Ascension Of The Blood Throne by Mikel Wilson (red scrolls of magic .TXT) 📗

vampire brood was only too happy to take full advantage of the ready supply.

"Mother, I ask you again, stand down, you do not have to die here."

“Daughter, I am a slayer. I have always been a slayer, and I will not allow any of you to turn me into one of you. You are such a strong woman now, and it's apparent which side you have chosen, but it's time for me to tell you the origin of your birth.” Alisha pulled out a ring and threw it at Lillith’s feet.

Christian reached down to pick it up and saw the emblem on the front. The mark of the Elite. As he stood with the ring held firmly between two fingers, he looked in disbelief at Lillith and then at Alisha before asking, “Where did you get this?”

“Long ago, I fell in love with a vampire. He was the king and had come looking for a queen. It was my job to stop him. We fought many battles, each ending in a stalemate. I tried not to, but I soon fell under his spell. He was a gorgeous man, honorable, honest, strong. He felt the same pull as I did, and we fell in love. I wanted to be with him, but I would never be accepted. My skin color, plus the fact that I was a slayer, and he was a king meant that I’d never be accepted in his homeland. Him being a vampire meant the council would never accept it. So, he kissed me goodbye, and left for his home, Taldor.

“Three months later, I was gravely ill, dying. The doctors could not help me. Somehow, he received work and left his land to come to me. Once at the hospital, he knew exactly what was wrong... I was pregnant with his child, a vampire child.

“But there wasn’t just one baby, there were two,” she confessed, tears flowing as she looked at Christian. “He gave me blood, which quenched your thirst for a while, and when you two were born, the resemblances to us were uncanny. Lillith, you were darker and took after me while Christian, my son, you looked like your father and still do. He took you back with him, but before leaving, he gave me that ring. The ring was to be given to you, Lillith, once you were old enough. It’s your birthright as the princess of Taldor and heir to the throne as an Elite. Christian, I am your mother, and Lillith is your twin sister.”

Christian's voice trembled with anger. “Why? Why didn't he tell me? Why didn't you tell me? All these years my mother has been alive, and I could’ve known her!” He went to his knees, sobbing.

Lillith walked toward her mother, outrage written plainly on her face. “You have kept this from me all this time? Why? Why didn't you tell me?”

“I haven’t spoken of these things in many years, but you needed to know. Now, I wish I’d told you sooner.”

Christian stood and walked to Alisha, where he kneeled before her. “You are why my father never took a queen. He loved you. Mother, please come with me. You do not have to be turned. I will take the throne, and things will be well. We can bridge the gap that my father was afraid of.”

Alisha embraced him, holding him to her bosom as he wept.

Dawn, who had been watching quietly, smiled as the future king finally found some form of closure.

Lillith, now crying as well, watched her mother and brother. Unable to hold back, she approached, and they welcomed her into their embrace. "My brother, my twin brother," she said with an awe-filled laugh. “We look nothing alike.”

Christian smiled at them both before turning to his brood and addressing them. “This slayer is my mother and lady of the court. I hereby decree that no harm shall ever come to her. And if you dare to try to cause her harm, you will die… Whether by my hand or hers,” he stated, authority clear in his voice.

“Tomorrow, we shall set sail for home. I do not go into this without the knowledge that it will be hard, but with you all at my side, I'm sure we shall be victorious.” The vampires cheered, and just as things started to quiet back down, Dawn collapsed. She’d been hit with one of the arrows.

“Poison,” Alisha said, staring down at the barely breathing Dawn. “She doesn’t have long.”

“What do you mean?” Christian asked. “It may take a while, but her body will heal itself.”

“Not from this poison, it won’t,” Alisha explained. “It is a special mixture, known as the black death. It’s mixed specifically to kill your kind. A painful death awaits her, and I'm afraid there is no antidote. Make her as comfortable as you can. Soon, her body will pass to the next realm.”

Dawn gasped in pain as she grabbed for Christian’s hand. She started coughing and choked her way through speaking. “My prince, my friend, my soon to be king...”

Christian knelt beside her, taking her hand and attempting to at least comfort her. He knew all that she had given up to warn him, and he was so grateful to her as well as honored by her sacrifice.

“If only you could have truly seen me. I have been in love with you for years, my prince. I never had the courage to tell you, so I just kept hoping, praying that one day you would set your sights on me. But it wasn't meant to be. Now, dying, I can finally tell you how I feel,” she confessed with a sad chuckle as a trickle of blood ran down the side of her mouth. Her breathing became more labored, and Christian had to lean closer to hear her. “I am not just here out of duty, I’m here out of love. I couldn't let the man I love be murdered. I had to see you again, and now, with