A/N: Here's chapter 6! :D Hope you guys enjoy ;) Sorry if it's so short... and it might be confusing :/ All will be revealed! Promise <3
Chapter 6: Sibling Secrets
I cut right to the chase, my voice unsteady. "You...you're a Sinclair?" I pointed at Kira. Everything fit. Her backstory had revealed it all. Her mysterious tattoo... the 'S' stood for 'Sinclair'.
Gavin laughed at me. "Well, of course, she is. Kira Sinclair, this is Antoinette Drake."
"No freakin' duh, Gavin. You told me she was Robert's niece the other day." The vamp came closer, and I backed up. Gavin swiftly grabbed my wrist, stopping my escape in its tracks.
"I can't really see the resemblance, though," Kira admitted, then looked right at me. "Brother, she looks terrified."
I gnashed my teeth together in slight irritation, and pulled uselessly at Gavin's strong grip. "No... shit... "
"Why were you looking for me?" she asked, her eyes narrow. "Why, hunter?"
"Please... call me 'Toni'," I barely got out, my breathing short and hard, like I'd been running.
Close enough.
Kira didn't smile, but she nodded. "Why, Toni?"
"It's against the law to kill innocent people for no reason, that's why," I attempted to explain with a confident voice. "You can't just murder people."
"Why not?"
"It's wrong," I reasoned, my voice softening. Kira gave me a strange look. "Wrong? So, the people I killed were completely innocent?"
"I wouldn't say-"
"This is a new city for me," Kira pursed her lips at me. "I don't know your rules, and I don't understand them."
"That's why your brother needs to teach you better manners," I emphasized.
Gavin gave me a small, fanged smile. "Kira isn't a newborn."
"I understand, but that's not the point."
Since she was as old as Gavin himself, she must've been hundreds of years old. Hundreds of years not knowing about Henri. She was leading a lie, and she had absolutely no idea. Henri believed his sister was long dead, but she was right in front of me, beautiful and deadly. The perfect vampire, I guess.
I shook my head. "How did your parents and brother die?"
Kira's face hardened instantly, and she hissed at me. "I already told you, hunter. A fire. Our house was set on fire."
"On purpose?" I asked.
"No one knows," Gavin answered for his sister.
I bit my lip. "You don't know who caused it. Did your parents have any enemies that you knew about?"
"Why are you so interested in our family all of the sudden?" Kira snapped, her black eyes flashing to red for a few seconds in anger.
"I just-"
Maybe Henri would tell me about the Sinclair family. Then again, his sister was already a touchy subject as it was. Asking about the day his home had been destroyed and his family allegedly burned alive might be bad.
Okay, more than just bad.
Kira stared at me, into me, her blood red lips pressed tightly together. Tears never fell, but she looked as if she was dangerously close to crying. Was she mad at Gavin for turning her, or did she embrace the life of a vampire?
"You want to know the story?" Kira's broken words shocked me. The vamp pushed the hair that had fallen into her eyes and sighed. She looked ready to break down crying... even though vampires didn't cry.
They literally couldn't.
"What?" I murmured. Gavin had moved away, probably to stand in front of my only exit so I couldn't escape. I didn't care, and I certainly never thought twice about it. My curiosity was getting the better of my natural instincts.
Well, damn.
"It's not a happy story," Kira sighed, "but I'll tell you anyway."
I nodded, and she began:
"The Sinclair family was one of the richest in France - rich in power, that is. Back when me and my brothers were still alive."
Marianne Sinclair and her husband, Channing, had beautiful twins, nearly identical in appearance. The only difference between the brothers were the eyes: one had been born with brown eyes, the other blue. They were named Henri and Gavin.
A few years later, Marianne gave birth to their little sister. She was named Kira, which meant "sun" in Persian - a place Marianne longed to visit one day. Her daughter glowed like the sun, a ball of pure light, true to her namesake.
Kira's relationship with her brothers was fair; they teased her, so she teased them back. She loved both of them, but realized a wall between her two brothers. It didn't help that they had such opposite personalities. While Henri was gentle and considerate – especially towards Kira, Gavin was cruel and was constantly envious of the much-loved and the attention-given twin, Henri.
It would undo the family forever.
June 20th, 1365 – Paris, France
That day was a special day. It was Kira's 17th birthday; a day she'd been promised by her parents a grand party with extravagant gowns and delicious food. Almost everyone had been invited to the gathering.
Almost.
A few families had not been invited due to diffcult, mysterious circumstances; they'd been purposefully excluded from the event altogether. This included the Beauregard's.
"Wait, Giselle's family?" I cut in, eyes wide.
Kira nodded slowly. "Gavin's sire, yes." She continued, frowning: "The Beauregard's were as mysterious as they were dangerous. All because Giselle Beauregard was a vampire, and she'd taken an unexpected interest in my brothers. Both of them. It unnerved my parents."
Henri and Gavin never left Giselle's side, and they constantly fought for her attention. Henri was the perfect gentleman, while Gavin was wild, untamed and very much the unpredictable twin.
Both brothers fell for the seductress. They fell like an angel from heaven.
"Happy birthday, mon coeur," her Mother gushed, smiling brightly.
Kira was wearing a bright red dress, the color of fire. It fit her perfectly and brought out her beauty even more. Plus, it happened to be the color of the Sinclair's.
Henri and Gavin walked into the room, dressed formally and groomed to the best extent. Henri gave his sister a brilliant smile. "You look beautiful, Kira."
"Thank you, Henri," she murmured, blue eyes bright. Kira had always liked Henri better. He was kind to her, watched over her, and helped her when she needed it. Unlike Gavin, who treated her as if she were invisible. It tore at her heart from time to time.
"Are you prepared to greet your guests, mon coeur?" Mr. Sinclair asked, stepping into the room.
"Yes, Father, I am," Kira replied happily. She couldn't stop smiling. Tonight would be perfect.
A scream ruined everything. It came from downstairs. Shaken, the Sinclair parents raced toward the noise of sheer agony, leaving Gavin, Henri, and Kira in the master bedroom. Gavin went to follow his parents, but Henri stopped him, a firm hand on his shoulder.
Gavin's light eyes flared with clear anger. "What the Hell do you think-?"
"Stay here with Kira," Henri commanded, dark eyes as firm as the grip on his twin. Gavin's eyes widened, losing their anger quickly.
Kira watched her favorite brother disappear from the room. It was the last time she'd ever see him. Alone in the room with her brother, Kira was panicking inside. "What do you think is happening?" she asked, nervous.
Gavin went to look out the window. "It can't be good." He looked her way, noting her fearful expression. "It's probably just a-"
There was an explosion from downstairs, and the sound of screams followed. The noises shook the house, and Kira gripped her vanity mirror, which was vibrating. Light flashed outside, and Kira could see flickering flames lick the large window. Gavin was slowly backing away from it, his eyes full of absolute terror. Kira had never seen him so frightened. Dark, black smoke had obscured the sky's mellow sunset, and nothing could be seen.
Gavin turned toward his sister, but his eyes had fallen on the door to the bedroom.
Kira let a tear fall, leaving a trail of wetness down her cheek. She was scared. Terrified.
Gavin left her quickly and without a word. The girl was alone in the room, and there was no escape. Kira knew if she went downstairs, she'd burn to death. She couldn't go through the window; it was being blocked and the fall from this height would surely kill her faster than the smoke and flames.
"Fire... " she gasped for breath. "Help!"
The screams below her had stopped, and she worried that all of them were dead. Her parents, her two brothers...
Dead.
The door opened suddenly, and Kira stood up, eyes wide and terrified. Her caretaker, Mademoiselle Currier, stood hunched in the doorway, her face covered with black soot. She beckoned the young Sinclair closer. "We need to get out of here, child," she called, "before the house burns, and we with it."
"Where are my parents? My brothers?" Kira cried in desperate demand, grabbing the woman's warm hand and letting her guide the two of them to safety.
"Gone, my lady," Currier replied solemnly, not looking back at Kira.
Kira's heart broke in two; she couldn't stop the tears that ran down her tired face as her caretaker led her safely out of the burning home. Once in the cool grass of her front lawn, Kira watched in horror as her beautiful home burned, her family still trapped inside. Yes, she'd survived, but her Mother, Father, and two brothers had never made it out alive.
Kira felt sick to her stomach. She was alone in the world.
It wouldn't last.
"After a few years of care, Mademoiselle Currier left me as well," Kira concluded, her eyes no longer on me but somewhat distant, as she recalled the tragic memory. "After that, Gavin found me," she continued softly, tugging at her "Bite Me" T-shirt. "He wasn't dead, after all. I was so relieved. He told me we were the only survivors of the tragic fire. They'd found plenty of bodies," she gritted her teeth together, "including those of my parents and brother." She looked into my eyes, focusing on the present. "So, now you know, hunter. Are you happy?"
"Of course not," I managed carefully. "I'm sorry about what happened."
What I really wanted to now was why Gavin had lied about Henri to his own sister. I touched my forehead, trying to comprehend the story I'd just heard. "So, Gavin turned you when he found you?"
"He told me I could stay with him forever, side by side for eternity," Kira told me, giving me a small smile. "He has kept his promise so far."
"And you're okay with being a vampire?" I asked. "Are you happy or miserable?"
"I really hate to end this sentimental moment between you girls, but I did come here for a reason," Gavin drawled, coming up from behind me, smiling full-fang.
I swallowed.
This outta be good...
"Your uncle is returning tomorrow," he announced to me confidently, "and there'll be a party at my place. It'll be a welcoming for Kira as well as the clan's return." He leaned closer, scarlet eyes boring into me. "Say you'll attend and you can sleep easy tonight."
"Are you... threatening me, Gavin?" I gaped, blinking in shock. "You're never that open with your threats."
"Antoinette, you can't say 'no'. You're his niece and he wants you there."
I bit my lip, and shook my head, remembering his letter to me on Halloween. "No. I refuse."
"Don't be so difficult," Gavin pouted, eyes narrow. "You really want to refuse a master vampire?" I heard the obvious warning in his silky voice and winced. "Refusing your uncle won't make the matter of him turning you go away, Antoinette."
"I can always try."
"You do that."
I turned away from the vamp siblings. I was still shocked to see and meet Kira, Henri's supposedly dead sister. How would he take it when he discovered that she was a vampire?
Not well, was my grim assumption.
"It was nice meeting you, Antoinette Drake," Kira called to my back as I excited the club. "I hope to see you tomorrow. Maybe we can get to know each other."
Ha, so she wishes!
I turned around with a quick retort on my tongue but found that... damn it, they'd already disappeared.
Great.
Another mission done right tonight.
Well, more like shitty.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Vote + comment if you enjoyed, please ;) See you next time! <3 :3
Picture: The Sinclair siblings (Art by my friend, Angel ^^)
Song: Secrets by One Republic
*Follow me on Twitter @AuthorRJCity and like the Antoinette Drake, Vampire Hunter official Facebook page - all links found on my Wattpad profile!*
~ Fangs & Kisses ~