Children of the Goddesses (completed)

Audience with the Queen

Laila’s POV

            “Are you sure you want to do this?” 

            The fear in Hanna’s voice chipped away at my resolve and I was on the verge of reneging my promise to Lem. There was no way that I could leave Hanna behind in this hell but I had no idea how I could bring her with us. My heart broke as I gave Hanna my most reassuring smile and nodded. Goddess knew what would happen to her after my escape. 

            The heavy metal door in front of us opened to a lavishly decorated bedroom but before I could take in my new surroundings, lustful moans and groans filled my ears. My eyes landed on the source of the sounds and to my horror, I saw a mass of bodies entangled in one another and in the middle of it all was the female vampire, Reina. Her back arched as her lower body thrusted against the head of the male vampire between her legs while another male vampire fondled her breasts. Embarrassment crawled under my skin and I could feel myself turning red from the scene unfolding before me. I wasn’t naive and I knew enough from Lovis about how vampires procreate but the scene before me was nothing like I have heard before. 

            “Y-your.. Grace,” Hanna stammered anxiously as she stared intently at her feet like they were the most interesting things in the world. 

            A scream of ecstasy pierced the air as Reina’s legs trembled and clamped down on the male vampire’s head, letting all of us know that she was done. I was tempted to take the offensive but reminded myself of the role that I was supposed to play. Reina was supposed to see me as a dangerous threat, but a stupid one and not a brave or outspoken one. She took her time to put on a silk kimono before turning her attention to me. Her hips swayed seductively from side to side as she sauntered towards me while her dark emerald eyes stared at me with an intensity that made me feel like she was going to see through my head. 

            “Well, look what we have here,” her silky voice sent a chill down my spine as her cold fingers traced the sides of my face. “Exquisite indeed. I see why His Grace is taken with you.” 

            “Your Grace, Lailynn asked to see you. She’s unsure of what the King expects of her and-” Before Hanna could finish her sentence, the female vampire’s hand met Hanna’s face with a resounding clap. 

            “Don’t you dare interrupt me, slave!” Reina’s anger thundered above us as I got down to my knees to help Hanna. Her hands covered her rapidly swelling face while her body shook in fear. Without hesitation, I threw my arms around Hanna and tilted my head to glare at this so-called queen. Rage overtook my mind as I snarled at the vile female. 

            “How dare you! Hanna is no slave, just like you’re no queen! We have no queen and even if we did, she most certainly wouldn’t be you!” 

            “w***e!” Knuckles collided with my left cheek as Reina’s voice filled the room, sending me flying across the room. Before I could react, a fist sank into the right side of my face and the taste of metal flooded my mouth. Pain spread across my scalp as fingers tangled themselves in my hair before pulling my head up sharply. My eyes met the murderous emerald eyes in front of my face and all rational thoughts left my mind. 

            “If anyone is a w***e, that would be you, Your Grace,” I smirked as I sent a punch into her wide open torso. A surprised gasp left the female and she was paralyzed for a few seconds from being winded. Seizing the opportunity presented by those few seconds, I grabbed her by the neck and pinned her onto the bed but just as I was about to land my fist on her, cold hands gripped me by the shoulders and pulled me off the female. 

            “Restrain her,” Reina shouted hysterically as she got up from the bed and stomped towards me. I was no match for two male vampires, at least not in my current state, having been deprived of sunlight for so many days. A punch landed on my face again followed by another and another. My struggle against the arms that were retraining me grew weaker and weaker even as the begging and cries of Hanna grew louder. I wanted so much to tell her that I would be fine, and everything would be fine, but my jaws hurt too much and I could no longer make any sounds voluntarily. 

            “Not so brave now, little blondie,” whispered the fake queen into my ear as she tugged on my hair forcefully.

            Pain exploded in my head and my vision started to blur even as the voices around me became louder and louder, until a familiar voice drowned out all the other voices. It was a voice that I had dreamed of hearing everyday after fleeing base camp and up until my dying moments over two years ago, it was the only voice that I wanted to hear one more time before moving onto the spiritual world. 

Lem’s POV

            An all consuming rage burned within me as I saw that b***h Reina’s fist landing on my sweetheart’s bloodied face. Without thinking, I lunged at the male vampires holding my sweetheart down, ripping their hearts out with one swift move. As their lifeless bodies collapsed on the ground with a loud thud, I reached for Reina’s throat and squeezed with all the strength that I had, ignoring the streaks of blood running down my arm as she clawed at me. 

            “Laila? Laila!? Can you hear me?” The frantic voice of Laila’s father returned some semblance of rational thought to my mind and I threw the disgusting b***h onto the ground before hurrying to my sweetheart’s side. Her pulse was weak but she was alive and I knew that she would recover quickly once the sun rose in a few hours. 

            “Godpa, we need to get Laila out. There’s no time to explain, but we need to get her out and then put her under the sun. It’d heal her.” 

            Confusion swirled in his eyes but the man who was like a second father to me trusted me without questions. Gently, he scooped Laila into his arms and followed me while I dragged Reina’s unconscious body along. Soft sobs stopped me in my footsteps before I could leave the room, and I did something out of character for the sake of my sweetheart. 

            “Come with us, Hanna. I promise no harm will come to you,” I said solemnly before heading out into the empty hallway. Hurried footsteps echoed after me, letting me know that the female had taken up my offer. 

            The way to the tunnel leading to the oak tree was further away from this wing of the fortress than it was from mine. I had managed to compel all the guards on this side of the wing to leave for a short while but it wouldn’t last long and I had no idea if we would be able to make it to the tunnel in time. If anyone raised the alarm before we had gotten into the tunnel, we would stand little to no chance of making it out alive. Bumping into Laila’s father at the auction house was completely unplanned and he was alone since he was working undercover. We contacted his werewolf and witch allies before heading back to base camp and we could only hope that they were waiting for us in the forest when we made it outside, but if we didn’t at least make it to the tunnel, there was no way for anyone in the forest to help us. 

            “We’ll make it, Lem,” Laila’s father stated firmly, as if he had just read my mind. The sound of our hurried footsteps echoed in the empty, narrow hallways and I considered for a minute to use my super speed and abandon Hanna. I knew that Laila’s father was a powerful vampire and capable of moving much faster than we were going now, but Laila’s frown flashed across my mind before I could even open my mouth to make the suggestion. The deadweight that I was dragging behind me wasn’t helping us as well but we needed her. If anyone could buy us more time once we’ve made it into the tunnel, it would be this dumb queen bee wannabe.

            “Take the next left and we’d be at the door leading to the tunnel,” I said quietly, afraid of drawing any attention to us. The saying went, what you fear, you attract and just as Hanna pushed open the door leading to our freedom, a jarringly loud snarl bounced off the walls around us followed by the thundering of combat boots against the hard concrete floor. In a few minutes, I knew it wouldn’t just be the sound of hundreds of vampire warriors haunting our ears and before they were actually here, I had to give Laila her best chance of getting out of here alive. 

            “Take this, Godpa, and you’d be invulnerable to sunlight like the daywalkers, and remember what I said about Laila. Once the sun rises, let her stay outside and she will heal supernaturally fast like a werewolf. And this is the ring that can be used to track Laila, find a witch to destroy it! Now go!” Without waiting for any response, I took off the sun ring and Laila’s tracker ring from my fingers and slipped it onto Godpa’s finger before pushing him and Hanna through the door. 

            The knight protects no one but his queen. 

            After slamming the door shut, my lips curled up instinctively at the thought of a promise that I made many moons ago. As a horde of vampire warriors charged towards me and the deadweight in my hand, adrenaline pumped through my veins and I was prepared to do whatever it took to keep my queen safe.