Chapter Three

My dreams, however, were not what one would expect after falling asleep in such a luscious man’s bed. No, quite the opposite in fact.

I found myself in a cell, back in a land I knew all to well from a distant memory two thousand years ago. But it wasn’t six years past the birth of Christ, it was present day. I soon realized that more than just my dreams had taken me there.

I looked around the cold, dark castle dungeon, taking in the sulfuric scent that was all to familiar to me. At the base of the stone steps, not far from my cell, I noticed a tiny candle. In the flickering shadows cast upon the walls from that small flame, I saw a shape take form and I knew who it was instantly.

Sad eyes stared out at me from behind the tiny flame. Sad emerald green eyes, which I knew for a fact matched the color of her hair exactly, even though her hair seemed nearly black in the darkness. Large, bat-like wings erupted from her shoulder blades, with sharp talons at the spikes that could easily be used as a weapon.

She was dressed nearly the same as I had been earlier, when my power was released. Only her cords were the same emerald green as her hair and eyes. The only crimson to signify her royal status was in the elaborately designed band she wore just above the elbow on her right arm. The band was made entirely of emerald vines curling around her arm, with tastefully placed crimson flowers that held diamonds in the center.

Her crimson lips drew in a very slight smile as her eyes brightened like a child opening gifts. Those eyes met mine, and I felt my own smile, ever so slight, returning hers. Even after two thousand years, she was still my sister, and I loved her just the same.

“Anneliese,” I whispered, not daring much louder than a breath. Even the stone walls had eyes and ears that allowed my father to know everything that went on down here.

“Oh, dear sister of mine, how I missed you so. I am sorry I could not bring you somewhere more comfortable, but you understand well what would have happened if I had,” Anneliese replied, her singsong voice carrying across the room, though she barely moved her lips.

“I know, little one. Tell me, why have you risked summoning me here, now, after my powers have been stripped fully away?” I asked, my voice breaking, even though it was no more than a breath of air.

Tears glistened in Anneliese’s eyes and she took a step toward me. “Even with your powers stripped, you cannot survive as a mortal woman, this I know. They meant for you to die, dear sister. They want you to die in this weakened state you’re in, by not allowing you to feed as you must. I...I could not stand to lose you forever, I...” She fell silent, reluctance showing in her eyes.

“Tell me, Anne, what is it? Tell me before they know you have brought me here and punish us both!”

“You’re not going to like it, sister.”

I didn’t like much of what was going on, but if Anneliese had a way for me to survive, by gods I was going to take it. I put that determination into my eyes as I urged her on. “Whatever it is, it cannot be a fate worse than this.”

“I wish to give you the ability to drink blood like a vampire does,” she breathed meekly, afraid of my reaction. A reaction that would have been far worse if I had not already been taken so low.

I sighed, “You wish to make me a half-breed, you mean.”

Her eyes lifted in alarm, “No! No, dear sister. You will be demon still. You are already part vampire, I only wish to give you another way to feed! If you cannot take the essence from afar like you have done for the last two millennia, then you must take it through blood. You must replenish your energy,” Anneliese paused, glancing behind her, “Oh, there is no time! Father has already sent soldiers, they are on their way as we speak!”

Rushing to the front of my cell, Anneliese took my hands in hers. Power pulsed down her arms and into me, and for reasons I wasn’t quite sure, I suddenly felt as though a part of me was unlocked. A part of me that was always there, yet I had never known.

My night vision was far better than it had ever been, my sense of smell heightened to an entirely new level. I touched my tongue to my teeth and found razor sharp fangs. I stared into my sister’s eyes and knew that she had saved me in more ways than she could ever know. More ways than I had ever dreamed of. And all too soon, my sister faded from my view, and I was once again lying in Viper’s room.

Chapter to be continued...