Chapter Three

◼Rose POV◼

It was early morning, and I was getting ready to leave. Now that the King of Ciar knew about the amulet, I couldn’t wait longer. So I had to arrange for us to depart earlier than expected. We needed to reach the place where the pendant was.

As I strap on my vest, I hear a soft knock on the door.

“Come in,” I said as I fixed my weapons.

“Need any help?” Liam said as he leaned against the bedpost.

“No, thank you. Is everyone ready?” I asked.

“Yes, just like your order. We have a group of twelve men, the cars and weapons as well,” Liam explained, “anything else you wish to take?”

“No, that’s fine. Is Renata in the meeting?” I asked as I looked at myself in the mirror.

“Yes, it started twenty minutes ago,” Liam said, heaving a sigh.

Today there was a meeting with all the ally clans so we could visit the Kingdom of Ciar. I’m planning on attacking the kingdom. I plan to get the amulet and head to the Kingdom of Ciar to become the queen.

“Very well, shall we go?” I said, turning around and walking away.

As we got into the cars, we drove away. We had several men with us, the best of best. The place we were going to was four hours away, hidden in the mountains. It’s a secluded place where an old clan protected the amulet from evil and greedy vampires. Decades ago, the clan vanished, and they supposedly lost the pendant. Never did I expect to find it on its land. They destroyed the forgotten place in a bloodbath. According to history, witches and warlocks ruled the clan.

I worked on some papers as we headed to the place.

I was so distracted and busy; I didn’t notice it when we arrived. Then, looking out the window, I see the entrance to the place. The forest took its gates and walls over, leaving just memories of once a magnificent place.

The entrance to the main mansion was ten minutes. Finally reaching the place, we got down from the cars. I looked around. The buildings were crumbling, deserted. All you could hear were the crows. This place was eerie.

As Liam makes groups of four to scout the area, I head towards the old mansion. With weapons in hand, we go in. The place once a luxurious home was destroyed to crumble, and time took over it. But, you could see this place was a beauty.

We had to be careful. The old two-story mansion was barely standing up. Anything could make the building come down. As we check the place, I find family portraits. As I stare at the painting, I feel a hand on my shoulder. Looking at the person, I see him signal me towards a staircase.

The stairs headed down. Frowning, I signal my men to stay and just two of them to accompany me. But, as we headed down, I felt something was off. There was this ominous feeling. I try to communicate with Liam, but nothing seems to work. Reaching the end, I find three different hallways. The place looks untouched. It seems no one has set foot on it for the past decades.

As I try to use my senses to figure out where to go, I notice bloodstains on the walls. Following the bloodstains, I feel an icy breeze. Stopping my men, I close my eyes. That was strange. It’s like if there was an airflow from above. As we move further in, I feel an aura of a person. Signaling my men to stay behind, I walk towards the end of the hallway. Reaching it, I see an enormous cave. Cobwebs and dust cover the place. It was dark. Looking around, I noticed it looked like a cave, but it was an underground chamber. Stepping into the place quietly, I hear a sudden click. What was that?

As I feel something pass behind me, I jump out of the way just in time. An enormous guillotine fell and almost grazed my back.

“What the hell?” I whispered.

Suddenly I hear another click. It seems the old place had hidden traps. Running in zigzags, I try to evade all the booby traps. As I’m jumping from place to place, I see a shadow move. Taking out my whip, I make a smacking sound in the air, causing vibrations in the room. The presence moved quickly. I tried to follow it, but the room started shaking horribly.

“Rose!” I heard Liam yell.

Ignoring him, I try to see what or who the shadow was. As another trap clicks, I feel the presence behind me. Moving my whip in the air, I grab the person from the leg and drag him; but the person let go of my whip. Taking two steps back, I land on top of a coffin. Frowning, I look down. Why was there a coffin down here?

As I’m distracted, I suddenly feel an arm around my waist. Turning around, I hit the presence in the face. Jumping off the coffin, I run. Suddenly the place started rumbling awfully. Staying still, I hear people running our way. The wall and floor above started collapsing. As I crouch to cover myself, I hear Liam with the men calling for me.

Trying to figure out what to do, I see the coffin once again. There was something weird about that coffin. As I heighten my senses, I see something glint. Noticing what it is, I run back as I skip all the things that are collapsing. I move inhumanly fast towards the coffin. Kicking the ledge hard, I opened the latch. If my guess was correct, that was the amulet. Glancing at it, I hear a sudden bang.

The place was making a horrible noise. It’s like the whole place was collapsing, my arm over my face covering from the dust. Then, I feel the presence again. Turning around quickly, I use my whip to stop him, but the person grabbed my whip. Using all my strength, I tried to pull him, but his grip stronger than my own. I could hear the person groan. Was it another vampire with me?

I tried to see in the darkness. So I suddenly pull with all my strength, feeling the presence move. I take a step back, and as I do. I step on something and trip backward. Screaming, I unconsciously pull the whip. Falling back, I feel the body of someone pressed against me. The presence makes a hissing sound as I fall back into the coffin; I close my eyes and embrace for impact.

My body hits the ground, a sudden pain makes me groan, and something hot oozes from my back. I groaned as I tried to move. But as I do, I feel something soft touch my lips. Snapping my eyes wide open, I see the person right in front of me, kissing me, taking my breath away. Feeling the electric pull, my mind registers, mate.

The person’s body against mine rested inside the coffin. Trying to push the person away, I felt the pain double; I felt dizzy. The last thing I remember was hearing the building crumble above me as I close my eyes and faint.

…

I don’t know how long I’ve been unconscious, but I try to open my eyes. Feeling too weak, I stopped. I relaxed when I felt two muscular arms go around me. I heard a voice but could not answer back. It was soothing.

I don’t know why it felt calming.

As I try to move, I feel the burning sensation in my back. A sob escapes my lips. It seems my injury was severe.

“Stay still…” I heard someone whisper.

I was panting. It hurt badly. I wanted to open my eyes and see who was next to me. But, I could still feel the electric pulls.

I try once again to open my eyes, but I fail. Feeling something soft and metallic against my mouth, I tried to process what it was. Was the person feeding me blood? Smiling, I let my mind surrender to the darkness with it a kiss of death.