A Vampire's Pride

Game plan

Viola's POV

I can hear the crackle of the fire outside as the guards post at their stations. At any point in time war can be triggered by the conflicts in these dimensions— by the prophecy. I know that by now, Atticus has the prophecy engraved in his head. He recites it over and over again for me, seeing if anything will strike a cord in my mind as I write the passage down.

          "War and destruction will be abrupt when-
        Ice and flame paired one in the same.
       Cold blooded killer, might be ruin- might fulfill her.

        Darkness to the light, Illuminates sight.
Grave and stone, down to the bone-
Mayhap and wonder, those who go under.
Reluctant paths, seize the maps.
Save the war, with the spirit of the door.
Only those who go in will find their true kin-
Dark and light, those who must fight.
Join the war, with the element- Amor.

           My eyes flicker over the parchment that I'd scribbled the prophecy down on. How many times have I heard about those sentences? How many times have I felt boggled and lost over words that were formed to make riddles? I take an ink quill and snort at the antique feeling of the entire camp. It looks as if this dimension is stuck in the past— yet with a touch of modern in Atticus's castle. His kitchen and indoor plumbing was proof of that.

I circle the second sentence of the prophecy, 'ice and flame paired one in the same'. I add an arrow connecting it to an empty spot of parchment and write down Claire's name. I take my time curving the 'C' elegantly, and then I sloppily scribble my name in a rushed manner.

"I think that one was obvious." I mutter as Claire gives me an accusing glance.

"Not for all of us." She responds as I grin apologetically.

"It's not like I was just going to barge in the castle and announce that I also have powers." I say apologetically. I bite my lip as her eyes narrow at me.

"Powers that are essential to understanding the prophecy— oh, and not to mention that you're also in danger of them taking over you!" She points as I glance at the piece of paper again.

"It says war and destruction will be coming as soon as we get together. Does it mean get together like meet or like bond?" I say, scratching my chin. "They really should've been descriptive with this bloody prophecy." I roll my eyes as Atticus chuckles.

"Well technically it says 'paired one in the same'. So maybe we can morph into a type of creature or something." Claire's eyes grow alight with mischief as I shudder at the thought of not being the only person in my body.

"God, I hope not." I retort as she smiles at me.

           "There's a million different ways that the prophecy means 'paired', and it'll always surprise you in the end." Atticus murmurs while giving Claire a fiercely passionate look. My eyebrows shoot up as I watch Claire smile shyly up at him.

          "Just make a baby already." I mutter, glancing back down at the prophecy with humor in my eyes. I hear Claire laugh as I continue to dissect the script.

          "Cold blooded killer, might be ruin— might fulfill her?" I say aloud, tapping the quill on the table in wonder.  "Oh that's why there's no baby yet." I remark as I watch Claire roll her eyes just as I had done a minute ago.

           "Well, there's a new addition to this equation." She says as me and Atticus furrow our eyebrows. "Viola likes a certain demon.. that part of the prophecy might not be about Atticus and I at all." She clarifies as my eyes widen. Could that be true? I shake my head in denial, feeling redness creeping up neck.

"I like nothing, he's too arrogant and honestly evil. No ruining over here." I say quickly, feeling mortification of my memories. I can still feel the brush of his strong arms around my waist, connecting our hips in his tent. The way his lips caressed mine— lighting a fire in me that I couldn't explain. How his hand gripped my throat, eyes clashing with mine as he gazed at me in an intense manner. I clear my throat as those memories surface, averting my eyes downward.

"Nothing is happening there." I clarify strongly as they look at me with doubt. I can see that they don't believe me, their eyes show everything.

"Okay." Claire sings, pointing down at the prophecy.

"So moving on— 'save the war with spirit of the door'? So is he an essential piece in helping us save the war?" She asks as she skips some sentences in the prophecy; the ones we don't have a clue about yet. I frown as I recall the memories in Kilians mind, the ones of his father abusing him, teaching him to be what he is today. Evil and heartless. 'But he does have a heart' I remind myself swiftly as my pulse quickens.

"No. He's no good, he's a demon. Maybe we have to kill him or something— or maybe we have to go through him to save the war, I'm not sure. But don't trust him." I warn with a frown, skimming over the rest of the prophecy. Nothing else sticks out to me, so far we only really understand a couple sentences, but a couple is enough to find my father.

I flip to the next page in the grimoire, hoping to find the location of Settrinos. I freeze as I stare into the red eyes of Kilian, and his smirk that can melt me into a puddle at any moment. The smoldering embers in his eyes appear to actually be alight as his dark hair falls onto his face. I glance at the text underneath the picture, not daring to breathe.

'Prince Kilian Vergio, next in line to the throne. Cold blooded killer, dealer of Stone.'

"Cold blooded killer." Atticus reads aloud as I shudder. I close my eyes swiftly, feeling the room start to spin. My heart starts to skip as I think I'm going to be sick.

"Nope." I breathe out. "That part of the prophecy is about Kilian and I."

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