Primous Rising [Book 1 of The Unravelling series]

2. Celestiana

"We've come so far, I will not return. At any cost," Celestiana firmly responded.

Nikolus nodded, "Good. Now listen carefully, you're going to leave your car here. There is a small human base city a short distance away. It won't take you long to reach there on foot. Celest, you must shapeshift and not even by accident let it slip. Also, change that human's face too," the Lord beckoned to Elliot.

He rolled his eyes, his fingers slightly tightening around Celestiana's waist. Hatred swam in his features.

Celestiana didn't require magic to sense the thick tension. In a world run by supernatural beings, often 'human' was used as an insult, and she couldn't blame Elliot's reaction. But at the same time, Lord Nikolus wouldn't revise his habit that dated over millennia, and she knew that. So she kept quiet, hoping to avoid conflict, and rolled up her brown blouse's sleeves. On the bright side, she'll be rid of this hideous brown coloured shirt. Nikolus had insisted her to wear something commoners wore, or as she would put it, ugly, to not attract unwanted attention. Vibrant colours were specified for high borns.

"After reaching your destination, a friend of mine will receive you at night. He'll help you out of here and you'll head South, to Liberty Kingdom's lands. You know the rest," he finished.

"Is he a vampire too?" Elliot questioned with distaste.

Lord Nikolus's features hardened, his bow-shaped lips pressed into a thin line as he held Elliot's gaze. His jaw set, thin red rays emitting from his pupils began swirling in his glowing emerald eyes.

"I don't understand. How can you entrust our future and fate into his hands, Cel?" he exclaimed, stepping aside from her and throwing his hand in the air.

"Elliot," she warned. The last thing they needed in their lengthy list of troubles was an angry lord.

"Have you forgotten? Nikolus is a vampire. And no one has ever been able to trust these monsters unless they've lost the desire to live," he proclaimed.

"You need to stop," Celest told him in a firm tone, her hazel eyes begging him to put an end to this madness.

"What makes you count on him? Why are you so sure he won't throw us back to them to claim the reward? He's one of them," he raged on.

From the corner of her eye, Celestiana noted the red in the Lord's eyes growing.

"He could be worse than them, setting a trap. He might be a bigger monster tha-"

"That's enough, human," Lord Nikolus cut him short, his voice echoing in the vacant mountainside.

Celestiana held her breath. The three months she had spent in that glorified prison hole had given her an overall impression of the rumours. One that all the servants never tired from sharing was Lord Nikolus's fury. She wanted to interfere, to prevent matters from getting out of control, but her lack of experience stood tall as an unbreakable wall, preventing her from making a move.