The King Of All Vampire Kings (Book 1) ✔️

|25|~A Mural of Tales ~

Edited.
Claire POV.

When we first walk into the library, I go rigid. The view takes my breath away, stopping me right in my tracks. There are rows and rows of books placed in beautiful and tall oak bookshelves all around me. Followed by several gold world globes, fancy gadgets, and ancient artifacts, it's a room filled with antique treasures.

I'm totally stunned. And my heart skips a beat when I stare up at the ceiling. A mural of different events throughout history is painted above me, stretched in between each part of the vaulted ceiling. The artist did an amazing job. He or she has truly taken the time to create and tell the stories, as they are all told in great detail.

There's portraiture, of a very fair fiery red-headed woman. She's wearing gold armor and a golden crown, slaying her attackers with a golden sword.

She was a queen, fighting alongside her men. They conquered their enemies by an ocean that held at least a hundred ships. The queen was victorious. Her crown was secure.

There is another story on the left side of the arch, about a man who fought with great skill. In the end, he was defeated on a smoky battlefield, left to bleed to death.

He has inky-black hair and chilling ice-blue eyes that are strikingly similar to Xander's icy irises. Over the top of the man is a boy whose skin is as white as snow. He has glowing red eyes and sharp pointy fangs. The boy isn't a boy at all; it is a vampire in his true form.

The vampire boy's fangs are plunged into the human man's skin, leaving a trail of red blood in his wake. I study the green paint that is used for the grass as it smears faintly with the red paint that creates blood. The artist painted the perfect picture with a swish of his paintbrush, somehow managing to express the pain that came along with this story.

My favorite part of the mural is the section that I can relate to the most, the Awakening. This portion of the painting puts my species' reality on full display. There is a beautiful girl with chestnut hair and coffee-colored eyes. She's the most attractive female I've ever seen. There is something wild and gentle about her, blending together as one.

She is standing over top of a man holding his heart, which she suddenly crushes and red paint slowly drips down. The man stands to his feet and walks into a room with four scary vampires and a raven-haired man sitting on a throne. He leaves with another man on a horse and eventually meets up with six more. The men ride together on the day when the sun is covered. They take millions of humans. They rip off seven men's heads after countless days of torture. I'm quickly able to identify that the men with no heads were our human world leaders.

As the story goes on, you see humans painted with a rainbow of colors, and their offspring are born in silver chains. My generation. Humans running for their lives are blended with Irish-green and electric-blue paint. The eclipse swallows the sun, burning yellow and swirling to life, with jet‑black ink. A cage of werewolves and other creatures is the highlight of the story. They are all locked away with eight vampires holding the keys with smiles on all of their faces. The kings.

My emotions run wild and my heart rate increases by the second. The detailed colors bring each story to life. I can feel the mood behind the brush, the feelings of the artist. There's a deep connection. I can't explain it, but it's there. I know for certain that the artist was excited, thrilled, and satisfied while painting the Awakening portion of the mural. My species's downfall brought forth happiness with each stroke.

That fact gives me chills. I shake my head and continue to admire the work of art. To be honest, the artist did a fantastic job of capturing the viewer's attention. The blend of colors running together forms a horrific reality that captivates me. Every painting makes me feel like I lived during those times, experiencing each story with my own eyes.