Children of the Goddesses (completed)

Unlikely Allies

Laila’s POV

            I was getting a headache from thinking about the proposal from the male vampire as I was taken to see the Vampire King. It was utterly crazy but my gut feeling told me that I could trust him during those few seconds when his pitch black eyes softened. I still couldn’t quite put my finger on it but those eyes are so familiar, and I was sure that I had seen them before. The male vampire left after making his offer, giving me some time to think things through. 

            Since coming to this place, I had been confined in that windowless room and the only people that I had seen were Hanna and the two male vampires. Other than the male vampire who had brought me here and made me the offer, I had only seen the other two vampires once. I knew that my friends and family were looking for me, but I wasn’t going to sit here waiting to be rescued like some damsel in distress. If they were to come bursting through the door in the next minute to rescue me, I would be grateful and beyond relieved to finally leave this dreadful place, but I couldn’t just count on it. The Moon Goddess sent me back on a mission and I had seen with my own eyes just how bad the situation was. 

            A lot had changed during those mysterious two years where I wasn’t in the world of the living but the one thing that didn’t seem to change was the root of evil. Greed and the hunger for power were once again the causes of all these misery. I might not be able to change the world but I also knew that most people were like me. We simply wanted to live in a world where we were accepted, and be treated with fairness and dignity. If everyone could stop seeing a vampire when they saw my face, and treat me as they would a fellow werewolf or witch or human, then those blinded by greed would no longer be able to exploit the situation. 

            Even though I didn’t want to admit it, I needed help to get out of this place. Without any sunlight since coming here, all of my newfound abilities to smell people’s emotions, heal faster and move faster than a flash of light were gone. Now more than ever, I was convinced that I needed the sun and perhaps that male vampire could even help me to understand how the sun was making all of these possible. He mentioned it was the way that my Sun chromosome was expressing itself, whatever that meant. I was wary about trusting anyone after what had happened with Ethan but that male vampire might have given me reason to trust him. He knew that I was carrying secrets and claimed to not have disclosed them to anyone, and I guess I would find out soon enough if he could be trusted. 

            “You will not speak unless you’re spoken to in the presence of the King,” Hanna warned me softly before pulling open the heavy wooden door in front of us and beckoning at me to follow her inside. I nodded and followed after her clumsily with my bound hands and feet. Hanna had been kind and didn’t bind my hands behind my back too tightly, but the metal leg cuffs still made it difficult to walk, especially because they were forged with witch fire. 

            “Your Grace, the new female is here,” Hanna said timidly, her head downcast as we stood in the middle of a magnificent room. The vaulted ceiling was complemented by colorful stained glass windows and the room was now illuminated by a combination of moonlight and hundreds of candles. Unlike Hanna, I was curious of my surroundings despite my current situation and I couldn’t help but crane my neck to marvel at the beautiful room. 

            “Fancy what you see, little one?” The deep authoritative voice of the Vampire King drew my attention to him and I was surprised to see a face almost identical to Lord Nyi. He had the same wavy blonde hair as Lord Nyi and the same dark grey eyes, but he was well-built, unlike the powerful Royal. 

            Sensing my silence, Hanna turned around to look at me and mouthed desperately at me to respond to the King. Not wanting to land her in trouble, I lifted my eyes to look at the King and nodded my head. No shame in admitting that I liked his house. 

            “Leave us, Hanna,” the King commanded and seconds later, I was left alone in the large room with the King. My heart began to race as he stood up from his throne and walked towards me. 

            “Exquisite,” he murmured as he circled around me slowly before stopping right in front of me and grabbing my chin. The King was much taller than me and a gasp escaped me as he tilted my chin upwards suddenly at an awkward and painful angle. 

            “Lailynn, what a beautiful name. Gift of the Goddess. I can see why your parents gave you this name,” he bent down and whispered into my ear, his lips brushing against my cheeks and making me want to gag as he stood up again. “Never have I seen a vampire with light colored eyes and hair, yet here you are, defying all odds. Have you ever wondered why vampires are so deathly pale? Or have you ever given thought as to why most of us have dark hair or dark colored eyes or both?” 

            “No,” I managed to croak from the uncomfortable position that I was held in. 

            “Typical,” he chuckled. “Just going with the flow and contended with the way things are, never asking questions nor interested to find out more about what could be. You see now the difference between the both of us?”

            Anger rose in me at the patronizing way that the King was speaking to me but I bit my tongue. Lesson 101 of war strategies, one defends when his strength is inadequate; he attacks when it is abundant. Clearly, I was in no position to attack and had to settle for glaring at the obnoxious King. 

            “I have lived for centuries and seen how everyone, even our own creator, had betrayed and used us, but I have a plan to put all of it to an end. Soon, we will become the most powerful supernatural being in existence and we will never have to fear anyone ever again. We will live with dignity and not have to prove ourselves to be worthy of anything to anyone. And you, little one, you will give me an heir to continue my legacy.” 

            The words of the King sent a chill down my spine and I couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of what he had in mind for me. “Female vampires can’t give birth to viable babies,” I choked out uncertainly. 

            The King chuckled before releasing his hold on my chin. “Do you really believe that? How long has it been since a female vampire was given a human to breed with?” 

            The amusement in his voice didn’t escape me and I hated being belittled again, but his words sent me deep in thought. How much of what I had learned in school was actually true? How much of what I knew about our origins was not a lie concocted by Lady Lae? As I thought about the new things that I had learned since I woke up from my two month coma, I realized that nothing seemed to fit together. 

            “Don’t trouble your pretty head over the nitty gritties. When my seed fills your wet little p***y and your body swells with my heir, you will know if female vampires are able to have viable babies or not.” 

            Bile rose up in my throat as the King’s hands trailed up and down my body as he spoke and I knew right there and then that I had to take up the offer from the male vampire. I couldn’t allow this vile King to touch me nor could I allow him to succeed with his plans. From what he had said so far, I suspected that he was probably financing some kind of freaky experiment to enhance our abilities so that vampires could become invincible, just like what Lady Lae tried to do with the daywalkers. Whatever it was, I couldn’t let it happen and crazy as it might sound, my best chance of stopping this crazy King was by working together with that male vampire. 

            The words of the King convinced me that the male vampire had not betrayed anything that he had found out about me to the King. If not, this crazy vampire would have started experimenting with me already, and his priority probably wouldn’t be putting a baby in me, but trying to figure out how to replicate my newfound abilities. With a plan in mind, I felt more calm, hopeful even, that I would be able to not only save myself, but also stop this crazy King and fulfill the mission that the Moon Goddess had given to me.