AKIRA'S POV
"Shit!" I cursed out loud for the seventh time in an hour.
It was making it a week since I've been living with Elizabeth and so far she has taught me a lot. But today wasn't going as planned, I was outside our little bubble today and I was trying out chlorokinesis on my own.
I had urged Elizabeth that I needed to learn how to master chlorokinesis on my own. Of course, Elizabeth had taught me how to revive, wither and accelerate plant growth but I had begun to realise that I couldn't perform the power without her help.
It wasn't just that Elizabeth wanted me to learn it on my own, I was also particularly interested in it. Telekinesis, pain infliction and the others had been very easy to learn and control but chlorokinesis was killing me.
Perspiration lined up on my forehead as I huffed and tried to concentrate. I looked at the dead vines on the ground and sighed, Elizabeth had taught me how to uproot them and manipulate them at my will. But now that she wasn't here to encourage me, I was still finding it difficult to concentrate and get anything done.
And I knew it wasn't normal, there was a nagging feeling at the back of my head telling me to go back home to Elizabeth.
Ruffling in the bushes beside me snapped me out of my thoughts and I turned only to find a baby deer staring at me. I sighed again and gave it a small smile, it tilted its head to the side in confusion and I giggled, immediately it heard the sound from me, and it scrambled away.
I looked up at the sky, it was almost evening and the sun was beginning to set, reminding me that I needed to go home now. I stood up from the spot on the huge tree roots and began the short trek back to Elizabeth's.
The path where I was asked to train was a 3 minutes walk away from Elizabeth's little home and I had learnt the spell that would let it visible to just me.
As I began walking it felt like it was taking forever to get there. The perspiration on my forehead was getting worse even as the cool breeze caressed my skin.
I began to walk faster when the nagging feeling turned into fear. And as I drew closer to the familiar bush clearing I realised that Elizabeth's little home was visible and I could see the pale green painting of her cottage.
I hurriedly walked into the small compound only to find Serena and an unknown man sitting on Elizabeth's porch.
Fear gripped my body and I froze,
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Where was Elizabeth?
How did Serena get in here?
Who was the man beside her?
I didn't dare to dwell so much on the last two questions because I was focused so much on the first.
"Elizabeth?" I called out, sprinting past Serena and the man into the house.
Serena's giggle followed me as I burst into the door only to find the body of what was Elizabeth on the floor in the middle of her living room.
"Elizabeth!" I cried out as my legs struggled to carry me to her unmoving body.
Once I got to her I crouched down and placed my hands on her neck only to get no pulse from her. Everything I had eaten this morning came up to my throat as I shook her head and got no response from her.
"Elizabeth, please wake up!" I whimpered, tapping her cheeks with my fingers.
"No, no, no." The tears were spilling from my eyes uncontrollably as my voice lowered to a whisper.
"Elizabeth is gone, Akira," Serena spoke and I realised she was standing next to me.
My whole body stilled at the sound of her malicious voice, my lips quivered as I tried to conceal the scream that was about to bubble its way out.
"Why?" I finally managed to strangle out one word.
I wanted to know why.
Why she killed Elizabeth.
Why she was here.
All of the 'whys' I could think of at the moment.
"Because of you, Akira." Serena snickered. "If you hadn't involved yourself with Ares this wouldn't have happened."
"Elizabeth didn't deserve this, Serena."
I slowly stood up and faced her. I watched as she glared at my bump and instinctively my hand protectively cradled my tummy.
"She's even pregnant, Salvatore." Serena sneered at me while speaking to the man beside her. "The poor baby..." She coo'ed with faux sympathy.
I finally looked at the man beside her. He was tall, extremely so, with pale skin. He was looking at me with blazing red eyes, with his red lips trapped between his teeth.
"Then this makes my work extremely even, Serena." Salvatore finally spoke, snapping his gaze away from mine to look at my bump.
"What are you talking about?" I whispered, my gaze flickering between the both of them.
I gasped when Salvatore appeared right beside me in the blink of an eye. He twirled a strand of red hair on his slim finger before tugging on it. He smiled when I flinched, revealing sharp white fangs at the sides.
So he was a vampire.
"Ares always knows how to go for the pretty ones." Salvatore hummed.
Serena giggled and when I looked behind Salvatore, a smirk was planted on her face as she twirled her hair.
"I brought you to her, Salvatore. It's time for you to perform your part of the deal." Serena demanded with her hands now planted on her hips.
"What do you want from me?" This question was directed to Salvatore because it was finally clicking that Serena brought him here to kill me.
Salvatore dragged an elongated claw across my throat and I struggled to let out a sob when his claw pierces the skin and a trail of blood ran from the cut down to the neckline of my dress.
"It's because of Ares." He grinned. "He lied to you."
I frowned. "What do you mean?" I began to wrack my brain, trying to think of when Ares and I have had a conversation concerning any vampire but I came up with nothing.
"Did he tell you about his little marriage?" Salvatore hissed, his malicious grin still etched on his lips. "Did dear Ares tell you that he's married?"
"N-No. He's not." I began to shake my head but Salvatore grabbed my jaw in a painfully tight grip, forcing my eyes to meet his red ones once again.
Salvatore laughed. "Oh, sweet Akira. I always thought humans were trained to know better, you should know by now that your dear Ares has a wife. Or had a wife." His grin was cruel as he watched my heart shatter through my eyes. "And you know what his excuse was? That there was 'such a little chance of finding a mate'. Unbelievable, right?"
I slammed my eyes shut, refusing to let his demonic eyes bore into mine. "Ares isn't married!" My head was shaking uncontrollably as I shouted. I didn't know who if I was trying to convince Salvatore or me.
"Oh, but he was, dear Akira. He fell deeply in love with my mate Lenora and they got married." I didn't know the tears were streaming down my cheeks until I felt his icy cold fingers brush themselves over my pale cheeks. "Lenora was pregnant with his child too. It really was a crazy experience. But you know what happened? I killed them both."
My face paled further as I envisioned everything Salvatore has told me and began to realise the truth. "You killed your mate and Ares's child..." I whispered.
Salvatore nodded before speaking in a quiet voice. "It was meant to hurt Ares and it did. But I wasn't satisfied, I wanted him to feel the same pain I did for taking away my mate and starting a family with her. I killed Lenora but Ares wasn't the one who felt all of the agony." Salvatore sucked in a sharp breath. "Which is why I'm here."
"You're here to kill me." I firmly stated. My voice was firm and calm but I was raging internally.
Serena growled. "Lenora was my sister and she died because of Ares's foolishness. It's your turn to die now little Akira and you're going to take that bastard child of yours along with you to meet the Moon goddess."
"Lenora was your sister? But you were with Ares when I got here..." I mumbled out loud.
What sort of mess did Ares land himself into? Why did he marry and got one sister pregnant before getting himself involved with the other sister?
Even though I knew it was just me against the both of them, I still looked around the small room with my eyes almost as if Ares would magically appear here.
Salvatore gripped my chin more tightly and my gaze returned to his before he nodded. "So now you know what I'm going to do to you. i had originally planned to make you pregnant with my own child but it makes things better for me now that you're pregnant for Ares. I'll take you to my castle and fuck you for some weeks before tearing out your stomach the same way I did to that traitorous Lenora and her bastard child."
My heart was thrumming harder than ever as he spoke and I knew I had to do something and I had to think and act fast.
And immediately Salvatore moved back to where Serena was standing I quickly willed myself to concentrate as I extended my arms towards them but instead of them flinching and crying out in pain, they both stood still with confident grins on their faces.
I then noticed the glowing amulet around their necks. I realised it was protecting them from the aneurysm spell.
"Maybe your little powers could help me and my kind," Salvatore smirked.
Fuck. Elizabeth was supposed to teach me how to get my powers past a protective amulet tonight. As the world came to pause around me, I began to remember how Elizabeth repeatedly mentioned how I needed to learn that spell. But I stubbornly urged her to let me out today.
I took a glance at the two beings in front of me but then something unbelievable happened.
I stood in shock and watched as Serena turned to face Salvatore. It all happened in the blink of an eye as she opened her palm to reveal a whitish powder and before Salvatore could act she quickly blew the powder into Salvatore's face. I watched as Salvatore's eyes rolled to the back of his head before he slumped to the ground.
But before I could comport a sentence, Serena turned swiftly turned and began to walk toward me.
"Your turn." She smirked and I stood in a trance as she did the same thing to me.
My eyes rolled to the back of my head immediately after the sweet-smelling powder filtered into my nose.
It didn't take a few seconds before I was slipping to the floor and darkness took over.