STONE COLD

"You ungrateful brats! How dare you turn your backs against me?! I should have let you rot where you belonged! You all deserve to die in a gully!" she screamed.

Sevor rolled his eyes, restraining his ex-lover's hands behind her back in a tight grip. Wye Fye relentlessly gave out a willful fight with her clothes and hair disheveled in her distraught. The children watched her shameless display of hysteria and a lot of them brought their tongues out to tease her even further.

Slade came out of the house groggily. He glared at the primary cause of his awakening. The change of scenery caused by the purification awed him for a moment, but Wye Fye's screeches reminded him of why he had to get up in the first place.

"If she's aiming to become a rooster to cuckoo the sleep out of our system then I'd be the very first one to strangle the very talent she has for it," he threatened before his eyes went to me.

Sevor had an expression of guilt on his face. He couldn't look at him straight in the eye.

"Why did you leave my side?" Slade questioned me.

"I had an errand to run," I answered.

Slade scoffed.

"What errand? I never asked you to do any errand. If you're going to join a marathon for that errand, you should have thought of the possibility of getting shot by a pigtail tit."

I never thought I'd say this but Slade wasn't a complete baka after all. He was the mighty prophet who we never knew existed but the very one who we all needed.

But to admit the talent he had for fortune-telling would devastate my image; therefore, I must defend Wye Fye at any cost.

"No pigtail tit has shot me. I blame my clumsiness for accidentally tripping on one of her arrows. It was only right for her to push me off of Ryota. Now she is suffering because I have broken the seal that held Sevor's autonomy. Do you not pity her Slade? Do you not wish to mend her soul and stitch the slits to her broken heart?"

'His Highness is born with the talent to execute villainous acts in the suit of an innocent lamb,' a voice spoke in my head.

I could not read Slade's appearance while he stood perfectly still. It was unexpected of him to be completely composed, but with how silent Wye Fye had become, I could tell that she was anticipating the horrors of her deeds.

Slade sauntered towards the woman and calmly lifted his hands. His limbs stayed in midair. Everyone was holding their breaths. In a wink, his grip was already around her neck. His face was in a stern and unmoving expression.

"Slade...Slade!" Sevor shouted.

He was peculiarly silent and had no intention of letting go any time soon.

Wye Fye made throttled noises but didn't seem to be weakening from the strangulation.

"Slade, strangling her won't kill her. She's a vampire," Sevor reminded.

"I know," he scoffed. "That's why I'm waiting for you to wrench her crux out, or have you truly fallen for this woman that you're just gonna stand there and let me do everything for you?"

"I would but Lucian wants her alive."

Slade scowled at me.

"And what is it to you if she lives or not?"

"Nothing," I deadpanned. "I simply want to fulfill her life's purpose of going to the castle."

"Then we drag her corpse and leave her there. May she rest in the clangor of her own foul stench."

I frowned at Slade's uncooperative state and stabbed him at the side with the carrot I was conveniently grasping.

"Ow!" he yelped, flinching away.

He dropped Wye Fye to the ground. She attempted to crawl out of this mess but was swiftly dragged back by Sevor.

Yes...be afraid. Be very afraid. Besides the carrot's delicious taste, they could be deadly as well if I just honed my carrot-stabbing skills even further.

"We are going to the castle Slade. Please watch over the children," Sevor requested.

Compared to before things had gotten less tense between them.

"Fine but take care of this aho (idiot)," he replied, lightly whacking the back of my head.

Sevor slightly grinned.

"I will, do not worry."

Slade jerked his head away.

"Who said I was worrying?"

Sevor stretched his neck back. His body transformed into a dragon.

"Let us go," I urged, pushing the tip of the carrot against Wye Fye's back. "I do not want to use this against you but of course that is a lie. Please do not do anything stupid or else things will get very bloody."

"Go die you son of a bitch!"

You left me with no choice.

"Ow!"

"That is just a soft one. The next time I do it...you will bleed."

We landed in front of the castle. Wye Fye fervently leaped off. As soon as my feet touched the ground light instantaneously swelled across the floating land, reviving the decayed beauty of the detached vicinity.

The shut doors of the castle lit up and creaked open with age. Wye Fye ran inside with rashness imprinted on every corner of her body and actions.

"She seemed to have moved on with you already. How do you feel about being replaced?" I asked.

"You really know how to push everyone's buttons huh?" Sevor sighed.

What did he mean by that? He did not have any buttons on him. I did not remember pressing anyone's buttons. My eyes fixed at Sevor's hard nipple and poked it with the carrot.

"Is this your button?"

The man blushed and turned away. He squatted with his arms stretched to his back. It reminded me of an occurrence which happened not long before.

"Come on, you're injured."

Did he want me to kick him? I raised my foot in front of his back, landing a strong kick. He fell face flat on the grass.

"Ow! What did you do that for? I was going to carry you."

"Oh. I must have misunderstood. It was at least satisfying," I replied.

I won't lie. I did remember Caleb offering me this before but it was too hard to resist.

"Your innocence can fool an infatuated man to commence a war," he sighed.

I got on his back. He gingerly lifted my legs.

"I do not wish for wars," I told him. "And I do not wish to be the cause of it."

Sevor looked at me apologetically.

"Forgive me. I should watch my words."

"It does not bother me," I responded. "The child in her...what do you intend to do with it?" I asked.

Sevor chuckled. "The child in her does not exist. Vampires cannot get pregnant."

My curiosity and interest sparked.

"So it was all just really the result of a delusion. Slade was right all along," I hummed.

He gave me a nod and another snigger. "Now I have to make up to him. I don't know where to start."

The place already had plants growing inside. Butterflies and other bugs were roaming around. The red carpet was tattered. The chandelier was on its last chains as it precariously swung.

I gazed at the paintings hanging on the walls of the castle as we wandered inside. A lot of them were already faded and ruined but there was one particular painting that caught my attention.

As we ascended on the first flight of stairs leading to a pavement that was breaking the set of stairs into two, a huge portrait of the royal family was stuck to the wall.

It was a painting of my okaa, otou, and onii with two other people.

The woman had blonde hair like my okaa and the man standing behind him had dark hair and intelligent eyes.

"This is the Ancient Royal Family, your family."

Sevor pointed at the woman who looked almost the same as my okaa.

"This one...is the leader of the catastrophes. Something happened to her that made her snap," he murmured.

"Where is it?!" Wye Fye yelled.

She descended from the left stairway. She looked even more disheveled than before.

"Help me find it, Sevor! Help me find the stone! She told me that it was here. Queen Titia told me it was here!"

A velvety and comforting voice spoke inside my head.

'What she is looking for will ruin her. That stone has no origin and it was kept safe behind that painting that you're standing in front of."

So it will be her ruin if she manages to find it?

What a tragedy if she discovered her demise. The world will be painted in despair if we lose such a good soul.

"What a suspicious painting. Don't you find it skeptical, Sevor?" I queried.

"Huh?"

"It's there isn't it?! You know where it is, don't you?!" She exclaimed.

She tore the painting down. There was a passageway leading downstairs. Wye Fye laughed excitedly before running off. Sevor cursed before following her downstairs. The walls were illuminated with a blue radiance. Sevor's calls bounced off the walls.

'This is the place…'

We reached the end of the stairs and entered a hexagonal room. Eight coffins surrounded an ivory-colored tree. The tree's roots connected to the coffins like a system. There was a complex mechanism for it.

Wye Fye stood in front of an arched frame that was against the wall. An onyx stone was attached to the very peak of the frame. She was reaching up to get it.

"That's enough Wye Fye! Stop with this delusional goal. I know it is harsh but...accept the fact that your kind was not blessed with the capability of childbirth. You can't get pregnant. It's not possible."

Wye Fye ignored Sevor and pushed a nearby box to step on. Sevor gently placed me down to stop Wye Fye from digging her own grave.

"I need to get this stone! This stone is mine! Let go of me!" she yelled.

Sevor managed to grab her but Wye Fye slapped him. "You should be supporting me! This is for us! If we have this stone, we can finally be free of fear from the catastrophes. We can control them!"

"Control them? We need to eradicate them!" Sevor snapped at her. "What will you gain from controlling them? Are you expecting everyone to bow to your command?!"

"Yes!" Wye Fye responded which earned her a slap from him.

I hugged the carrot against my chest and watched the scene unfold. Sevor took a step back from the startled Wye Fye to gather me back into his arms.

"I can't watch this anymore. Do whatever you want. I'm getting my mate out of this disarray."

"Sevor..." she sobbed, latching on to his arm. "Sevor, I love you. I gave my heart to you."

He shut his eyes.

"But I didn't give mine to you. You forced yourself to me. You've stolen what I was saving for my mate. You made me fight my own brother. You manipulated me to say words that I would have never even thought of telling him if I was in my sane mind. I'm ending this. Get lost."

Wye Fye gave out a heavy heave of sobs, embracing Sevor from behind.

While they fought I limped past them, pulling myself on top of the box. I tried taking the stone but it was attached securely to the frame.

I felt a stirring feeling inside of me. It was peculiar. I tilted my head in front of the stone. There was a reflection of an unidentified man who smiled at me charmingly. There was a lever beside the frame. I pulled it down. Swirling light filled up the empty space and the arguing ex-lovers were silenced with shock.

"That stone is mine!" Wye Fye claimed.

She climbed up on the box and shoved me away for the last time. Sevor caught me. Wye Fye forcefully tried to disengage the stone from its place.

Soon the white light swirling inside the frame clouded with an eerie purple. The stone turned red.

A sense of overwhelming energy coursed through my form but it wasn't because of the same reason as before. Instead of giving life, I had the great urge of...

"How amusing..." I chuckled.

I placed a kiss on Sevor's lips, covering his eyes with my hand. Wye Fye successfully removed the stone from the frame. Once she turned around, her eyes widened in fright.

"Sevor, stay away from—"

I raised my hand, closing it into a tight fist towards her direction. The stone shattered; a dark miasma consumed her whole being, setting her on blazing destruction of sable fire.

"Help me, Sevor!" She wailed in pain.

She lost balance, falling into the open portal.

A sound of unstable yet powerful energy came out from the portal, giving out a warning of an impending explosion. The ground shook and the castle awakened.

Sevor picked me up in his arms and sprinted outside. He jumped out of the floating ruins and took us both into the depths of the clear waters.

A school of small fishes swam around me. A loud detonation occurred from above. A big claw grabbed me. I was yanked out from the watery confinements and welcomed by the cold breeze. Sevor soared away from the crumbling land.

Wye Fye finally got what she wanted. She obtained the stone of her dreams but also ended up being buried by a lot of rocks.

The children waited patiently and cheered once we landed safely.

Buck welcomed me with an embrace. He noticed that we were missing one person.

"Are you alright? Where is Wye Fye?" the little one asked me.

"She is in a happy place."

Sevor transformed back, breaking the news uncaringly.

"She's gone," he declared.

"Thank Goodness," Buck sighed in relief in which he regretted right after. "I mean...she will be missed."

"Save the lies. She wasn't really wanted here anyway," Slade muttered.

The twins made eye contact but broke it with a sigh.

"I'm sorry," Sevor murmured. "For hurting you."

Slade rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged.

"It wasn't your fault," he responded while aggressively rubbing his eyes. "Let's forget that this ever happened," he replied.

He coolly headed outside.

Sevor tended to my wounded ankle. Thereafter, he gathered the children to apologize to them for his behavior.

I headed out to where Slade was. He was squatting with his head bowed and with his arms extended out.

"Are you alright?"

The man snorted. I peeked and saw his red nose.

"If you're here to comfort me, I don't need it."

"No...I was going to ask you to cook me some food. I would like some grilled tomatoes and mushrooms."

Slade's calm mood became a storm but he managed to miraculously compose himself for real this time.

"Fine, is there anything else you want?"

How generous. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I must abuse it.

"I would like some-"

I was cut off by the sound of a loud and familiar howl. Slade turned around and was pounced by a hyperactive werewolf.

"Fenris, you're here," I welcomed him.

The concerned werewolf whined. I got on top of his back to resume our interrupted adventure.

"Never mind Slade, arrivederci (goodbye)."