With their vampire speed, Ozym’s two bodyguards both pushed Kragen away from us. His back cracked the thick wall of the foyer. Meanwhile, the other guests were still and confused. Hendrik and Lotte stopped kissing, and they got out of the glass bed. Some guests made a protective circle around the newlywed.

“Why in the world did you do that, Kragen?” Ozym’s voice boomed across the foyer. He was now standing with his bodyguards, fangs bared and eyes glowed red. They were ready to attack Kragen if the Vampire King made the slightest signal.

Kragen, looking immaculate in his formal black attire, laughed. He dusted off his jacket.

“I was merely testing your security, Your Majesty,” he replied.

But I didn’t believe him one teeny bit. Not a moment. Before anyone could guess what would happen next, I used my telekinesis. With just a wave of my hand, I threw Kragen towards the high ceiling. The acolytes gasped as they saw Kragen hit his head. Blood spurted from the wound in the back of his head. Two vampire lady guests hissed at me upon seeing him in that predicament. Well, I could just imagine that these two cared for him. No wonder they were about to pounce on me.

Fen and Hestia moved in a blur, grabbing each of those hissing ladies. I bet my cherry that they were Kragen’s women if not consorts. His kind would never marry one single vampire in his entire immortal life.

Hestia slammed the woman on the floor with one hand, while Fen ripped out the heart of the other, making the vampire lifeless. Only her broken old skeleton was left on the floor. Fen dusted her hands after the heart turned into ashes. Yes. When our kind dies, we would turn into skeletons, not ashes.

Kragen saw what happened. His red eyes glowed, and his fangs were bared. He was about to charge on Fen but I stopped him with my powers.

“You little priestess!” he snarled through gritted teeth as he was floating in the air and couldn’t move at all. Well, yeah. Except that he could still speak.

“Enough!” Ozym saw enough. He turned to me and spoke. “Adri, let him go!”

“Why, Your Majesty? He was going to attack my acolyte!” I looked at him, eyes glowing red and my fangs were bared beneath the cover of my lower face.

It was only the right thing to do since all acolytes had no powers at all. They were normal vampires who followed our orders and who would always protect their respective priestesses.

My heart was jumping with excitement right now. I can finally avenge those people that Kragen killed! And those two names… Maybe I could speak those names again after this. I could feel the piercing pain in my heart again, just thinking of them. Would this ever stop in the future, after this? After I killed Kragen?

I waved my hand and hurled Kragen against the glass bed. It broke into pieces, and the water flowed freely on the floor. The pieces of glass were buried in his back, neck, arms and legs. His face wasn’t even spared.

I smiled as I heard him groan in pain, as he felt his broken bones. It was like a beautiful song in my ears. He looked at me with eyes full of hate.

“I’m going to kill you, priestess!” he promised as he stood up. He was about to pounce on me but Ozym stopped him mid-way. He went still and grimaced. His eyes moved towards the king’s face, questioning him silently.

I could see the Vampire King’s eyes glow dangerously. He grabbed Kragen by the balls, gritting his teeth.

“No one’s ever going to kill my beloved priestess, Kragen!”

Kragen grunted in pain as his balls were crushed, before Ozym let go of him. The British vampire with a Scottish descent sank onto his knees, with his head bowed.

“You are no longer welcome here in the city and even more so in the Supreme Castle, Kragen. If you are spotted by my people, that will be considered as treason. You know what will happen to you when you commit such a crime,” Ozym added with a firm tone.

Kragen slowly lifted up his head. His eyes settled on me for a whole minute before he looked up at the Vampire King, who had his nose up in the air, looking down at him.

“My deepest apologies, Your Majesty!” he whispered. In a split second, he was gone from the castle.

“Those who want to follow Kragen, you are free to go. But if not, you may stay and enjoy the wedding banquet,” the Vampire King said and gestured on his left.

The huge double doors were opened. There, a long banquet table was prepared. It was filled with transparent jars of blood and expensive bottles of wine. There was no food, however, since none of us could eat anything. We’d get sick if we intake any food, however soft it is. Although I have powers, they are limited when it comes to our nature, especially when reversing it. It just won’t work.

The wedding banquet went well after the foyer scene. I was still seething though, not able to exact my revenge on Kragen! I just hoped he’d commit the crime of coming back to Paris and he’d be dead!

“Please, if you’ll excuse me, Your Majesty, I would like to retire now.” I formally bowed my head to him, so did my acolytes who were behind me.

Ozym gazed at me tenderly. “Of course, Albi. I will check on you after this banquet,” he replied, gesturing at the guests who were enjoying their drinks.

I glanced at the newlyweds with a little smile on my lips. At least they enjoyed their first night as an official couple, as if what transpired right after the wedding didn’t happen at all.

I turned on my heels after meeting Ozym’s dark eyes. My acolytes followed right behind me, and the vampire attendants opened the huge doors for us to let us through. They also closed the doors afterwards.

I stopped for a moment. So did my acolytes. “How’s High Priestess Szonja’s acolyte? I didn’t notice her at the banquet,” I asked them.

“I think Kragen got her good. She wasn’t able to recuperate and is now a… skeleton, Priestess Adri,” Fen whispered like it was a secret.

I snapped my head at her. “What? But… that’s impossible! How…?” My mind was reeling. How did Kragen do it? He broke her neck, and she was supposed to recover from it because it was still attached to her body.

While deep in thought, my feet dragged me to the third floor, to my chambers.

“Rest well, Priestess Adri,” my three acolytes said in unison, bowing as I already changed into my night gown.

I nodded to them. “You, too,” I answered like a robot. I could still not discern well how it happened, how that acolyte died.

I lay down in my bed, eyes still open but ears were deaf to the moans and groans above me. I was still in deep thought until drowsiness snatched me away.

***

My bare feet was bleeding because of the twigs and sharp stones that I stepped on. But I kept on running even with the pain I felt. I looked behind me, and that gigantic red wolf with champagne-colored eyes was so close. The beast would get me anytime soon.

“You can’t get away from me, Adriana!” His thoughts reached to my own head. How was that possible? How could I hear this animal’s thoughts? I had no powers to speak with animals. My powers were limited to certain rituals, telekinesis, spells and then some others, which I had no idea yet. But I knew I had a lot of potential. I just hadn’t harnessed all my powers yet. I needed someone to voluntarily mentor me for that. All I had for now was just self-discovery ever since I learned I had powers… ever since I learned that I was actually a sorceress.

My chest ached and seemed like to burst. I couldn’t breathe well from all this running in the dark. I stumbled but I got up quickly. I didn’t want that beast to tear me into pieces or just eat me alive!

When the beast was getting closer, I shrieked. Its paws were about to hit my face. But I got up, panting.

‘Shit! What kind of dream was that?’

I got out of bed and directly went into the bathroom to wash my face. I looked at my reflection, trying hard to discern that dream. But I just shook my head and went out to drink water from a glass pitcher. I think it was just a nightmare. At least, it wasn’t one of those worst ones I had, which I didn’t want to linger on right now… or at anytime.

“You were there!” High Priestess Szonja’s sensual voice was accusatory.

I turned to face her as she walked unannounced inside my chambers. “When did you arrive?” I asked her instead, trying to ignore her words. Or else, something ugly would happen.

We always didn’t like each other, since I became a priestess. Or maybe even before that?

“You let my acolyte die right in front of you!” the Hungarian head priestess continued to accuse me. Her midnight-colored eyes were fierce as she glared down at me. She was almost a head taller than me, especially with her high-heeled shoes and I was barefooted, so I looked up at her. Judging by the sexy red cocktail dress she wore, she must have just arrived a few minutes ago. But I played dumb. Our conversations were always like bickering.

“Correction. She didn’t die right in front me. She died in her quarters when everyone thought she’d recover.”

“You could’ve stopped him from harming her!” she fumed. Her aquiline nose flared.

“I didn’t know his intention! Who could’ve guessed it anyway?” I shot back.

She gritted her teeth while looking at me sharply. “You’re such an incompetent priestess!” she hissed. “I don’t even want to call you a priestess! You never served those who need our services! You are merely lying here, making yourself pretty for the Vampire King!”

My jaw dropped. “Right! It all comes down to that! I am Ozym’s favorite, aren’t I? And you can’t just handle that!”

Her jaw tightened and her hand flew to wrap around my neck. I choked as air was blocked in my windpipe.

“You little slut! I want you gone someday!”

With my powers, I pushed her hard against the wall. She groaned as her back hit it hard, and she fell to the floor. She looked at me with glowing red eyes and her fangs protruded. She got up and flipped her long straight hair. Its rich natural chestnut color actually made her perfect oval face pretty and her white skin glow. In human age, she was in her late twenties. She was still desirable in her disheveled state at the moment. And I wondered why Ozym never asked her to please him when he needed to get laid.

“I’m a priestess, not a slut! And don’t make me forget you’re the high priestess, Szonja!” I looked at her with equal fierceness. I knew she had powers like me and maybe stronger, but I won’t back down and let her bully me.

She smirked at me after she stood up to face me again. “King Ozym will be tired of you one day. He can’t just look and admire you forever without fucking you. Mark my word, Adri!” Her words held an ominous promise.

But I wasn’t afraid. Even if it would come true in the future, I don’t care. What would Ozym do to me if he got tired of me? Nothing. Or… did she mean that he’d get rid of me? What? Did she mean he’d kill me then? That was preposterous! Ozym would never do that, especially to me. I was his Albi after all.

I eyed Szonja gravely after I took a deep breath, catching the delicious aroma of freesia that was coming from her.

“I think Kragen is up to something. You can just deduce it from the way he killed your precious acolyte, Szonja.”

She stared at me like I was mad. “Kragen won’t betray King Ozym by killing a mere acolyte, you little slut!”

“Then why did he do that at Hendrik and Lotte’s wedding, huh? What’s his angle? You tell me!”

“He won’t betray King Ozym. But maybe he just had his reasons that don’t involve treason because from what I heard, he was going to get you, Adri,” she said.

My jaw dropped. Was I really Kragen’s target last night? Yes, I remembered he tried to get to me. But why?