Devotion

Chapter 30

Ashley

I could see her face turning pale as she looked through the book. Whatever she saw must be either evil or challenging to adjust to. She took a few more minutes looking through the book before she looked at me. Her eyes filled with worry. 

"Are you sure about this?" she asked, somewhat doubtful. She had doubted herself since she had spent years without her powers. She wasn't confident in her powers, but I do not doubt she would excel far more than others. 

"Yes, you need to get into the habit of controlling your powers," I said as I approached her. To normal vampires, this book was nothing but trash. All the pages were blank, but for my younger cousin, it was covered in spells and legends about her power. Five hundred thousand years ago was the era of the vampires whose eyes changed colors based on their mood. They were believed to have a particular power, each unique to their personality. A special dance that could either kill or heal, but it all depended on them. Since then, no one knows what happened to them, but they only left a small note. 

+

Summer of the Solstice

It was the festival of the summer solstice, a day when every kingdom rejoiced over harvest, the monarchy, friendships, and lovers. Standing at the heart of my kingdom, Whisperwood, all my subjects were dancing their hearts out. 

"Long Live The King and Queen," they yelled. My parents were always content with helping their people. They never sheered away from those suffering from poverty. We always did the best that we could to provide for our subjects. 

Walking through the village where this summer solstice took place, my eye gleamed towards a group of people reading something. They all seemed intrigued and were discussing about it. I approached them. I enjoy occasional reading, and I'm always happy to take recommendations from my people. 

While approaching them, they looked at me with a bright gleam and excitement. Before I could ask, one of the boys approached me. "You're related to Princess Aurora, right?" he asked, giving me a mischievous grin. 

"Yes, why?" 

"Her Royal Highness is the strongest woman! She has color-changing eyes and legend states that those with that form bear a power so strong that it can either kill or protect" he said.

I won't deny that what he claimed caught me off guard.  It's not every day that your own subjects claim such weird things, but this is my younger cousin we're discussing about. During my early education, my professor did mention something about it, but I always thought it was just pure myths, but it all changed when Aurora was born. 

The moment she came out of her mother's womb, it was evident that she radiated with such immense power that hasn't been felt for centuries. The terrifying ancient power flowed through me, and I knew that I needed to do whatever it took to protect her. 

+

Aurora's eyes grew wider by the second. I wanted to ask her what she saw, but I didn't want to scare her. She looked towards me with a pallid face as her finger trembled against the pages. "The note," she mumbled, terrified. Personally, I never knew what was in the note. 

She kept her gaze towards me and sighed. Walking towards me, she handed me the book with a small nod and turned towards the roses. The three of us stared at her intensely as she grabbed to roses and began to dance. 

It was a dance that I had never seen before. Her arms rose gently as she twirled around. The roses in her hand began to glow with power, such intense power. I swallowed my fear as she did one final twirl before facing the three of us. She was pointing the roses at us and we saw her eyes shimmer with an intense gold before changing rapidly to different colors. 

Her power blossomed through the entire underworld with such warmth spreading. My mind began to drift, wondering what specialty she contains, but before I could ask, her face became blank as her power lifted her in the air. 

It began to change her, transforming her hair to a deep shade of blue and her eyes were still changing. She carefully walked towards me with her hand extended and I hesitated. I wasn't sure if it was safe for me to take her hand, but something inside me said yes. 

I took her hand as she began to whisper a small spell and her power coursed through my body. The roses that she had were now petals swirling around me as I was engulfed in her power. What warmth... Before I drifted to sleep.