There they were. Excruciatingly glorious, even without a host.
They mocked her barren back and felt more out of reach than ever before.
"Glass of wine to ease your grief?" Claymore raised the distraction to her face, and she snatched the glass out of his hands without a second thought. She'd never drank before but it felt appropriate, given her imminent demise.
Ele raised it to her lips and let the glass sit there, gathering condensation. The coolness felt soothing. When he poured himself some, he lifted it to make a toast and his words drowned in her ears. Until now, she always deemed herself a good listener. But she just didn't care anymore.
She grimaced when the nearly clear liquid hit her tastebuds. It tasted like how her perfume smelled. And sour, too. The taste didn't please her unsophisticated palate.
"Not to your liking? We have other options."
He turned and placed his glass on a small, round table that had a vase with sunflowers on it. She went up to brush her fingertips over the petals, thinking it a curious flower to have on display. There were much prettier ones in season now.
"Sunflowers are my father's favorite. He's kind of obsessed with faenixes, as you can tell." He gestured to her wings and she tried her best not to follow where he pointed. "If we had more time, I'd fill you in, but I can sense the nearby stench of a vampire and I have a duty to keep you safe. Unfortunately... I can't fulfill my promise of mating you. Although I see you've been marked since last we saw each other."
He downed his glass in a single gulp, then filled it again, this time with a red wine.
"This one is sweeter, I think you'll like it." Instead of pouring her another glass and wasting the wine in her current one, he took it and sipped that one empty as well. This man just wanted to forget what was to come.
It got refilled with the red one and the aroma pleased her senses. Sweet; like candy and honey. It went down easier but that sourness still lingered. When she made a face on the second sip, he winked.
"You get used to it." He ran a finger around the circumference of his glass and questioned, "Was it the Prince who marked you?"
She shook her head. Absentmindedly, she began stroking the mark on her neck and thought about Roman. Would Kaanan kill him now? A part of her heart pained for him.
"Interesting. Quite the busy girl." The more Claymore drank, the more hooded his eyes became.
Ele had seen her mother intoxicated by wine before... Not a pleasant experience.
Soon enough, the satyroid had finished not one, but two bottles of wine. The sight unnerved Ele, who knew what this liquid could do if consumed greedily. Then she thought back on the first night she encountered Claymore and his brothers. They had been drunk then too.
"Beautiful wings..." He mumbled while he stared at them in awe. "Beautiful girl. Mhm."
Now they turned to each other. He explored her body in detail while she just glared.
"We have time." When he strained that sentence out and stumbled her way, she dodged out of his reach. That only aggravated the brute.
"Oh, come on! Don't you wanna know what it feels like before you die?" His words came out harsh and she winced at their meaning.
All her life, she was told that act of mating is all a female had to live for. Her heart throbbed in her chest, her head swirled even though unaffected by the few sips of wine she took, and her muscles tensed to fight this male off. If it would be the last thing she did.
Claymore studied her readied position, and he tilted his head. "You think you rival me? How's that leg feeling?"
She balled her hands into fists and raised them in front of her, mimicking the stance she once saw her father take to fight off some bullies. All efforts may be in vain- But at least she'd go out with a fight.
He threw his head back and snickered into the air above him. Then he slowly brought his chin down, knowing she decided her doom. The sheer fact that she challenged him, rather than give up her innocence to him... Demonstrated her ignorance.
"Very well." Claymore grabbed the emptied wine bottle off the tabletop and rounded her. He danced circles around her, every so often he'd change directions, and she struggled to keep her footing when he did this.
After all she's been through this week... Bring it on. She suddenly stopped tracking him and let him come to her. He twirled the bottle in his hands and, with a wicked grin on his face, he brought it above his head and aimed to knock her out cold.
She braced to better absorb the force of the incoming blow by digging her heels into the ground and crossing her arms to cover her skull.
It never came.
"Impossible." Claymore's breathy voice made her eyes snap open.
Then she felt the impossible. Scorching heat set her shoulder blades aflame and caused black dots to appear in her vision. The fire in which her ancestors were created, the very flames that circulate through her veins, now consumed her entire being and beyond.
They engulfed the room and skirted around her feet, rising and falling to the tempo of her weighted breaths. A foreign feeling burdened her back muscles and made her drop to her knees. She wasn't afraid of the fire... Just of what it could do. She snapped her eyes to the sound of terrible screams, only to see Claymore overrun by the flames.
His face now charred and hardly recognizable. He crumbled to the carpet and curled into himself, shriveling into his final resting position.
Eventually, the fire died down and she was surrounded by ashes. The ashes of her rebirth.
Ele dared to turn her head to see her taut wings sprouting from her back. They felt different, yet familiar. Now that the dust settled, she saw the destruction she caused and didn't feel an ounce of regret.
Until she remembered Claymore and witnessed his burned remains.
Knowing she'd brought on his demise... She sucked the meat of her cheeks into her mouth and bit down; her face hardening along with her heart. The cruelty of the world had to stop shocking her.
She pushed herself away from the scene and went to the door, opening it slowly so not to draw attention. Claymore mentioned the arrival of a vampire. She had no doubt it was Kaanan.
When she crept into the hallway, the heavy door closed behind her and the tip of her left wing got caught under it. She forgot about the trouble of having wings that couldn't be absorbed into her back like Kaanan did with his. Thankful, still, that they had been restored.
She tugged and the action caused her to stumble back once her wing got free. The attempt to be silent failed as she backed into an art sculpture and knocked it over. The delicate ivory masterpiece shattered on impact.
The following seconds she remained frozen, biting her tongue and praying that no one heard. As time ticked on, she could feel her heartbeat change to match the agonizing tempo.
Once satisfied that nobody was coming, she carried on through the sole hallway to where she remembered the entrance to be. One way in, one way out. Unless... She paused when passing an open room and assessed it was empty before entering. There were numerous windows lining the furthest wall and she imagined they'd break, like glass does, with enough impact.
She fetched an ivory bust displayed on a side table and did a few practice throws to ensure it'd land where she wanted- Directly in the center of the window she stood in front of.
Wasting not a second more, she extended her arm back then propelled the bust forward and released it mid-throw. Instead of shattering the glass, the damn thing itself broke and the pieces came soaring back at her after bouncing off the fortified window.
It looked like...
Ele went up to the window, walking through the broken pieces of ivory without care of it puncturing her flats. She poked the window and absorbed the light shock of the magic that cloaked it. There would be no escaping this way. She had no choice but to get to the front door and pray that they didn't have ballistas that could shoot her down.
Now that she had her wings back, she treasured them more than ever. She vowed to die before they were ever taken from her again.
The sounds of footsteps running past made her press into the wall. Once they got far enough, she turned back into the hall and her pleas to her ancestors heightened.
.
.
"Kaanan, take a look at this." Sandros ushered both his brother and the King to look at what he discovered. The door had been slightly ajar, so he peered in to find the entire place, from the carpet to the walls, singed.
A deformed carcass of a satyroid remained.
When Kaanan walked in to get a better look, he recognized the burned face immediately. How could he forget the face of someone who hurt his beloved?
"This is the satyroid I released." He left out the part about doing so after maiming him. "As for the room... I don't know what could have happened but Ele isn't here so we keep searching."
The brothers nodded, and they continued on, checking rooms sporadically and listening for her. Kaanan had a keen nose for her scent, which helped. Everywhere he went it smelled faint but that new mark overpowered it. Damn his cousin.
"Their grand hall is coming up. Are we sure we want to attack now? We have no army." Sandros, the voice of reason, annoyed Kaanan who didn't want to hear it.
"If it starts a war, so be it."
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The noise alerted the three boys that they were no longer alone.
Taurean approached them from behind and appeared to be alone. He nonchalantly clapped at their bold display of heroism.
"Kaanan, you've returned to me at last. I knew you would." Taurean had made the faenix girl sing and her other half came to save her.
When Kaanan heard his name, his eye twitched and he suppressed his powers- He didn't need them to take down this scum. Taurean's sentence begged to be questioned.
"Returned?" Is all Kaanan mustered through the anger.
"Mm," Taurean nodded, gleeful that the boy bit onto the bait. "Did your false mother or father ever tell you about your origin? Or is the story telling all up to me?"
The confused look on Kaanan's face spoke volumes.
Taurean loved the turmoil festering. "I see. Would it be news if I told you that your mother had a miscarriage, prior to you?"
Of that, Kaanan knew. He shook his head to confirm such.
"And you know of your mother's willingness to do anything for her family? Even if it means blood has to be shed and heads have to roll... I always admired Wylda for that. That same tenacity became her downfall when she took part in a blood sacrifice in order to carry you."
Pieces of the puzzle began to lock into place. This smug satyroid exposed his father and mother for who they truly were- Desperate bloodsuckers. Something he already knew, but it went beyond that. His father, desperate for power. His mother, desperate for a family. They had gone behind each other's backs and sealed their fate.
"Little did they know, I orchestrated the entire thing." Taurean had a smirk on his face that just asked to be punched. Kaanan held back because he needed to know more. The distraction worked splendidly. "I provided my blood to the mage I hired. All he needed was Jyosith's and Wylda's to seal the deal. The demons that vowed to serve me and ensure my succession on the throne have come to fulfill their promise. They live in you."
"Those voices..." Kaanan gripped his head as he heard them roar from within.
"Yes!" Tauren laughed at his misery that had only begun. "Come fulfill your duty, make me King! Together we will obliterate the Sepulchre you know and love. Soon it will be mine to control. The councils will be no more."
When Sandros and Leon went to pull their friend out of the darkness, they were confronted by two formidable adversaries. Oxin and Davient came from the shadows to keep them away from interfering.
Nothing could stop the demons within Kaanan from surfacing now.