The Exiled King | ✔

Chapter 10 - Shared Blood

Halian Whiterose sat by the fireplace of his room, engrossed in a book. The firelight illuminated the otherwise dark room and although the curtains weren't drawn, the night was cloudy and any moonlight was obscured.

He didn't particularly need the firelight for illumination—certain perks of vampirism, he thought wryly—but he relished the warmth from the fireplace nonetheless.

It was an interesting read, but as he continued, he felt his attention gradually shift from the book to an odd feeling in his chest. It was reminiscent of the longing for blood that simmered under the surface, but it was different in a way he couldn't place.

Unable to continue reading, he set the book facedown on the table beside his chair, marking the page he was on, and stood up. Halian paced around his room listlessly, his confusion only growing as the uncomfortable feeling did.

He stopped at the window, then staggered and grabbed the wall as it felt like his heart was being pulled out of his body. There was a burst of green light and the feeling of free fall as a portal opened up underneath his feet and Halian dropped into it and saw it close before he plummeted through the darkness.

Halian thought he'd certainly die upon landing, but to his surprise, he was flipped upright and deposited into a soft... chair? He doubled over, gasping for breath and fighting the rising nausea.

What in the Abyss just happened?! He thought.

Slowly, he raised his head and took in his surroundings. It was a dimly lit hall with a large crimson, gold trimmed carpet running the length of the hall to the foot of an absurdly large staircase. Beyond, he could make out a large stained glass window and in front of it, a throne with a man seated in it, and to the side of the throne, another figure. Large pillars lined the sides of the hall, and between them were giant statues whose faces Halian did not recognise.

The man on the throne leaned forward and surveyed Halian with striking green eyes. Halian observed sunken and ashen skin that was in stark contrast to the long dark hair and black robes the man wore.

As he watched, the man on the throne turned to the red-haired figure beside him and uttered a few words quietly.

"Is he the one?" Halian heard him say, though the distance made him strain to hear what was said despite his enhanced hearing.

Almost imperceptibly, the red-haired man nodded, directing his gaze at Halian.

Something in Halian knew instinctively that the man that sat on the throne was not one to be trifled with, and fear kept his mouth shut even as a million questions raced around in his head.

The man on the throne stood up and walked down the stair steps, heading towards Halian.

"You need not be afraid," He said, "I always welcome vampires to my court."

Halian mustered up the courage to ask, and blurted out a pile of questions, "I- How did I get here? Who are you? Where am I?!"

In the blink of an eye, the red-haired man was beside them—Halian was now all but certain that this man was a vampire—and he got uncomfortably close to Halian.

Without looking at Halian, he addressed the other man, "I'll take over from here, Naag... if that's alright, of course."

'Naag' nodded, stepping away, then disappearing in a flash of light.

The red-haired man looked at Halian with conflicted eyes as he asked awkwardly, "Y-You're Halian, right?"

Halian nodded slowly, a frown on his face.

At Halian's confirmation, he knelt down so his eyes were level with Halian's and he said sincerely, "I'm sorry, Halian. I didn't know I turned you. I can't even begin to imagine how you must've felt."