Exhiled (on hold)

Chapter 1

The forest at night was full of activity and life, but Jayce couldn't stop to enjoy it. His left arm had been half severed, hanging uselessly at his side as he ran through the forest.

It was hard to focus on running when his injuries were taking their time in healing, taking his strength and energy. But the coven soldiers were closing in behind him and he didn't have time to stop and heal.

The meeting with the elders had been short and started with being punched in the face as soon as he'd walked in the room, swords drawn on his fallen figure. The council men had sneered and smirked darkly and no words were needed, it was either run or die.

Jayce knew he was reaching the border, and the soldiers with their swords that had already hacked into him were starting to slow. Even with their inhuman speed, the coven land was large, and it had taken a long time to reach their border.

The Iden Coven were the second largest in the world, and the last that had refused to fall under the rule of the Vampire King, a mysterious man that he knew naught of. He was not to be spoken of in coven walls.

Jayce could feel a shift in energy as the dark pressure lightened off him, he was officially out of the coven territory. Jayce kept moving though, slowing when he knew the people he used to see as family stopped following.

Night turned to day and back to night and he kept going, eventually he slowed to a walk, then a stumble. Then, whether it from blood loss or starvation, or that his wounds had, for some reason, still not healed, Jayce collapsed.

Darkness swirled in his vision as he lay face down, panting for air and feverish. It didn't take long for darkness to consume him.

He woke what felt like minutes later, no longer face down and to voices.

"We found him stumbling past our borders, we watched him closely but he didn't get far before he collapsed. We had fang come assess him sire, he wasn't healing" a youthful male voice said carefully into the dark. Or maybe it was dark because Jayce had his eyes closed.

A deep thoughtful hum followed shortly after the young male voice.

"You don't know what wounded him so much?" Jayce shuddered at the rich baritone of the voice and let out a groan, finally cracking open his eyes.

Movement, and then-

"Be still little one, you are still healing" the man that swam into his vision was, well, a vision himself.

Muscles and rich dark skin and piercing light green eyes stared down at him.

"nmnnn..." Jayce tried, finding his body sore and tired.

The man frowned resting his hand against Jayces' neck.

"He is feverish, how can a vampire run a fever?" The man growled to the other man in the room.

"Dark magic, curses? The wounds looked like they we're made by a sword, perhaps a cursed object?" He tried, blinking his eyes tiredly.

Jayce groaned and tried his best to shake his head against the mans rough warm hand, reaching out the best he could with his mind rather timidly to the gorgeous dark skinned man. Jayce was surprised when he was let in with ease, and did not even try to pry past the strong wall in the mans mind. He was an strong Vampire, Jayce estimated he had to be at least past 600 years.

"They coat their sword in wolfsbane, it doesn't harm us like werewolves but slows healing, can make very sick" He tried, struggling to even form the thoughts.

The man growled, eyes flashing a violent red.

"Swords, as in more than one?" He asked tersely.

"Iden Coven, was an orphan, useless, exiled from them" Jayce flashed memories of the incident at him as he strung words together.

The man growled darker, backing away from Jayce and swearing heavily. Jayce watched him closely, head spinning. Something about the man was drawing him in but he could not place what it was. It was then he noticed how lavish the bedroom was, this was not a poor, or even middle-class home.

"Please, where? Here?" Jayce tried, shifting and feeling the weight of his lethargic body barely moving.

The man raised an eyebrow while the other, younger man watched on confused.

"You are in the Castle of Valencia, my sweet. Do you know who I am?" The man stated, moving back close again and Jayces' eyes widened.

This was the royal kingdom, the king of all Vampires with the exception of Coven Iden.

"I know that this place is the royal vampire kingdom"  Jayce pieced slowly as his head cleared a little. "But nothing more, the coven elders did not discuss such things with lower ranks, I do not even know who is in rule"

The vampire frowned darker and shut his eyes, hand rubbing over his face.

"I am Kairo, I, little one, am the one in rule but currently only as a prince. Until I mark my mate, I cannot be king. You are here in my castle, I had healers attend to your wounds" Kairo replied in Jayces' mind and Jayce froze. This man was his prince, his ruler and-

As the world started to balance itself again, as the princes healers magic finally helped him to finish healing he realized.

- Kairo was also his mate.