Chapter 6
The walk to the throne room felt like a dream—or rather, a nightmare. The cold stone beneath my feet, the oppressive silence that swallowed the sound of my footsteps, and the ever-present shadow of Marcus's kingdom looming over me... it was all too surreal. I had just agreed to whatever twisted bargain he had in mind, but I still had no idea what that even meant.
I had been dragged from the depths of the dungeons, my arms shackled by a vampire who seemed as indifferent to my fear as the stone walls surrounding us. The path wound through endless corridors, each one more cavernous and claustrophobic than the last. The flickering torchlight barely illuminated the way, and I found myself holding my breath with each turn, bracing for some new horror lurking in the shadows.
My mind raced as I followed the vampire’s unyielding pace. What was this task? What does he want from me?
We reached the throne room doors sooner than I expected. The two massive doors loomed before me, their dark wood inlaid with symbols I didn’t recognize, twisting patterns that seemed to move if you looked at them long enough. The vampire in front of me didn’t even pause; he pushed open the doors with ease, and the creaking sound was deafening in the silence.
I stepped inside.
The throne room was vast, larger than any room I had ever seen—taller, too, with high arched ceilings that seemed to touch the heavens themselves. Every inch of it screamed power and danger. The floor was made of polished black marble that reflected the dim torchlight like a dark pool of water. And in the farthest corner, high upon a raised dais, sat Marcus.
He was waiting for me.
His silhouette against the torchlit shadows was as imposing as the castle itself, and I couldn’t help but feel small as I stepped into the vastness of the room. His eyes—those silver eyes—were fixed on me the moment I entered.
I tried not to flinch under his gaze.
His throne was carved from dark stone, the seat and backrest etched with intricate designs—symbols of power, of blood, of dominance. He sat like a king should, his posture perfect, his dark cloak draped elegantly around his frame. His eyes gleamed with that same predatory curiosity that had unsettled me from the start.
“You’re late,” he said, his voice deep, sharp, and laced with something I couldn’t quite place. It wasn’t anger, not exactly, but something that felt like it could erupt at any moment.
“I wasn’t—” I swallowed, realizing I was talking too much. “I wasn’t given a timeline.”
His gaze sharpened. “You were given an order.”
I flinched at the bite in his tone, but I held my ground. I wasn’t here to cower. Not anymore.
The vampire guard who had escorted me stepped back and bowed low before leaving the room, leaving me alone with the king.
“I trust you’ve had time to think on your decision,” Marcus said after a long silence.
I nodded. “I did.”
His lips curled into a faint smile, one that didn’t reach his eyes. “Then you understand that what comes next will not be easy. It will test you. It will test your loyalty. And it will force you to confront things you might not want to know.”
I swallowed, trying to ignore the lump in my throat. “What do you want from me?”
Marcus leaned forward, his sharp features bathed in the flickering torchlight. His gaze seemed to pierce through me, seeing straight into the very core of my being.
“I need you to find something,” he said, his voice a low rasp. “A thing that has been hidden for centuries. A piece of knowledge, a secret that could change everything—about this land, about our kind, and about your family.”
I froze. My heart thudded painfully in my chest. “My family?”
“Yes,” he said, his voice like ice. “Your family is more important than you think, Tess. More than you know. They were not just simple mortals, as you’ve believed. They were involved in something far greater, something that has long been buried. And you… you will find it.”
I struggled to make sense of his words. “What are you talking about? My parents were just ordinary people. They didn’t have anything to do with vampires or magic.”
A flicker of something—amusement? Contempt?—passed through his eyes. “You are far too naïve, Tess.” He stood from his throne, gliding down the steps with predatory grace, his presence filling the room as if he were the very air itself. “Your parents were part of something much larger. Their disappearance is no accident. It is a consequence of what they were involved in.”
I couldn’t breathe. My chest constricted painfully, my mind racing to comprehend what he was saying. “No… you’re lying. They were just people. They were taken—by vampires, by your kind. You killed them.”
Marcus’ expression darkened, his eyes narrowing to cold slits. “You don’t know what happened, Tess. You only know the story you’ve been told. The story you were fed.” He took another step closer, his cold eyes boring into mine, and for the first time, I saw something flicker there—an emotion I couldn’t place. Regret? Pity? “The truth is far more complicated. And I’m offering you the chance to uncover it. If you succeed… I will give you your answers. The answers about your parents. About why they died.”
My breath caught in my throat, my pulse hammering in my ears. Was this some kind of twisted game? Was he trying to break me, to manipulate me into doing something I wasn’t prepared for?
“And if I fail?” I asked, my voice trembling despite my efforts to stay calm.
His lips curled into a cold smile, but there was no warmth in it. “Then you’ll never know the truth. And your parents will remain lost. Forever.”
My heart slammed against my ribs. This was the price. The cost I had been warned about.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to refuse, to tell him I didn’t care about his games, about his world of blood and power. But deep down, I knew it wasn’t that simple. My parents had been taken from me for a reason, and the only way to find out what that reason was—what they had been involved in—was to play his game.
I had no choice.
“What do you want me to do?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Marcus studied me for a long, tense moment, as if weighing my resolve. Finally, he spoke, his voice dark and filled with an ominous promise.
“Go to the Old Temple in the east. It is hidden, buried beneath the earth. Inside, you will find the answers you seek. But be warned, Tess. The road will not be easy. There are forces that will stop you. There are things there… that you cannot even begin to imagine. You will face them.”
I felt a chill run through me. “What do you mean by them?”
But Marcus was already turning away, his back to me, as if he were done with the conversation.
“I suggest you hurry,” he said over his shoulder, his voice cold. “Time is not on your side.”
The moment he spoke those words, the room seemed to grow darker. The weight of his command pressed down on me like a physical force.
I was standing at the edge of a precipice, and there was no turning back now.
If I wanted answers, if I wanted to know what had happened to my parents, I had no choice but to take this path.
And I was beginning to realize just how deep this nightmare ran.