Dark Paradise: Book 2

Chapter 4: Kill Or Be Killed

Boldu-creteasca Forest, Bucharest, Romania.
23rd May 2018

“There you are, buddy” Vivaan heard a familiar voice behind him the next morning as he stood outside the entrance of the palace. He smiled knowingly, before turning around to face his long-time friend Nikolai Milan. He was quickly pulled in for a hug by Nik.
“Good to see you man” Vivaan grinned, patting Nik’s back as they pulled away.
Nik hadn’t aged a day. It had been almost 30 years that Vivaan had last seen him. And he still didn’t look a year older than 25. Well, everlasting youth definitely was an advantage for them.
He was a tall, lean man, with a warm beige skin tone, far set grey eyes, thin lips and straight dark brown hair.
“I’m sorry again, I couldn’t come to pick you at the airport. You had to deal with all of it alone. But clearly, you’re still here, so I’m assuming you must’ve passed the first stage” Nik said, smirking at Vivaan.
“Clearly. You know people just cannot resist my charm. Not even the Vampire King” Vivaan whispered leaning in, with a confident glint in his blue eyes.
“Don’t say that out loud here, you’ll be dead before you even blink” Nik laughed.
After a few minutes, Nik led him towards the lawn area where the match was going to be held. Vivaan watched many other vampires dressed in a particular black uniform, gradually occupying the lawn area, learning, training and practicing their skills with each other. Vivaan’s mouth slightly fell open when he saw how versatile their skills were.

“That is where you’ll be fighting today” Nik pointed out towards the left side of the ground.
“Do you have any idea who my precious Mr Opponent is?” Vivaan asked, trying to sound casual but he was far from it.
The confidence he had tried to pump himself with last night was now draining, bit by bit.
“Well, I’m not supposed to disclose that to you. Protocol and all. But since you’re my friend, I’ll break it. It’s Vladimir Parker. He’s a 2-” Nik was cut off.
“A 250-year-old vampire” Vivaan completed, without waiting for Nik to finish.
“You know him?” Nik asked, surprised.
“He’s 50 years elder to me. Stronger than me. Shouldn’t I get someone equal?” Vivaan frowned, not answering Nik’s question.
“It was Rehaan’s selection. And we don’t get to question the authority. And you, my friend, should know better than to expect fairness from a place filled with ruthless, dead people” Nik sighed.
“Safe to say that Rehaan’s not a fan of me” Vivaan said after a few moments of silence.
“Did you do something to piss him off?” Nik teased, earning a glare from Vivaan.
“No. I didn’t. I’ve been on my best behaviour from the moment I stepped foot in Romania. I haven’t even been sarcastic to anyone. Do you know how difficult that is?” Vivaan huffed.
“Yes, of course. It is such a difficult task” Nik said dramatically, shaking his head.
“Yes, it is” Vivaan said, unamused. Nik laughed.
“But, on a serious note. The King might be easy to impress but not his brother. Rehaan doesn’t trust easily. He is a wise man. Azaan on the other hand, not so much. But let me tell you, once you get on the king’s bad side, even the devil himself cannot save you from his wrath. Rehaan is a little more noble. Trust me” Nik revealed.
“Is there anyone in the Malik ‘Clan’ who is NOT dangerous and a threat to my life?” Vivaan asked, a little frustrated.
Nik chuckled as Vivaan sat on one of the benches. He followed suit. There was still time for Vivaan’s match.
“Nope” Nik replied, looking ahead.
“There are two more, right? A sister and another brother. I haven’t seen them yet” Vivaan asked, curiously. He knew that there were four of them.
“The youngest brother is Sameer Malik. He doesn’t live here anymore. Nobody knows where he is. He was never interested in all of this kingdom business. He never wanted it. He abandoned them a long time ago and fled. But he shows up sometimes, once or twice in a century. And about the sister…” Nik stopped suddenly and Vivaan turned to look at him. Nik was blushing.
“What about the sister, Nikolai?” Vivaan gave him a know-it-all smirk. He knew there was a story there.
Nik cleared his throat and looked away.
“Well…her name is Inaaya. Inaaya Malik. She lives here, in the palace” Nik spoke carefully.
“Come on, Nik. Get it out. I know you want to” Vivaan chimed, beaming at him like a Cheshire cat.
Nik knew there was no use trying to hide something from Vivaan so he gave up.
“Fine. I’ll tell” Nik said, raising both his hands up in defeat.
“Smart choice” Vivaan said, triumphantly.
“Inaaya…now where do I even begin. She is one of the most beautiful women in Romania. She is a vision, really” Nik said, in a dream dazed state.
“Man, you’re smitten. Are you in love or something?” Vivaan asked, raising an eyebrow.
“We love a lot of things, Viv, not necessary that they’re worth loving” Nik said. He sounded sad.
“Care to share?” Vivaan asked, softly.
Vivaan sure felt a little guilty for asking that question. He was fishing for information, that was the truth. He cared about Nik; He really did. But Nik was also his key, his only way to get closer to the Maliks’. Vivaan had no choice but to use his old friend. Moreover, Nik had no clue about his real motive behind coming to Romania. But over the years, Vivaan had learned that great things needed sacrifices. Unfortunately, Nik was one of them.
“Well, nobody really knows about this so keep it to yourself” Nik warned, facing him. Vivaan nodded, trying to look sincere.
“As you already know, I’ve been working for the Council and the Maliks’ for the past 6 years. And it is no lie that I was naïve in my initial days here. I was just a beginner in the training stage. It had been 3 months here for me when I met Inaaya for the first time. She had just come back from her trip to Paris. And trust me, I was head over heels. I had never seen such a beauty. She was different from all the women I had previously encountered. She was confident, powerful, alluring and very intelligent. I was naturally pulled towards her. But I was also aware that she was royalty and I was basically nobody, a trainee who was barely noticeable. But to my surprise and utter shock, she did notice me. In fact, it was she who approached me, talked to me for the first time. I thought it was a random, one-time thing but it never stopped. And after a few more months, I thought she liked me too, just the way I liked her…no. I loved her.” Vivaan didn’t miss the lingering bitterness in his voice.
“She and I, well, we were very different from each other. And I was never too sure about what she felt for me. But me being me, a selfless, love-struck fool, never asked her anything. I was happy with the way things were going. I didn’t want to ruin it. Things escalated and we started sleeping together. But I wanted it to be more than that. And I was sure we both could have something more. But it all went down the drain a year later, when I was offered a position in the council. Rehaan was impressed with my progress. He trusted me and wanted me to start working in the Council” Nik said, shaking his head.
“I was so happy that day. But sadly, Inaaya wasn’t. She accused me of ‘pretending’ to being in love with her only because she was the king’s sister. She said that I was trying to sleep my way to the top. That I had used her to get in the good graces of her brothers and reached the council. I tried telling her that I genuinely, had feelings for her, I really loved her, she had nothing to do with my ambitions for the council but she didn’t believe me. She ended whatever we had and moved on so fucking quickly, like I had never meant anything to her to begin with” Nik scoffed, looking away.
Vivaan couldn’t help but feel bad for his friend. He found himself being able to relate to Nik’s situation to a certain point. All his life, he had been misunderstood by people, even the one’s who were closest to him. And then being abandoned by the person you loved; Nobody deserved that. He couldn’t imagine what he would do if Samara ever left him hanging like that.
“Wow. She doesn’t sound as great as you had described her earlier” Vivaan muttered.
“That’s not true, Vivaan. She had her reasons to do what she did. She has been living for the last 700 years. Countless men have deceived her in the worst ways possible for their personal gains. She has been used, deceived and left heartbroken so many times that she has lost faith in love. That is why she thought I was just another one of them and I failed to convince her otherwise. But I don’t blame her. She was just trying to protect her heart, Vivaan. The only thing is that she didn’t realise that she had broken mine in the process” Nik defended her.
Certainly, Vivaan understood Inaaya’s point of view as well. He himself had closed off his heart for years and years. He never let himself fall in love with anyone until her. Samara.
“Well, love’s overrated anyway” Vivaan shrugged, trying to lighten up the situation. Nik chuckled.
“The day you meet the girl you’ll fall for; you’ll understand what love is. Believe me” Nik said.
“We’ll see about that” Vivaan mumbled. He didn’t have to wait for the day. He knew exactly what love was.
Nik was about to say something but stopped when they felt a small commotion in the lawn area. All the training vampires had stilled and fell silent. They were all standing in an upright position.
Vivaan shot a questioning look to Nik and Nik motioned his head towards the north area of the lawn. He saw the king and Rehaan heading towards the main ground area.
Vivaan noticed that Azaan always wore casuals, like jeans, jackets and shirts. And Rehaan always wore formal suits. They were far too different to be brothers. But even after Rehaan’s sophisticated dressing which was suitable for a king, there was still something about Azaan that made him stand out. Even with casuals, he looked like an Alpha. The king.
“It’s time” Nik murmured. Vivaan looked down at his watch. It was 11:00 am already. It was time for his match.
Nik and Vivaan slowly made their way towards the main area where Azaan and Rehaan stood. Azaan smirked at Vivaan as they approached them.
Nik bowed slightly before them and they acknowledged him with a nod.
“Ready for the battle, I see” Azaan commented looking straight at Vivaan.
“As I’ll ever be” Vivaan replied firmly.
“So, let’s proceed then, gentlemen” Rehaan said, leading them to the battle ground on the left side of the vast green lawn. There was no grass there, just plain hard ground where Vivaan’s life was about to change or end for good.