Chapter 5

Ariela

We had now found our way into the kitchen and the cake was in the middle of the large dining table. It was like the agonizing hint of what awaited me. I could never look at a strawberry roulade again in my life without thinking about it.

The cake was on one of my grandma's fancy glass plates. They had a pattern engraved on them and with the thick material, when I was a child it felt like the dishes weighed a ton.

I sat on the wooden bench and stared at that damn plate.

My grandma ran frantically through the kitchen trying to set the table. My grandfather tried to keep her calm, which only partially succeeded. She just wanted something to do.

My mom sat silently next to me with an arm around me. Dad had probably been able to enlighten her after all. She must have realized then that my fate was sealed.

Beno sat on my other side and held my hand. I felt his gaze on me, which soon drove me crazy.

And Cosima sat opposite me and also stared at the roulade. Either she had gotten over the initial shock or it was too deep, which is why the tears stopped.

My dad was the only one missing; he was probably clarifying the last details of the contract or trying to compose himself.

My mom said very quietly, "I'm going to kill that dirty bloodsucker. His death will be incredibly painful." With a gifted pack fighter like my mom, absolutely no one doubted that she could cause someone to die a painful death.

My brother growled and hissed, "Wait and see who gets him first."

I commented on the whole thing: "I'm probably the one who will put an end to him. After all, I'm within reach of him."

They both looked at me, but I preferred to stare at the strawberries.

However, it was my grandfather who said: "That would be stupid in a house full of vampires. You wouldn't survive that either. You always have to make plans carefully."

At this point, you had to ask yourself whether death wouldn't be a blessing. I could take that risk. Especially if it brought down the king. This would mean there would be one less beast on this planet.

The kitchen was the second room to the left of the entrance, so it was easy to hear it when the front door opened.

"Ariela?! Where are you?!"

My best friend's voice made me stand up immediately. I squeezed past Beno because I had to get to her. Someone in the family must have told her. Her tone made me think so.

With the speed of a werewolf, I reached her in an instant. I threw myself into her arms and Lucy hugged me tightly. Neither of us made a sound. We just stood in this embrace.

It would be bitter to lose her. Since our training, we have fought side by side. We saw each other every day and were practically glued to each other.

Only after a while, she whispered: "The reason I'm so late is that I was still in the chapel of the moon goddess to light a candle for you." With my current fate, not even a goddess could help. In addition, sometimes sacrifices had to be made for improvement to occur.

"Thanks that is nice of you." In the end, she meant well. And you were allowed to keep a little spark of hope, otherwise you would go crazy.

"Ariela, why you of all people?" In order not to put a huge damper on the mood, I replied: "Well, because I'm great. You of all people should know that." Her next words showed that she was struggling with her composure. "But I don't want to let you go."

"That would be incredibly selfish if you consider the greater good. At this point, I have to say that I always get along. You know that." However, in this case, I doubted it myself. I have no idea how I would survive this beast.

What bothered me most was that I had no idea what Darkbloom planned to do with me. Uncertainty could be a method of torture. Although I probably didn't even want to know.

I heard footsteps behind me, which practically had to be my father.

It was confirmed to me when he said, "I just spoke to King Darkbloom." I pulled away from Lucy and turned to him. He looked tense and his expression was very serious. Whatever followed, it was bad news. The sale was bad enough.

"What is?" That came out quieter than intended because I wanted to stay strong. Unfortunately, the fear within me made it difficult.

He took a deep breath and explained, "He wants you now if we don't want any consequences. I wanted to talk him out of it and buy time. But Darkbloom was very clear." For a second I couldn't control my expression one bit. I was hoping for at least a few final days. I didn't like them.

"He said he'd had to wait long enough." He cleared his throat, clearly having a battle with himself.

I pulled myself together and nodded. I swallowed my fear and said surprisingly firmly: "Very well, then I'll quickly pack a few things. You'll excuse me." I didn't give anyone time to answer and rushed to the stairs.

I had no idea what to pack, but I would stuff the most important things into a bag at werewolf speed.

If the king wanted me immediately, I would oblige. Otherwise, there would be consequences and we certainly didn't want to know them. That might mean some deaths that we could prevent.

I nervously played with my fingers while Beno drove the car. The passenger seat was reserved for me and I remained focused on the view from the side window.

The landscape passed us by, which consisted of a few trees as we had to take a forest road to the border. The handover took place there.

My heart threatened to burst out of my chest and the fear was within my grasp.

This man was a monster, he would never treat me well.