do something. He just needed to wait and see if the Ivory would try negotiating with them again.

His clanmates were also adamant that they extract revenge on the Ivorys by killing Jaiden, and Aki had to explain to them that it wasn’t the best course of action.

“Remember that right now, we are at a disadvantage. If we kill the human, it will only make their princess suffer. If they kill our queen in return, then we would be leaderless,” Aki had told them.

It took him quite a few tries on trying to persuade them to trust him. Maybe that was the reason why the moment they left, Aki had fallen asleep.

But maybe because of that conversation, Aki’s real nature started to emerge. He dreamt of killing Jaiden with his own hands, in the most brutal way possible. He was angry at him for causing this whole mess, even if he knew that he was the one that brought Jaiden to Elara.

Besides, no matter how angry he was, he knew he couldn’t lay a finger on Jaiden since Elara had decided he was her younger brother.

Aki groaned in frustration, his bloodlust once again starting to make itself known.

He had been cool and level for quite some time now… his bloodlust manageable. But ever since the fight in the clearing, Aki was becoming more and more irritable. He was reverting back to his old self, and he wasn’t sure it was a good thing.

Back when Aki was human, he wasn’t really that hotheaded. If he remembered correctly, he was more on the meek and quiet side. But when he was turned into a vampire, his nature suddenly changed. Aside from the literal thirst for blood that was constantly with Aki, there was also this underlying thirst to draw blood just for the heck of it. And it was harder to control than the need to drink blood.

He asked Elara about it before. She told him it could be a characteristic of his sire that was passed on to him. She said that it was pretty common for turned vampires to carry some trait of their sires, especially if the sire was a pure blood.

Aki cringed at the memory. He wanted nothing to do with his sire. That was why, little by little, he tried to fight his new nature. He learned to smile again… to laugh… and to not kill every chance he got.

But with what was happening right now, it was getting harder for Aki. Especially with Jaiden sleeping in the same house as him, it was all Aki could do not to barge in and rip him to shreds. No matter what, he needed him alive -- whether it was to honor Elara’s wishes or to use him as an exchange for Elara.

Aki stood up and took a deep breath. He needed to get back to work. He needed to think of something if the Ivory clan still wouldn’t contact them today. It had been days since the fight, and he was worried about Elara.

As soon as he opened the door, however, a servant was already standing outside. Her hand was held up, as if she was about to knock before he opened the door.

“What is it?” Aki asked. His voice sounded annoyed which made the servant cower in fear.

“I have an urgent message from the guards outside. According to them, they had detected movements in the forest. It appears to be a single Ivory only, heading towards our perimeter,” the servant said, her voice shaking a bit.

“Which wing?” he asked.

“The left wing. They are asking for permission to kill.”

“Hmm… what time is it?”

“It’s 4 in the morning, sir.”

Huh. Bold. He didn’t expect the Ivory to be so bold that they would launch an attack hours before sunrise. Did they think that they could take the entire Crow clan down in just two hours?

Aki closed his eyes to think. Instead of an attack, though, it could be a messenger from them. However, it could also be a trap. What should he do?

If only Elara were here. She was the only one who could do proper plannings in events like this.

Aki opened his eyes. “Tell them to let the Ivory enter the perimeter, but keep a strict watch on the surroundings. We don’t know if that Ivory was only serving as a distraction. I will stand guard at the estimated point of entry. Tell them not to do anything unless I order it. Understood?”

The servant nodded before leaving.

Aki checked the knives on his pouches, making sure that he was properly equipped for a fight this time. With a grin, Aki set out to where the vampire would come. If he couldn’t kill the human, at least there was a willing victim coming for him.

He quickly made way for the left wing of the Crow residence, his heart racing with anticipation. His body was tingling with excitement. He needed to fight, and he needed to fight now.

When he reached his destination, Aki found a nice hiding spot. He hid himself between the thick bushes just outside the perimeter of his home, waiting for the Ivory to arrive.

He closed his eyes and let his senses take over. Just like that, he sensed that the Ivory was actually almost there. The Ivory’s footsteps were light but untrained, making him think that it was only a servant, and a female one. When the scent of the vampire reached him, however, he realized that it was indeed a female vampire, but she was by no means a servant. It was the Ivory princess herself, boldly rushing to the enemy’s base with no guards. Aki didn’t know if she was brave or just plain crazy, but he knew there was no way he would be getting the fight he was so craving for. Not only was the princess untrained for combat, she was the best thing that ever happened since Elara’s capture. With both Jaiden and her as their captives, it would raise their capacity to negotiate with the Ivory clan. The king might not care about Jaiden, but he would certainly care about his sister.

Aki bit his lip hard to control his bloodlust. As his own blood began to trickle down his lips, he repeatedly told himself that this was better than having to kill an Ivory. Right now, what they needed was leverage and not body count.

The Ivory princess didn’t seem to notice Aki’s presence at all. As soon as she was within Aki’s range of sight, he prepared himself for his next course of action. Meanwhile, the princess wasn’t even showing a care with her surroundings. She just continued to run towards the Crow residence.

As soon as the princess passed Aki’s hiding place, he lunged for her and tackled her on the ground. The princess screamed, shock and fear evident on her face.

“Well, well, well… look what we have here,” he said with a growl, showing his fangs to her.

The princess’ eyes widen even more with fear before her tears started to fall continuously.

“Don’t kill me, please… I’m just here for my mate. I mean no harm to the Crows,” she pleaded, her voice shaking.

“And why would I believe you?” Aki asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Instead of answering, she just sobbed, her eyes pleading.

Irritated, Aki flipped her over roughly, pushing her face roughly on the ground to keep her quiet. Aki bound her arms behind her back with a rope, tying it tightly until it was digging hard on her skin. Aki brought a silver-tinged chain with him to tie the intruder with, but when he realized that it was only the Ivory princess, he knew an ordinary rope would suffice.

“Today is your lucky day, then. You will be seeing your mate, but you won’t be seeing your brother again. Try and break this rope I tied you with and you won’t be seeing even the sunrise. Understand?”

The princess groaned, which Aki interpreted as her agreement. Aki grabbed her hair and pulled her head backwards, lifting her face from the ground.

“What was that?” he asked.

“Under…stood…” the princess muttered, still crying.

“Good,” Aki grinned. He placed his hand on her arm and pulled her up roughly, her gown getting teared when it got caught on the bushes and dead branches. “I ain’t carrying you to you mate, so walk fast.”

The princess just nodded, shuffling quickly beside Aki as he walked.