Lucian

PROLOGUE

The snow was coming down in big, heavy flakes as the last rays of sun disappeared under the horizon and gave way to the round, full moon. His soldiers headed back to their stronghold, but His Royal Highness, Prince Lucian Saybrien stayed behind to enjoy the fascinating aftermath of the bloody battle.

Shoving his heavy sword back into the scabbard around his waist, he spun around on his black stallion and absorbed the scene of destruction his ruthless army left in its wake. Hundreds of vampire corpses lay abandoned on this frozen snowfield; their immortal blood morphing into bright red chips of ice that glistened in the moonlight. It was yet another bone-chilling testament to the undeniable, savage power of his will. Yet another victory. Yet another petty rebellion squashed under his lead. His father would be pleased because he had proven once again that he was a true king in the making.

Resolved not to leave any survivors behind, he rode further into the endless river of death, employing his sharpened senses to listen for an occasional heartbeat, a quick intake of breath, or a stifled moan of pain. Insolent fools, he thought as he inspected the tortured expressions on their paralyzed faces. The weaklings from the lower castes should have known they could never pose any real threat to the empire. Even though they lacked in size, the ruling dynasty had a secret ingredient in their weapons that made them powerful enough to take on an army of thousands without breaking a sweat. It was serolium metal; a rare compound discovered by his ancestors that had a fatal effect on immortals. For that reason alone, slaughtering these idiots had been so easy they didn't even need to employ any real effort into the mission.

Satisfied every single one of the rebels had been killed, he was about to follow after his army, but then he heard it. A soft mewling sound, followed by a strangled sob. His forehead creased with confusion as he neared the source of the noise. This was no dying vampire. No, it sounded more like a small, frightened animal that was trapped and calling out for help. Whatever it was, he could now smell its blood and recognize it belonged to a mortal.

A plain, useless mortal still breathing in the middle of a freshly made vampire cemetery?! That was outright ridiculous...impossible...and yet...the scent was unmistakable.

The moment he located his target, his brows lifted at the unexpected sight of a human child. The intruder was none other than a petite little girl with porcelain white skin and long, ebony hair. Unaware of his presence, she was sobbing next to her dead mother's body. As though caught in a trance, she ran her minuscule fingers over the bloodied gashes in the woman's snow-white dress, then pulled at her motionless arms, begging her to wake up so they could go home.

He attempted to rationalize this strange situation but still couldn't come up with a reason why, or even how, these two humans ended up in the middle of a violent clash between two vampire castes. But he was determined to find out, so he finally cleared his throat, commanding the little girl's attention.

She froze for a split second, then slowly lifted her head in his direction. Her big, tear-stained eyes collided with his, and the first thing he noticed was their unusual turquoise color. For a few silent heartbeats, they merely stared at each other, her small arms wrapped around her weakened body as she shivered from the cold in a paper-thin grey dress. Fragile humans, he inwardly scoffed at the little girl's misfortune, his eyes trained on the flakes of snow stuck to the wavy strands of her disheveled hair. She was chilled to the bone and no doubt at the brink of death. He contemplated whether or not he should just leave her to her own devices when she suddenly spoke up and bravely broke the silence.

"My mommy is asleep," she whispered in a small voice and motioned towards the deceased woman. "Can you please wake her up?"

The inexplicable urge to laugh bubbled to the surface as he held her hopeful, innocent gaze, but he pushed it back. He didn't know what kind of reaction he expected from this miniature creature, but it definitely wasn't this.