Chapter 2 THE CHOOSING

And that was how I found myself on my knees, with my cheek stinging.  

The hours between my volunteering, saying goodbye to my parents with tears in their eyes, Aaron asking me if I had lost my mind, and why I had volunteered myself had flown by in a blur.  

My mother had packed a bag filled with pastries, and a sheepskin bag of milk for me, but I hadn’t really registered it. It was like I had gone into shock. How could I have done that? But in that moment, all I had been thinking about was how unfair it would be to separate Emilia from her beloved.  

My brother and Emilia had grown up together and fallen in love, so it was hard to remember a period of time when they didn’t belong with each other. The way the people of Velmoor had turned their eyes to her, ready to throw her to the wolves, had pissed me off.  

So, I volunteered for myself. I wasn’t bad to look at; with slightly wavy hair that fell to the middle of my back, and large brown eyes. My body was honed with muscles from years of hard work in the stables and bakery, but my hips held onto fat stubbornly so that they were very ample, and I had what people would refer to as birthing hips.  

In short, I had a beautiful face, and an even more beautiful body. So, the squire hadn’t faltered on bit as he looked at me and happily accepted my volunteering. 

Now all seven of us kneel on the floor beneath the throne that looks like it’s modelled after the bones of human beings. That I can’t tell if it’s real human bones, or very good sculptural work makes me apprehensive.  

Other small chairs sit beside the large throne on each side, and I watch their faces shrouded in darkness. Noctharys is the city if eternal dark not only in name, but in the way the cloud of dark hides it from the sun and protects the vampires. 

Because of this absence of natural lighting, blue mage lights float around Noctharys and keep it lit. The blue of the lights was almost a white so that everything was well lit.  

I am about to fall onto the floor so I can sit on the floor properly when the large doors creak behind us. The other girls freeze, but I turn around to look at what is going on, only for the squire to forcefully push my head back to the front. He is no fun. 

“The King of all Vampires!” a voice announces, and everyone rises on their feet. Are we meant to rise too? It doesn’t matter because I am going to stay exactly where I am. Being forcefully uprooted from my home is all they’re going to get out of me.  

The other girls too stay on their knees, so I don’t stand out in my defiance. At least the thought counts.  

The hall is silent, and I hear no steps behind us, as if nobody had stepped into the hall. But that is obviously not true, because the vampires standing all bow till their waist are bent in halves, and I have to admit I’m impressed. But then again, if you’ve had centuries of practice, a bow is the least you should be great at.  

A shape suddenly appears before the first girl, and she lets out a little whimper. The figure is imposing from where I stand, dressed in clothing that looks so expensive that I just know he’s the King of all Vampires. The magic radiating from him, and the way his age feels like a physical weight on my bones is another giveaway. 

His face is not visible from where I stand, but his hair falls in waves that stop on top of his shoulders. Slender long hands with sharp fingernails stretch forward to grab the girl’s face, and her whimpering has almost graduated to a scream.  

He turns her face left and right and lets her go. He looks at the other man standing behind the girls and shakes his head. The moment he does, the other man bends his head towards the girl, and two hands drag her away. Her screams are echoing till they are suddenly cut off. 

All the other girls look at themselves, and the girl beside me turns to me. The plea for some form of reassurance is so strong in her face that I feel compelled to talk.  

“I’m sure they’re going to return her to her village. They won’t go through all that trouble to bring us here just to discard us so easily,” 

My words seem to have a calming effect on her because I flash her a smile, and she returns it.  

The man and his sidekick move their progression forward till I suddenly find that I’m the only girl left kneeling. By this time, my knees hurt like crazy and I’m so ready to be done with whatever this is. The headache that has started to bloom in front of my head does not help either.  

Hands lift my chin up, and I suddenly find myself staring into the most beautiful face I have ever seen on a man. His eyes are a bright crimson, and they seem to be staring into my soul. His cheekbones are high, and they frame the rest of his oval face in a way that manages to soften and harden it.  

He turns my head back and fought like he did the other girls, and I can’t help myself.  

“I don’t know exactly what you’re doing, but I’ll appreciate it if you stop staring at me like a horse at an auction.” The silence that envelopes the hall is somewhat horrifying, and I keep my face neutral, but I’m dying inside. Me and my big mouth.  

The hall comes back to life, and the squire raises his hand to hit me when the Vampire standing in front of me, who is obviously the King of all Vampires, grabs his hand and stops it.  

“What is your name?” 

“Annika. My name is Annika,” he nods and looks behind him.  

“This one will do just fine, Callum,” 

“Yes Sire,” the vampire behind him says, and arms grab at me.