It takes a few minutes for the initial panic to subside. The atmosphere is still tense, but Zakira’s insight and assurance have given everyone some room to breathe.
I know for a fact that this war is more serious than Zakira realizes, but she isn’t completely wrong. The preparation for a full-scale war does require a significant amount of time.
“Should we go and watch the official announcement on TV then? As she said, they would be broadcasting it any moment now,” Layla asks, looking around.
“Yes, but let’s gather everyone in our group first. We should watch it together, you know, in case they freak out like us. We can help them calm down and make them understand the situation properly,” Maya suggests.
“Good idea, I’ll go and bring Aria, Kate, and Riley,” Rebecca says.
“Yeah, leave the rest to us.”
Together, Maya, Layla, and Rebecca leave the room to gather everyone. I start to follow them, intending to help out, but Zakira holds me back.
“Wait a second, I need you for something,” she whispers.
“I’m not giving you my blood right now,” I tell her sternly.
Her mother almost sucked me dry yesterday. My body needs some time to recover before I can spare any more blood.
“…”
Zakira stares at me incredulously.
“What?”
“It’s not about your blood every time!” She snaps, looking annoyed.
“With you, I can never be sure,” I murmur with squinted eyes.
“Hmph! Well, this time it’s about my father. He wants to see you right now.”
…
“… oh, shit. Really? But why now of all times? Isn’t he busy announcing the war?” I ask, getting nervous.
“Yeah, and I am to bring you to him the moment he finishes doing that,” Zakira answers. “And by the way, the announcement for us Vampires would not take long. Unlike the other races, my people don’t demand explanations or reasoning. They simply follow their king’s orders.”
Fuck me.
“Can we not go? The WST got fixed anyway, right? There’s no need for him to be bothered by me anymore,” I say with some fake hope.
This is just me trying to escape meeting him. The truth is, Lucias Vondrack is well aware of the fact that I fixed the WST last night. He also has full knowledge of my status as a primordial magic user.
After all, he was present there last afternoon in the USDCA meeting and also at the WST grounds at night.
But then, why does he want to meet me again today?
Sure, we didn’t have any sort of actual interaction yesterday, much less a proper conversation. But still, that’s no reason to interrogate me any more than they already have.
“Aren’t you forgetting something? What is even more important to my father than the WST or your system’s abnormality?” Zakira asks with her eyebrows raised.
“What?”
“Me, and in his eyes, my ambiguous relationship with you.” She sighs and holds her head in frustration. “The way he was asking me to bring you, I am pretty sure that’s what he wants to talk about.”
…
Fuck me again.
“And I assume there’s no way out?”
“No, there isn’t. I already told you a couple of days ago that my father would want us to meet him together,” Zakira answers, shaking her head.
“Our biggest worry should be to prevent him from finding out about the Blood Bond. And I already told you my plan for that.”
“Yeah, that you’ll excuse yourself to go and spend time with your ever-busy mother,” I say, remembering her not-very-reliable plan.
“Yeah, but you’re free to suggest something better if you can,” she says with a shrug, sensing the doubtfulness in my voice.
“I can’t…”
“Well then, it’s settled. I’ll tell Dad that Mum suddenly called and said that she wants to take me out for a surprise lunch. I’ll use that to quickly leave— hopefully before he can sense our bond— and then you can safely and easily handle the rest.”
“Couldn’t you have said that to him earlier? When he asked you to bring me to him in the first place?”
“That would’ve just postponed the inevitable. He wouldn’t just forget about it. And I don’t think my excuses will work every time.”
…
“True…”
“Don’t worry too much, Jacob. He will just try to scare and intimidate you a little, that’s all. As long as he doesn’t find out about our Blood Bond, you have nothing to fear,” Zakira assures me.
… easy for you to say. I have a feeling that that overprotective dude will be out for my blood after today.
“Let’s go then. By the time we reach my dad, he would be done making the announcement.”
Totally unwilling but helpless, I drag my feet behind Zakira as we exit the room. Maya, Rebecca, and Layla are no longer in the corridor. They must have finished gathering everyone in their room to watch the announcement.
Sigh…
Zakira and I make our way through the corridor before entering the giant magical lift. Then, we quickly descend to one of the lower floors.
“Wait a second!”
The moment the lift stops, we come face to face with two smartly suited guards— both Vampires— who stop us.
“This floor is out of bounds. Go back,” the guard on the right says sternly.
“Oh, is it now?” Zakira asks lazily. By chance, she was standing behind me, mostly hidden from their view.
““Princess!””
“Sorry, we didn’t see you!”
Startled, they hastily bow down and apologize profoundly.
“It’s okay. Is father still busy?” She asks, checking her watch.
“No, Lord Lucias is free now. He’s waiting for you and your… friend.”
The guard looks at me for a moment. Even in his eyes, I can see great pity for myself. It’s as if he’s looking at a dead man walking.
… that sure gives me optimism.
One of the guards stays near the lift while the other escorts us to the end of the corridor. We stop in front of the biggest and most important-looking door on this floor.
“Let’s go, Jacob. I need to introduce you to Dad and then leave soon. My Mum’s waiting for me,” Zakira says with a smile, glancing at the guard.
The guard looks at her with a puzzled face. Probably wondering why she’s looking at him while saying this.
Without giving me any more time to prepare myself mentally, Zakira opens the door and drags me inside her father’s room.
I don’t know why, but I imagined this to be a huge hall with a central stage. There at the center, Zakira’s dad would be standing with a face full of hatred.
Instead, this is just a study room. Yes, it is indeed exceptionally large and magnificent with a grand desk in the middle, walls filled with thick books and scrolls and whatnot, and a beautiful chandelier hanging from the ceiling, but still a study room.
Leaning handsomely against the grand desk is a thin, tall, and pale man, casually flicking through a book. Lucias Vondrack. The moment Zakira and I enter the room, he snaps the book shut and turns his face towards us.
First, he looks at Zakira. His stony face breaks into a small but unexpected smile. Then he looks at me, and his expression turns deathly serious and haunting.
…
If a gaze could kill, I would be dead right now.
Shit, he’s Lucias Vondrack. His gaze might actually be able to kill.
“D-Dad, this is Jacob. And Jacob, this is my dad, Mr. Lucias Vondrack,” Zakira introduces us nervously, breaking the silence.
“Oh, and dad, I need to go and—”
“It’s… a pleasure to meet you, Jacob,” Mr. Vondrack says icily.
He doesn’t give Zakira the chance to spit out her excuse and rush out. She tries to say it again, but he speaks before she can.
“Zakira’s mother and I have been looking forward to meeting our daughter’s very first… male friend,” he continues. It appears as if each word is causing him physical pain.
“She’s here as well. Marianne, come out and meet our daughter’s new friend.”
Wait, what!?
Zakira and I stare in horrid shock as the back door of the study opens up and a woman wearing glasses steps out.
Marianne Cairnfate. Zakira’s mother and my slave.
“Oh, are you Jacob? I am Zakira’s mother, Marianne, but you can call me Mari. Nice to meet you!” She says warmly, pretending to meet me for the first time.
…
“N-Nice to meet you both!” I greet them back.
But I’m not looking at them, I’m looking at Zakira. My panic is being reflected back in her eyes. Her excuse to dip out of here is gone! We’re fucked!
…
“Wait, I sense something between you two…”
Suddenly, the lights in the room get dimmed, and the temperature drops a few degrees. There’s a surge of powerful and violent magical energy quickly filling the study room, rattling everything.
Oh, shit….
I slowly turn back to look at Mr. Vondrack again, only to find his crimson eyes filled with intense rage and his face etched with cold, murderous intent.
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