MAEVE

Chapter 23

They immediately sprung into action, roping the young vampire in more chains, twisting it around him to form an intricate bond, and secured the chains around silver stakes they had plunged into the ground.

With a growl, the vampire shifted awake, fully cognizant and hungry. He twisted and bent his limbs gruesomely, hands outstretched and desperately trying to claw his way out, or claw out another's throat, lips parted in a snarl, and drool dripping from the corner of his growling mouth. Mindless, wanting, and dangerous. My father, the man who sired me, did this, and it was all my fault. With that crippling thought, I turned away.

"Hey. Are you alright? What happened?" Noah asked immediately he saw me. I tossed my head back, desperately willing the sun to wash away the putrid darkness inside me, no matter how much it hurts.

"Do not hide behind your hair man. What now?" Noah asked again, and I peered at him from beneath the curtain of hair veiling my face. I had gotten used to my hair been that way, it was my shield against the world, and in a way it pleased me to view the world through a black tinted veil, helps me believe the darkness does not reside in me alone.

"What can I say?" I questioned, my voice breaking at the end to my dismay. "I am helpless and it's all my fault. His blood is on me. I killed him," I muttered with barely an emotion. I just stood with hunched shoulders, reflecting, if only I had not defied my father. There were just too many if's, I raked my hair forward again to shield me.

"I am proud of you, you know,"Noah's soft voice reached me. "Had this happened a year ago you would have broken down. But look at you, you can't be broken anymore."

I listened to him intently, hanging on to his every word, the weight on my shoulders unbearably heavy.

"You may not believe me, but it's true," He paused with a sad smile. "You are better than you give yourself credit for, and far stronger than you think,"

I whimpered quietly, trying to hang on to his words and keep the voices in my head at bay. He moved to stand beside me, leaning casually against a wall. Just then his phone chimed with a message, and he chuckled.

"Hey. Meeting in Principal's Rhazia's office now," He informed me, eyes watching my every move. I stood still, my eyes focused on nothing in particular as I tried to control my breaths.

"Paris is coming as well," He ended, now this I reacted to. I turned sharply and he grinned.

"Yoo! Don't kill the messenger. If she's the moon child, then she deserves to know."

I hunched forward again, battling between my desire to see her, and my need for solitude. I sighed.

"Alright, I'll be with you in a minute," I responded and he beamed.

"Alright, I'll see you in a minute," He parroted, and I humored him with a nod. Beaming at me one last time, he left.

Checking one last time to verify he truly left, I leaned forward with a hoarse cry emerging from my throat. The thought of the young vampire whose name I didn't even know had me dry heaving. He was going to be put down like an animal, just like I was, only this time, there would be no second chances. Falling to my hands and knees, I let my head hang with a sob on my lips.

"Weak!"A voice in me cried. "He cries for the youngling!" Another hollered. "Why? He cannot escape his own petrification any longer. That is also his fate," A raspy one cackled. "Give up young princeling, your fate has been drawn in the sands","About three voices melded together. "Shut up! Just shut up!" They shrieked again. "Set in stone!" More cried. "No no no no no. Stop! Just stop!" I cried, and they laughed some more. "Written in the stars!" They all howled, their voices melding into a cacophony of evil shrieks and dark howls.