Change is sweeping through the world, as humanity fights for autonomy, discord tears apart the foundations of the vampire order, and dhampirs return to the world after centuries of war between two powerful peoples. Dhampirs, creatures known to heral...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"We aren't here to hurt anyone, Ares Arc," Lorenzo said, shifting his long sky hair behind his shoulder. If the man meant to appear harmless, he should have considered not wearing war attire, a sleek ivory suit embellished with shards of ice to show his house. The man rarely wore such formalwear, so it was a statement on its own.
"Taking Phoenix from his father is harming someone!" Ares growled viciously as Lorenzo glanced at Phoenix. Against the wall, Phoenix hugged his pillow and remained side by side with Vincent. "The boy has no power, Lorenzo, and Neil and Silvia are more than capable of rearing their children. Nicholas has already told us of the dangers."
Negotiating with a vampire kidnapper would be fruitless except for the fact that Lorenzo was a man of reason. Vincent saw the hesitation as Lorenzo looked at the general of his closest ally. The Arcs and the Fleurs had become comrades in arms after Silvia had bridged the gap Vincent had created. This betrayal meant something to the man.
"I'm sorry, Ares, I really am. As much as I want to work this out without conflict, my opinion is biased by my affection for Silvia and her house. Fiorello is wiser than me and has dealt with this before, so I must follow his direction." Lorenzo's remorse was real, but it meant little when he was acting against it.
"I will kill you if you touch that boy!" Ares growled but it turned into a wine as Lorenzo's power tightened and he was thrown forward on his chin.
"I would never hurt Phoenix. Fiorello doesn't want to hurt the children, merely educate them and make sure the past doesn't repeat." Lorenzo took a step toward Phoenix, and the boy clutched the pillow so hard the seams ripped. Human as he was, he still had strength above what was normal. "Phoenix, come here." Lorenzo offered a hand, but the boy shook his head vigorously.
This was a hard decision for a child, considering Phoenix had spent time with the Fleurs as much as the other houses in the alliance. Phoenix knew Lorenzo was kind and gentle, but right now, he was holding Ares against his will and was here to take him away. They'd prepared Phoenix as much as possible to stay strong.
"No," Phoenix said defiantly, dropping his fear to lower his eyebrows and leer his crimson gaze at the man.
"Shit, that kid creeps me out," Asmodeus said, touching his face to ease the emotional agony. "The boy looks more like Vincent than he ever does Neil or Silvia."
"Asmodeus, the boy can't help his lineage. Don't frighten him," Lorenzo chastised before returning to Phoenix.
"We aren't here to hurt you, only take you someplace to learn about who you are. Do you not want to know who and what you are?" Lorenzo tried to appeal to what should have been childish naivety.
Phoenix was no fool.
"I'm not going with you. Grandpa says you're a bad man." Phoenix stamped his foot obstinately, and Vincent couldn't help his chuckle as Asmodeus withered further. Many knew that Phoenix resembled Vincent more than any other Arc, but with Phoenix's kind and calm disposition it wasn't as dominant. When Phoenix scowled, the boy was a mirror image of Vincent as a child.
