Chapter 90: Why?
Thank you so much, @Serabie, for the Golden Ticket.
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Xandros drifted toward the Lover’s Cave like a phantom swallowed by the night. His footsteps were soundless, his movements impossibly swift as he cut through the forest with supernatural speed. The moment he reached the mouth of the cave, familiar voices echoed from within.
One belonged to his father.
The other...
The witch probably.
His crimson eyes narrowed.
Without hesitation, he stepped inside, following the voices deeper into the cavern. The cold air wrapped around him, carrying the scent of damp stone, ancient magic...
...and something else.
Saline.
His body froze for the briefest second.
She was alive.
The delicate fragrance that had become engraved into his senses lingered within the cave, stronger than before. Relief, unfamiliar and unwanted, settled heavily in his chest. He had missed that scent more than he cared to admit.
She was here.
She was breathing.
That was all he needed to know.
As he emerged into the open chamber, Lord Morvane turned sharply toward the entrance. His piercing crimson eyes landed on his son, and an irritated snort escaped him.
Across the chamber, Selene sat leisurely upon her jagged stone throne, one slender leg crossed over the other. A crooked smirk slowly stretched across her lips.
Interesting...
Even she had to admit the boy had surpassed his father in intelligence.
"What are you doing here?" Lord Morvane demanded, his voice cold enough to freeze the air around them.
Xandros merely slipped one hand into his pocket before letting out a quiet snicker.
"You took someone who belongs to me," he answered casually, walking toward them with slow, measured steps. "I’m simply here to take her back."
Selene suddenly burst into loud, eerie laughter that echoed throughout the cave.
She laughed until tears nearly gathered in her eyes before dramatically wiping away an imaginary tear with one finger.
"Lord Morvane," she chuckled, shaking her head. "You certainly gave birth to an amusing creature."
Lord Morvane didn’t even spare her a glance.
His furious gaze remained fixed on his son.
He marched toward Xandros, his face dark with disappointment.
"You were supposed to deliver the girl to me," he growled. "And instead I find you claiming she’s yours?"
His voice thundered through the cave.
"That’s complete bullshit!"
Xandros met his father’s rage with unsettling calm.
"She isn’t the one."
His tone remained composed, yet beneath that calm exterior, fury simmered violently.
Selene leaned forward with growing amusement.
"Young man," she purred, "you and I both know she’s the one."
Her lips curled into a mocking smile.
"But don’t you think you should ask permission from her family before claiming her?"
She tilted her head before continuing.
"And unfortunately for the poor girl...I am her only family."
The words dripped with disgust, as though even acknowledging the connection left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Xandros’ lips slowly curved upward.
"If that’s the case..."His smile widened ever so slightly."...then I’d like you to give her to me."
The sarcasm in his voice was impossible to miss.
Selene laughed softly.
"She has a far greater purpose than becoming someone’s little toy."
The instant the word toy left her lips...
The temperature inside the cave seemed to plummet.
Xandros’ fingers slowly curled into fists.
The veins beneath his skin tightened.
"And what purpose..."He spoke through gritted teeth."...would that be?"
Selene smiled sweetly.
"Your father needs her heart."
Her emerald eyes glittered with greed.
"And I need her to reclaim what was stolen from me."She slowly rose from her throne.
"Since obtaining her was thanks to you..."
She spread her arms elegantly.
"Ask for anything and I’ll grant it."
Silence lingered for several seconds.
Then Xandros smiled.
"It seems..."
"...you can’t give me what I actually want."
Selene’s smile vanished.
Her brows furrowed.
Before either she or Lord Morvane could react-
Xandros disappeared.
The space where he had been standing became empty.
A violent crash exploded through the chamber.
Selene’s eyes widened.
Before anyone could process what had happened, Xandros had already appeared before her.
One hand gripped her forehead.
Without the slightest hesitation—
BAM!
He slammed her head directly into the jagged stone and vine throne.
The impact shattered part of the armrest.
Cracks raced across the stone.
Dust erupted into the air.
Selene let out a shriek of rage.
Though injured, she wasn’t dead.
She quickly raised both hands, magical energy swirling violently around her fingertips.
"Rasvatomavid—"
She barely uttered half the incantation.
A powerful hand suddenly wrapped around her throat.
The spell died instantly.
Her eyes slowly lifted...
...and met his.
Black.
His eyes...
They were completely black.
Not a trace of crimson remained.
Fear unlike anything she had ever experienced crawled beneath her skin.
"W-What..."
She barely managed to whisper.
CRACK.
Xandros twisted.
Her neck snapped completely away from her body.
With a sickening thud, her lifeless corpse collapsed onto the stone floor.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Xandros casually grabbed one of her legs and began dragging her corpse across the cave floor as though she weighed nothing.
The scraping sound echoed through the chamber until he stopped directly before Lord Morvane.
Without looking down at the body, he released her leg.
"What now..."
His lips slowly curved into a smile.
"...Father?"
Lord Morvane stared at the corpse before nodding with satisfaction.
"You’ve done well, Xandros."
A proud smile spread across his face.
"Worthy of being my son."
He glanced at Selene’s corpse.
"That bitch’s death was long overdu—"
A long, exaggerated laugh interrupted him.
Xandros laughed so dramatically that it almost sounded mocking.
He slowly walked toward his father.
"Will I get the girl after this?"
His smile remained fixed.
Lord Morvane’s expression immediately darkened.
"I overlooked your lies after discovering the girl."
His voice turned icy.
"And now..."
"You intend to stand in the way of my plans?"
Xandros sighed softly.
"I suppose...we’ll have to handle things separately."He stopped only a few steps away.
"But I don’t want Saline harmed."
A vein bulged violently across Lord Morvane’s forehead.
"You’ve already begun calling her by name."
His eyes burned with disappointment.
"Have you no ambition?"
His voice rose sharply.
"Why are you as spineless as your mother?"
Everything changed.
The moment those words left his father’s mouth...
Xandros took one slow step forward.
His now crimson eyes darkened.
Blackness consumed them once again.
Lord Morvane’s face drained of colour.
His confident expression shattered.
"You’re..."
His voice trembled.
"...corrupted."
For the first time in centuries...
Lord Morvane felt fear.
Xandros smiled faintly.
"Yes."
His voice remained disturbingly calm.
"I’ve been corrupted for quite a while now."
He tilted his head slightly.
"So..."
"Will you hand her over..."
"...or should I go on a rampage?"
It wasn’t a question.
It was a threat.
Lord Morvane quickly regained his composure.
"We can still use her."
He spread his arms.
"I’ll take her heart."
"It may even cure your corruption, and then—"His sentence stopped.
Something warm spread across his chest.
Confused, he slowly looked downward.
Blood.
A crimson stain rapidly blossomed across his clothes.
His trembling gaze lifted toward his son.
Xandros stood before him with an utterly blank expression.
His hand...
Was buried deep inside Lord Morvane’s chest.
Without emotion...
He pulled.
A sickening sound echoed through the cave as Lord Morvane’s heart was ripped free.
Holding the still-beating organ in his hand, Xandros looked directly into his father’s fading eyes.
"Why don’t you use your own heart instead?...see! It’s out here already."
Lord Morvane’s body collapsed lifelessly onto the stone floor.
Silence consumed the cave once again.
Without even sparing the corpse another glance, Xandros crouched down and calmly wiped the blood from his hands using his father’s expensive robes.
Only then did he rise.
His senses immediately detected another heartbeat.
A frightened human servant hid behind a pillar, trembling uncontrollably.
"You."
The human flinched violently.
"Take me to where Saline is."
Too terrified to refuse, she hurried ahead.
Moments later...
He finally saw her.
Relief flooded through him the instant their eyes met.
She was unharmed.
Safe.
Alive.
His tense muscles relaxed for what felt like the first time in days.
But instead of running toward him...
She stepped backward.
He raised a brow.
That single action surprised him more than everything that had happened inside the cave but then it was a normal reaction.
Flashback fades.....
***********
Presently.....
They walked quietly away from the Lover’s Cave, leaving behind the Vampire Kingdom.
Xandros released a faint pulse of his aura, forcing every vampire unfortunate enough to cross their path to instinctively flee. None dared approach them.
The journey continued in complete silence.
Only the sound of their footsteps accompanied them.
Yet Xandros noticed something.
Saline opened her mouth several times as though wanting to speak, only to stop herself each time.
He finally sighed.
"What do you want to ask?"
His voice broke the silence.
Saline stopped walking.
Turning slowly, she faced him.
There was confusion in her eyes...
and hurt.
She looked directly at him before quietly asking,
"Why didn’t you tell me..."
"...that you were a vampire?"