“Selene’s eyes closed and the magic circle made a big gush of wind flow even passing the thickest walls of the palace. She was asleep and everything changed. Ten years have passed then and I continued waiting for her to wake up yet she isn’t moving an inch. Her face was still perfectly the same and I would brush her long silky hair most of the days making sure no one in the palace learns of her existence as promised…” I listened eagerly to Thana with the other vampires for this is part of the story wherein I was sleeping.
I remembered most of what happened in the past and have answered most of the questions inside my head. James was my butler and knight, and fiancé to be.
Thana is ten years younger than me so I would be twenty-one thousand, one hundred thirteen years old this year. It was hard to believe but it was real. That was my reality.
“So how did I wake up falling into the Heathly family?”
“On the night I reigned for a hundred years, the lady from the Heathly family discovered Selene sleeping and her memories returned when she touched my sister’s body. Isn’t it right, Madame Emille?”
Everyone turned to the old lady in between the crowd. It was Leo’s mother—Emille Heathly!
“That’s true.” She grinned. “But aren’t you grateful for what I have done?”
“I am truly appreciative of your kindness. For my sister wouldn't awaken if it weren’t for you.” Thana grinned in return.
“What exactly did my Mother do?” Leo stepped in. He had a majestic aura around him—one that showed he was a master that we could not turn our back to.
Thana sighed as she sat on the staircase.
“Since I am uncertain when she will awaken and James Smythe’s memories have partly been altered, Lady Emille suggested weakening my Father’s spell. It was to wake Selene up as a human and the spell to fully be dispelled when her newborn son, Leo turns eighteen, to reign as the real queen of the clans. And as tonight, your night of birth had passed, Selene has fully awakened, now learning most memories implanted on her were a fallacy. These are the truth, my dear vampires. This is the secret well-kept by the Ambrogio family. My big sister Selene is the real queen of both worlds… my substitution ends soon.”
“This is insane! Then you allowed me to drink a royal’s blood?! Isn’t that against the law?!” Leo shrugged.
That made me flinch. Leo was right. Since I had royal blood, it was prohibited—a crime—for a vampire to drink my blood when the affiliation was that the royal blood was at a disadvantage. And since I wasn’t just any royal vampire, what Leo was doing with me would be classified as a crime.
“No. Not one bit of her blood that you have consumed was from a royalty,” Thana began. “Remember that she has the thirds-of-blood. This makes her very special as she can turn her blood into one of the three or all at the same time. It was just that she had to remain human and as your feeder until this very night ends. Yes, she was royalty but it was only her human side.”
“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but this sounds preposterous!” one exclaimed.
“It will not only be the beginning of her reign but it is the time to bring justice for the death of the Princess’ parents,'” Lady Emille said, no form of defiance in her tone. “As the current head of the Heathly family and part of the Magistrate of the Vampiric Council, I humbly accept Her Highness, Lady Selene Vlad Ambrogio, as the rightful queen alongside her younger sister, Lady Thana Ambrogio.”
I was taken aback when Lady Emille bowed in sync with some of her followers.
I turned to check everyone and all eyes were still on me. They were filled with doubts, dominance, anxiety, belittling—every feeling and emotion feeding each other off.
But slowly, they started bowing down in our direction. I shivered on where I stood, perplexed by what was happening.
Something was wrong here.
Something felt undeniably wrong.
My eyes turned swollen red all of a sudden and my heart started racing.
“Selene…?” Thana called out.