S I X T Y-S E V E N

The basement walls were a thick concrete specially designed to keep the screaming of prisoners mellow and out of earshot to the people upstairs. Although he knew this, Iris kept shaking the door, yelling, and banging on the walls.

"Hello! Anyone!" Iris shook the door and kicked the bars, making the metal clink and rattle. He growled with frustration and shook the door again. Each time he yelled the hope in his voice decreased and as did his tolerance. His throat was strained and he began coughing more than he hollered for help.

Iris kicked the door helplessly and lowered to his knees. "Please let me out.."

It was true he didn't know how long he's been down in the basement, or dungeon more like, but his anxieties made the time seem to fly by. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes became hours. His chest tightened every time he worried about Kai. His heart sped up thinking about the innocent lives being taken and sweat built on his forehead when he thought about his dad.

Iris pressed his forehead against the bars of the door. They were cold but it felt oddly nice. He had taken off his coat and tie, it was hot and stuffy and when he started overthinking it was hard to breathe. Iris almost felt bad for the previous prisoners.

Iris stopped trying to yell for help and sat leaning against the door. He never felt so powerless before. His Kingdom was under attack and his people were suffering, but he couldn't do anything. He sat in a cell drenched in fleeting hope, dread and guilt.

Time wasn't ticking for him but when he heard a heavy door slam in the basement, he had a feeling it hadn't been that long since he stopped yelling.

Iris stood up and gripped the bars. "Hello?" he called out.

There was a 50 percent chance it was someone helpful and not just one of Amilea's slaves going down to check on him. He crossed his fingers. Every spec of hope counted.

Footsteps started approaching the hallway and the shadow of the person was seen as they grew closer.

Iris held his breath when the person finally came into view. His breath was let out in the longest sigh of relief. He chuckled breathlessly and stuck his arms out.

"Sage!"

The female vampire ran up to Iris and hugged him against the bars. It was uncomfortable but it didn't matter. The consolation was more important.

"My prince, I'm so glad you're okay! I was worried sick when I couldn't find any of you guys!"

"I'm glad you're okay, too, Sage. It's been chaotic ever since the first attack, we've been all over the place."

Sage smiled and began examining the door. While she did, Iris started asking her questions.

"What made you come down here?"

Sage jiggled the door and studied the lock. It required a key.

"With the help of other guards, I escorted the King to a safe house. He's safe, by the way. Before I left he asked me to help those who were in the mansion instead of joining the fight. So, I came down here to see if there were any maids or servants hiding." Sage stood up straight and cracked her knuckles. "Please take a step back, sir."

Iris stumbled away from the door and watched Sage angle her body to the side. Her foot was swift and powerful as she kicked the end of the door where the lock was.

The clanking noise echoed blandly off the walls but it was loud enough to make Iris flinch.

The door rattled before the whole thing slowly fell backward. The door hit the ground with a heavy thud and Sage lowered her leg with a look of surprise.

"Huh. I thought it was just going to fly open."

Iris shook his head and stepped over it. He threw his arms around Sage one more time before they both started rushing towards the stairs leading out of the basement.

"We have to find Kai and Zoe first," Iris told Sage when they got to the first floor. It was dead silent inside. The front door was wide open but the howl of the wind stayed outside as if scared to enter.

Iris looked around at the trashed interior of his home. Every painting had been taken off its nail and stomped on and repainted with splatters of blood. The carpet was stained and the wallpaper chipped. He hugged his arms around himself. If his own home looked this bad, he didn't want to imagine how horrible the villages were.

"We'll find them." Sage's voice brought him back into the present. She patted his shoulder and smiled at him. "Where was the last place you saw them?"

"Just outside the training building. But, I don't think we should go back."

"We should go the long way, behind the mansion."

Iris nodded and eyed Sage when she stepped closer to him.

"I apologize, sir, but it will be faster if I take us there."

"Oh, uh." Iris wrapped his arms loosely around Sage's neck and Sage grinned at him. She wasn't much shorter than Iris, but the scene was comical to her.

Sage's travel felt rougher than Kai's. The wind slapped Iris in the face when they got outside. Kai was usually gentle when they stopped, but Sage wasn't.

"Alright, if any of those vamps come by we can hide in the gardens."

Iris nodded and pushed his hair back. "Vamps, huh?"

Sage raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"

"I think we should refer to them as Vamps now. You're a vampire but Zoe is a Vamp, get it? Or it could be the other way around."

Sage studied Iris, or more like pondered on his statement while staring at him. Then her back straightened and she smiled widely. "I like it, my prince! They shall be referred to as Vamps."

Iris smiled half-heartedly at her before they started walking again. He envied the cheerful gleam in her eyes and her high-held chin. He wanted to be optimistic, he had to be, but that feeling seemed so far out of his reach. His arm hurt grasping at nothing but fear and doubt and the feeling of hopelessness.

Suddenly, footsteps began to stomp on the gravel ahead of them. How many there were was hard to tell and Sage didn't give Iris time to figure it out.

She grabbed his shoulder and forced them into the first garden she saw.

Within the night's darkness, everything was hidden in the shadows. Iris hissed when the thorns of the multiple rose bushes they walked into pricked his legs and arms. He wrapped his arms around his body, trying to make himself smaller and less vulnerable to the spikes on the roses' stems.

The running boots started to come down the path where Iris and Sage just were. They neared the garden they were hiding in with every passing second.

Sage tapped Iris's arm and glanced at him before nodding. Iris watched her crouch down with her fangs protruding from her gaping mouth. She was going to attack whoever crossed the gate.

Iris held his breath when Sage shot up from her crouching and leaped for the person who ran in front of the gate. They yelled and fought back immediately. Iris stood up to watch the other freeze and watch.

"Woah wait!"

"Sage, stop!"

Both Iris and the person Sage attacked yelled out at the same time. The bystander turned to have her oceanic eyes settle onto Iris. They were wide and full of emotion.

"Iris!"

Sage had mellowed her attacking instantly after Iris's shout. She also realized who she was hitting and scratching after he hissed her name.

"Oops."

Kai shoved Sage off him with a low grumble and stood up.

"Why would you just leap out like that?"

"I was protecting the prince! I didn't want to take the chance that you'd bypass us!"

Kai looked away from her to Zoe, who backed away from hugging Iris. She placed a short kiss on his cheek and Kai felt something flip in his chest, however, he didn't have the time to be jealous. Instead, when she released Iris, he rushed up to him, grabbed his face, and clashed their lips together.

Zoe raised her eyebrows and glanced at Sage, who simply smirked and nodded her head.

Iris allowed every fiber inside him to relax and be consumed by Kai's overflowing love. He moved his hands from Kai's shoulders up to his neck, not caring who was watching or how little time they had, he was going to make the most of what he had.

Or at least he wanted to.

Kai flinched and impulsively gripped Iris's wrists when they touched his neck. He lowered them, which caused Iris to back up, breaking the kiss he was just beginning to savor.

"What is it?"

"Sorry, it's just my neck is–"

"Oh my God!" Iris slipped his hands from Kai's and placed one over his mouth. "Your collar is gone!" With his other hand, he reached up to touch Kai's neck. He was much more gentle even without Kai having to tell him it was incredibly tender.

His fingers were cold against Kai's neck, but it felt good.

"What...how..."

"I did it," Zoe chirped. "It was possible to take them off all along without getting shocked."

"I didn't know that." Iris's surprised expression slowly began to morph into guilt. "If I did know I would have-"

"Hey, don't blame yourself." Kai grasped Iris's hand and brought it up to his lips. "It's okay. You know, I actually kind of feel naked without it."

Iris chuckled softly and studied Kai's neck.

The pale skin was irritated and darkened and bruised. There was a printed collar on his neck rather than a real one, and it wrapped around like it, too. The bruises were nearly black and in some spots, Kai's skin appeared rougher, as the skin had been scraped and healed multiple times.

Iris sighed out through his nose and trailed his eyes up to Kai's, which had been watching him the whole time.

He opened his mouth. Then closed it. Too many words and statements and vows wanted to flood out. So many of them were resting on the tip of his tongue, ready to spew out, but Iris wasn't ready to hear them.

So, he just smiled and brought one of Kai's hands up to his mouth to kiss.

Kai smiled back. Understanding.

"We have a few minutes to spare," Zoe informed them all. "Then we'll settle on a plan."

They all nodded and split in two. Zoe and Sage stayed where they were so Zoe had the faint light of the moon to help her take Sage's collar off, and Iris and Kai wandered over to a bench hidden within the shadows of the trees.

They sat down and let out identical sighs. Heavy and tired, but their eyes were wide awake.

Iris rested his head on Kai's shoulders after pecking his cheek. He squeezed his hand and Kai squeezed his back.

"It didn't feel like 'just a few hours'." Was the first thing Iris said. He mentioned what Zoe had told them, that the time they've been apart had only been 'just a few hours'. It felt like days.

"I know. I was out half that time, though."

Iris's eyes wander up to Kai's neck. "How does it feel?" he asked. "Being free from your collar."

"I feel like I can breathe now. Like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.  It also feels...weird, but I do not miss it."

Iris nodded and lifted his head. "Hey, Kai...Amilea told me something while we were apart. It's been really messing with my head."

"What did she say?"

Iris diverted his gaze into the darkness of the garden. He was hesitant and Kai made no action to rush him.

"She told me my real mom was a vampire."

Kai swallowed a lump in his throat and moved his hand onto Iris's knee.

"I didn't want to believe her, because how absurd does that sound? If it were true, shouldn't I be part vampire? A–a hybrid? But I'm not, so, it confuses me. I can agree that Amilea is not my real mom. We look nothing alike. Share no traits or characteristics. But why would she say my real mother is a vampire?"

"Iris." Kai knew he shouldn't hold anymore lies inside. It was now or never. "Annesa told me the same thing when we were talking."

Iker glanced at him.

"I..I should've told you, I know, but it didn't feel like it was my place to tell you. Even if it is true or not."

Iris nodded. No anger was present in his eyes, which released Kai of his worries.

"Did she tell you how it would be possible?"

"Well, she said it was the strongest DNA that mattered. Even if vampires identify as the stronger being, like your mother would have been, it's the stronger gene that decides what the child would be. Apparently, your mother was very weak, making you completely human."

"Oh," was all Iris could breathe out.

Kai knew Iris didn't need such revolutions to be piled onto his back, but he was going to make sure he carried the luggage with him.

"We'll work it out together," Kai soothed, placing a kiss on the corner of Iris's mouth. "Always together.

Iris let out a heavy sigh and turned his head. Gratitude was written across his face and it made Kai's heart swell.

"Before I smother you with thank yous, I have a question to ask."

"Ask alway."

"Why didn't you leave?"

When Kai furrowed his eyebrows, the prince continued.

"You got rid of your collar, you're no longer property to Vridora or my dad. You could've left when we were apart. Leave the Kingdom as if nothing ever happened and start a new life. Why didn't you take that chance?"

Kai stared at Iris like he had spoken nothing but nonsense, but at the same time, he knew exactly where he was coming from.

He chuckled lightly and placed his hand on Iris's cheek. "Isn't it obvious?"

"I know you're loyal and all, but you passed a huge opportunity."

"There is no opportunity for me out there, Iris. Everything I want and need is right here in this Kingdom. Right here in front of me. And I didn't stay just because I'm loyal, there are a million other reasons. But I'm looking at my main one."

A light blush crept across Iris's cheeks, and though they were hidden, Kai saw it clear as day.

"Besides–" He leaned in close until their lips felt each other's presence and parted by instinct. "I made a promise to you. I'd rather die than break it."