The heavy gray mist over the northern territories of Brusselie refused to lift. It had been three weeks since the earth had sealed itself over the chasm, leaving the battlefield a silent wasteland of gray ash. Inside the grand walls of the Bloodwing Corporation's estate, the atmosphere was thick with an oppressive, unyielding silence.
The bloodwing clan and all affiliates were shrouded in thick black clouds... a downpour was the only thing they could see in the visible future.
The servants in the mansion walked liked they were on thin cracked ice. They dared not breathe too loudly; afraid of waking the grieving devils in the cold villa.
For weeks, Nairel had sat on Raven's bed surrounded by her lingering scent in the room. He had taken nothing into his mouth! merely digesting the ever brewing guilt and depression in his guts! nobody had the will power to pull him out of this one!
His self-reproach was consuming him. He had gone to the abyss to get stronger, yet he had been too late. His jagged blue wings tucked tightly around himself covering his lean body.
Damian too had embraced the cold in his blood once more. He was a husk of his former warmth. A robot!
Every morning he went to walk, every night he returned to the villa.. the cycle was repetitive. His soul felt drained, his heart empty.
Ale sat on the couch in the villa's archived browsing through a book, his brows scrunched every few seconds in pain and agony. The strain on his mental power had shot through the roof. The contract was pulling at his soul.. Dark circles had gathered under his eyes..! For a vampire, that wasn't normal.
Athena didn't know where to place her hands and feet.. her father was in pain, his mood volatile and irritable. The princess was gone and her heart hurt too but she was unsure of what to do!
As she stood at the end of the stair case, her straight brows were scrunched up lightly. Damian walked down the stairs, his steps heavy and a little unstable. His eyes were still the same blood-shut with despair and a mix of killing intent.
The reason for the Treant attack was still under heavy investigation. He knew there was something going on behind the scenes. His mind was in turmoil, reliving the moment he lost her over and over again!
Athena raised her eyes to stare at the vampire. The only other time she had seen him this vulnerable was the day they met. Even then wasn't as bad!
"Damian!" her voice was barely above a whisper but he heard.
He remained silent! his heart ached even more. He didn't want her to see him like this!
"I f you need anything.... know that I'm here to help"
Damian's eyes widened slightly. A little light returning to his blood-shut eyes.
"Thank you! Athena"
********
The sun was hidden behind dark clouds when Alfred walked into the first floor of the bloodwing's mansion. His rimless glassed framed his sharp features improving his gentlemanly aura.
A delicate little maid in an apron walked him to Damian's study room on the second floor, her eyes red at the corners. Alfred's thin lips were pursed lightly as he sensed the low temperatures of the villa.
'knock knock'
"Come in!"
Damian was standing at the floor to ceiling windows in his study but the view of outside was obscured by thick, black drapery.
It was Monday but this time he didn't want to leave the house.., so Alfred had brought the documents to him instead.
"Sire.., the documents only need signatures and an overview and i would take my leave"
"en!"
Damian turned back to look at his new secretary! He suddenly didn't like his face.
He sat on his swivel chair and prepared to sign what needed to be signed so he could send the guy off!
The ink filled papers were very unpleasant to look at! He missed his daughter!
He signed his name under the request for expansion approval documents and sighed. The hospital's west wings expansion had long been overdue..
After all the signatures had been done.. he gave them back to the man. Alfred hadn't moved from his position since he walked in.., Damian suddenly felt a little uneasy.
"Alfred..., you can take them back now!"
Alfred took a second to respond. With his usual 90 degrees bow, he turned around and left Damian with the shadows dancing in his office.
Damian didn't go to work the next day and the day after that..
Alfred came by with the documents and it seemed the routine would go on for a while longer until..!
The sun outside had refused to come up just like the other days before.. it also mourned the absence of the Vampire's flame.
On this day though.. The whole of bloodwing was under one roof.
Dareevah, Kavriel and their little son Feray were all there. Darel was there too, he had even grown a little stubble on his chin. The hairs were short and prickly.
Navaiah and his wife, Via were there too. The house was packed but there was almost no warmth. Feray hadn't made a sound since coming into the mansion. He didn't cry or make a fuss, like an obedient little child!
Nairel on the other hand still hadn't left the room. Via walked up the stairs to the shut doors of Raven's room.
"Baby Nai... it's mommy"
The room was still as a graveyard.
Via knocked a little while longer but there was still no response, so she did what she had to do..!
Her hands shimmered with faint light as she murmured a little spell. The doors opened with a soft click.
The moment she walked in she saw her little baby curled up in his wings like a little turtle. Her heart trembled with pain.
The diablo horns on his head hadn't receded, tears fell slowly down her cheeks. Her little baby!
She walked swiftly to the bed side and took her baby into her arms.
"Nai!.. Oh my dear! Mommy's here!"
Hearing the sound of his mother's voice, a torrent of tears fell down his face. He had no way of stopping them. Via was the fae queen, her voice was like warmth in frigid snow!
As Nairel's sorrow had reduced to whimpers in his mothers arms, the blood wing mansion trembled from its foundation up.
The willows in the garden swayed with an unseen vigor. A high-pitched, deafening vibration tore through the air. Outside the grand windows, a massive, translucent crimson dome suddenly erupted from the ground, curving over the roof and trapping everyone within the mansion inside a heavy magical array.
The estate was thrown into an immediate stage of utter chaos. The protective wards of the mansion began to clash violently with the foreign crimson array, creating a horrific, grinding screech that rattled the glass windows. The servants panicked, running through the halls as the ambient mana became completely choked, cutting off all external communication.
For several minutes, no one knew what was going on or why they were being targeted.
Upstairs, the grinding noise shattered the fragile peace Nairel had found in his mothers arms. His beast, already highly volatile, snapped at the disturbance. His eyes flashed an unnatural, chilling blue.
"Shut up..." Nairel growled, his voice a deep, draconic rumble. His head snapped to the shut windows in the room. His mothers eyes sharp with vigilance.
The noise outside only grew louder as the guards tried to hit the barrier.
With a roar of absolute fury, Nairel's massive, jagged wings flared open.
"Nairel!" His mother was troubled. Her son was never this impulsive.
He lunged forward, throwing his weight directly through the grand glass windows of Raven's room, shattering them into a million glittering pieces. He soared into the sky above the courtyard, pulled his fist back, and channeled raw, freezing dragon fire directly into his knuckles.
With a savage twist of his body, he drove his fist directly into the apex of the crimson dome with absolute brute force.
CRACK!
With a sound like breaking ice, the entire array shattered into thousands of glowing red shards under his monstrous strength, dissolving into nothingness.
His mothers wings flapped slowly as she watched her son dump his wrath on the crimson dome. Her eyes were wide, tears silently fell as a pang of pain and unprecedented grief struck her heart.
Her baby was so sad!
As the dome's fragments dissolved into the air, the rest of the family had just come out.
Damian's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.
He immediately ordered a full investigation. "Find out the what's and the whys of this nonsense immediately!" he barked.
Ale was tired from all the psychological stress. His eyes glowed a mix of crimson and black as he muttered a spell in an unknown language.
The ground within a 100 meter radius with Ale as the center bubbled with masses of bone chilling darkness. Ale had awakened his shadow warriors.
The black masses bubbling on the ground pulled and stretched as they formed human silhouettes.
"Master..! We are delighted to be of service!"
Two shadow soldiers on their knees responded to the call.
"Trace the spell"
The two shadows felt the urgency and irritation in their master's tone, they vanished into thin air the moments Ale's command dropped.
The spectators all walked back into the building awaiting results from the shadow's investigation.
Nairel sat planted between his mother and father as they squished and pinched his pale cheeks.
Damian frowned in disdain at the sight..!
He was giving his daughter to a pampered mama's boy! Keep dreaming!
Nairel felt a chill down his spine as he stood up abruptly and glanced lightly at the vampire king.
Navaiah chuckled under his breathe.. the room warmed up a little more.
As the laughter died down , the lamp lights in the room flickered lightly as shadows materialized from the walls.
The shadow didn't need to speak.. a gold ring was handed over to Ale, the shadows vanished again right after.
Ale rubbed the ring lightly between his fingers, as the shadow's report were reviewed in his mind.
He tossed the ring to Damian who sniffed lightly, his eyes growing wider and his fury bubbling underneath his skin...
That treacherous bastard!