Chapter 1 Chapter One

Chapter One

Fire. Blood. Water. Elements. Weapons. Poisons. Me. I am all~ Lillyan Elyort.

Lillyan

The best hiding place is behind a blue castle, hands running through your man-servant’s hair, kissing and grinding against his body. The level of excitement that comes with it is a bonus, a plus.

“Don’t stop,” I whisper, letting my blue dress part to the side and giving him better access. He’s out of breath when he pulls away, eyes blazing with desire.

“What is it?” I demand.

“We should get back to the party, Your Highness. Today is your womanhood ceremony, and–”

His last words are swallowed into my mouth, and I grin when I pull away again.

“Who cares? I’ll be crowned nevertheless. I just need to have some fun. After I’m crowned, I will no longer have access to you,” my voice lowers, sadness washing over me and making my stomach clench. For years, I’ve hidden the relationship between Carlos and I quite well, making sure none of my siblings, or the sky forbid, my father knew about it. He’s my man-servant, and I can imagine my father looking at me with a disapproving gaze.

“You belong to Divinity, Lillyan. You’re a Moon goddess to-be. Mere mortals do not deserve you.” He’d say. And I’d kneel in front of him with a small smile, trying to win his favor again.

“Lillyan, please. You have to listen to me. After the ceremony, I’ll find you and we can finish what we started,” Carlos says, pulling me against his taut body that I love so much.

“On one condition,” I say, pretending to think, a mischievous smile teasing the corners of my lips. His brows lift up slightly, and he gently withdraws. I hold onto his arm, making sure he doesn’t get away.

“What?”

“Give me that drink you’re hiding in your pocket.” I demand, my hand going below his waist, into his pocket, and pulling out a small bottle with a purple liquid swimming within. I uncork it in a flash, and down its content. After sex, my favorite thing to do is drink.. That’s why my siblings don’t like me much. I don’t care though. Existence is too short to be prim and proper all the time.

“You son of the black sky,” I swear, giving Carlos a toothy smile. He doesn’t return the gesture. In fact, a strange expression has taken over his face, one I’ve never seen before. Or perhaps the drink is too strong, and I’m already seeing things. “How dare you hide alcohol from me?” I jab a finger at his shoulder playfully, and he hits my hand away.

“It is time, Lillyan Elyort,” I hear him say above the sudden ringing in my ears, my stomach feeling like it has been punched by a thousand needles. I want to ask him what he means. What time he’s talking about. And why he’s holding a saber in his hand, lips pressed into a thin line, eyes gleaming with an intense hatred. But my mouth doesn’t cooperate. I am drooling now, stumbling side to side.

“Listen to me, Lillyan.” Carlos says, a hard note carrying his voice. “Your father is in his chambers, getting ready for the ceremony. Your ceremony,” he sneers. My head is buzzing, and I can’t make sense of what he’s saying. He grips my hair hard—a beautiful and most prided part of my body. I give it a hundred brushes everyday—forcing me to look at him. Above the loud roars in my head, above the clench in my stomach and the lingering bitter taste in my mouth, it dawns on me. The purple drink wasn’t alcohol. And shoot…I am in danger.

“Let go!” I snarl—if the whiny sound that comes out of my mouth can be qualified as one. His hold is strong, and I am starting to see red.

“Take this saber, and go to your father’s chambers.” He orders, pushing the curved blade into my hand, and forcing me to keep still. I find my will to fight receding slowly, and I go quiet.

“Good girl,” I hear him say, and a foreign sound escapes my throat. I should be fighting. Yelling for help. My siblings will find me. And they’ll save me from this new Carlos.

“Go to your father’s chambers and kill him.” Carlos orders and my eyes go wide. I wait for panic to fill me, but to my horror, my legs move on their own accord, a dreamy haze enveloping my body. I nod consecutively.

“I’ll go to my father’s chambers. And I’ll kill him.” I mutter, swinging the saber. Somewhere in my mind, I’m screaming. I know I am. I feel like I’m watching everything play out as a bystander. Lillyan will never harbor the thought of killing her beloved father.

“After researching for so long, I found out that only a child of the Divine god can kill him. With a saber too. Who’d have thought?” Carlos claps, a deranged smile blurring his otherwise pretty facial features. I move towards my father’s part of the blue castle, meeting no obstructions on my way. The air of festivity lingers inside, everyone moving past, and paying me no heed. Or maybe they do, and brush it off.

‘Please stop me!’ I scream inwardly as a guard walks past in a hurry. ‘Stop me! He’s going to make me kill Father.’

No one stops me. My father’s door opens with no hesitation, as I place my thumb against the skull-shaped hole in the middle. The security lock recognizes me, my blood, and creaks open.

“Lillyan? Why aren’t you dressed yet?” My father asks as I walk in. His eyes soften as it usually does when he sees me. I can’t answer. I try to, but I can’t.

“Lillyan?” He calls out again, but I’m moving toward him with purpose, my blade swinging fiercely. I know the moment that he finally realizes what’s going on. He purses his lips, and takes a fighting stance. It’s useless. Right in this very dark-themed chamber, my father had transferred most of his powers to me, preparing me for my new role as the Moon goddess of the werewolf race below our planet. It is safe to say that I am as strong as he had been before. It’d take him a month to recover his powers, and unfortunately, that’s the very hitch that Carlos has banked on.

My eyes send the apology that my mouth can’t. The plea for him to stop me with all he has. To scream for help. I know my father wouldn’t. He’s too proud for that. The same proud expression stamps his face as I lop his head off.

The door creaks open and my brothers—three of them stern as ever—rush in, just as the charm clears off and I fall to my knees, tears raining down my cheeks in torrents.

“I killed him,” I whimper.

My older brother—Qylier— gives me one hard glare, chest heaving—then waves his hand. He’s the god of Vampires, and he’s as cold as his subjects, pale faced, and undead.

“I am disappointed in you, Lillyan Elyort,” he says, voice dripping with venom. I stare at my father’s body, unable to breathe properly.

“Seize her!” Qylier commands. “She’ll be tried before the Council for killing–” he pauses and gives my father’s body a fleeting look of pain. “–our father.”