Left to die, on ground you lie,

  Pay no mind, to whom am I,

  Rest well and do not dwell,

  Past is the life you lived.

  Rest well and do not dwell,

  Past is the suffering you felt.

  Rest well and do not dwell.

  Rest well.

  I am going batshit insane. Literally.

  “And this is why you can’t have nice things with women around, Your Grace,” Stevin said from beside the fire we’d built in some random cave after walking the whole damn day.

  The problem between Enna and Airina had come out of nowhere, like a competition had sprung up between them the moment we left the village.

  The reasoning? Unknown. The cause? No clue. The solution? If I figured that out, I’d deserve a Nobel Peace Prize.

  “What is wrong with you, Priestess?” Airina taunted, spitting out Enna’s Road as if it were an insult.

  However, judging by how quickly Enna’s face went red, it was a pretty effective one.

  “You pointy-eared freaks and your sly tongues,” Enna hissed. “Why is it that I only meet bastards lately?”

  I coughed, unsure why I had just been hit by a stray.

  “Not you, Your Grace,” she added in a panic.

  “Oh…” I cleared my throat.

  Truth be told, now was that perfect time I could have stepped in, could have tried to calm them down, but I didn’t.

  I was exhausted. Sick and tired of their endless fuckery. From youngest to oldest, every single one of these people excelled in two things: fighting and annoying me.

  And somehow, they managed to combine those talents into a constant fight for supremacy to see who could make me kill myself first.

  At this point, the idea was getting tempting. So I stayed quiet.

  Maybe if I didn’t feed the fire, they’d burn themselves out, and I might actually get to rest for once.

  But of course, that’s exactly when another problem decided to make itself known beneath my clothes.

  Relia, the actual Vampire, was getting hungry.

  Which meant that unless these idiots calmed down soon, I’d have to leave the cave and wander deeper into the forest just to find her something to eat or at least allow her to suck me…

  ‘Apologies, Julia. I didn’t mean it like that. Not like that. Please don’t smite me. It’s just blood. Only blood. Yes… Good. Glad we’re clear.’

  [Was the ‘Subject’ addressing Ephe?]

  ‘Mind your business. I was talking to my wife,’ I snapped back internally.

  [Wife?]

  [Initializing Stability Check.]

  [Subject: Elio Welchia.]

  [Mental State: Deteriorating.]

  [Possibility of Auditory and Visual Hallucinations: 8%.]

  [The ‘Subject’ Needs Rest.]

  Ignore the sass machine; she never tells me what I want to know, only what she thinks I need to know.

  Now… where was I? Ah, right.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  I needed to either find Relia a beast she could drain for blood and essence or offer her my own. Either way, it had to happen outside, far from the eyes of these weirdos.

  “Your Grace?” Stevin asked, snapping me out of my spiral.

  I turned toward him, waiting for him to speak. When ten seconds passed without another word, seeing him hesitating, I asked. “What is it?”

  “Can I take a few minutes of your time? Outside?” He pointed toward the cave entrance, expression suddenly serious.

  I swear, if it’s some bullshit, I will separate his entire being.

  “Lead the way,” I groaned, pushing myself up.

  The angry women turned to look at us as we moved, curious and suspicious. I ignored them, sacrificing Stevin to be the one to explain it to them.

  Outside, the forest was breathtaking, otherworldly, serene, healing in ways my soul desperately needed. Julia would have loved it.

  “Ain’t that right, love?” I muttered quietly, without even realizing it.

  Naturally, someone who was not my love heard me.

  “Did you say something?”

  “No, Stevin,” I sighed, unable to enjoy the view any longer. “Let’s move, and it better be worth it.”

  A few minutes later and about three hundred feet from the cave, I stopped. Watching as fireflies danced between the trees and all around us, glowing a lime green, painting the darkness with their beautiful lights.

  “Your Grace,” said Stevin, stopping by my side, watching the same view. “In two days, we will be out of the forest and past the borders of the Ashtara Kingdom.”

  “So I’ve heard,” I nodded, aware of the distance left.

  “My family, my House, is a bad one, a corrupt one, with too much influence and economic might,” he began. “Making it a threat to the Royal Family and their rule.”

  “That’s how it usually is, yes,” I replied. “The Royal Family feels like it's losing grip on power, while your House feels like it grabs whatever they let go of.”

  “Yes,” he walked toward the firefly tree, continuing to speak in the meantime. “Which means that we have enemies on the outside, wanting us dead. A thing that I wanted to change once I become the Lord of the House. But…”

  “But the rest of your family wants to maintain the power struggle,” I completed the sentence for him.

  He shook his head, “Worse. They want more. They want to rebel, claim independence for themselves.”

  “And you are in the way,” I sighed, finally looking at him.

  “‘Maintain control over the House, if you want control over your life,’ said my father to me before all this had happened,” Stevin explained, placing a hand on the trunk of the tree. “He didn’t get involved besides that. He wanted me to be the one to do the killing, to clean the House that I would one day rule. But I couldn’t, Your Grace. I couldn’t kill my cousins with whom I grew up. Kill my uncles who took me hunting, fishing, and trained me, or my aunts who cut off my hair, told me stories, and taught me how to woo women. I couldn’t kill them… but they would kill me.”

  Well… this is awkward.

  Not in the heartless sense of awkward. I pitied the boy. Unable to imagine what I would have done in such a situation.

  But there was no word of wisdom I could give him that would inspire him, make him feel better, or offer him the support he might have wanted from me.

  I was an orphan, after all. But, perhaps, that was my advantage on the matter.

  “You know,” I said, stepping beside him. “I never knew my parents.”

  “Your Grace?” he asked, confused.

  “I never knew any family,” I continued. “Not their faces. Not their voices. Not their love. So I can’t understand your pain. But maybe that’s why I can tell you this: A family like that is no real family. Family means more than blood. More than names. And as easy as it is to find family in strangers, it’s just as easy to discard those who betray what family means to you.”

  Stevin nodded slowly.

  “That’s why you don’t need to worry,” I said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll keep to the plan. And if things go south… you can come back with me.”

  ...

  Oh no...

  His shock twisted into a grin far too quickly.

  Fuck me... Why did I get emotional? Why did I say the exact thing he wanted to hear? Look at that smug, punchable face.

  “Haha!” he shouted, sprinting back toward the cave. “I DID IT!”

  “You dog-eating bastard,” I hissed, raising a hand as if to throw the Law of Separation at him.

  Of course, I didn’t.

  “I’ll hold you to your word, Your Grace!” he laughed, jumping like an idiot.

  I sighed, feeling my sanity crumble. “Just go back. Tell those two crazy arachnids I’ll be there soon.”

  “Yes, sir!”

  And he disappeared into the darkness.

  “That was something,” a voice chuckled from inside my cloak as a shadow peeled free and took Relia’s form.

  “I forgot you were here,” I groaned.

  “Quite the weird bunch of minions you’ve got,” she said. “Charming, in their own way.”

  “Just get on with it,” I sighed, tilting my head sideways. “I’m tired.”

  She grinned, fireflies dancing over her hair, turning her white into shimmering green.

  “Don’t mind if I do,” Relia said, gliding toward me.

  Well, I mind. But that’s not going to stop you, is it?

  Nope. There goes my blood.

  By the time I returned to the cave, the bickering had died down. Everyone stood in their own corners like punished children.

  Good. I wasn’t complaining. I went straight to the always-comfortable stone floor, closed my eyes, and let sleep take me.

  Until Ephe jolted me awake.

  [Warning.]

  [Several Lifeforms are Approaching the ‘Subject’.]

  [Intent: Unknown.]

  Can someone lend me a Glock-19? No? Nobody? Not for them, haha. For myself. No?

  Well, fuck you all.

  “Everyone, wake up,” Enna, who was standing guard, whispered just as I opened my eyes. “People are approaching.”

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