S E V E N T Y-O N E

No matter where Iris went, the stench of rotting flesh trailed him like a dark cloud. He could walk yards away from one body to just come across another. It made him sick.

It wasn't necessarily the smell or the sight, it was the gut-wrenching guilt that flipped his stomach and made him nauseous.

Iris Dion was only the Prince of Vridora. Taking care of his kingdom, his home, was not his responsibility; it was the king's. However, he was apart of this whole ordeal, so Iris knew he had to briefly claim his dad's position, and help his kingdom. To him, he was simply a prince. Vridora would not be affected if he were to die compared to if his dad died.

He never thought he was a good prince, let alone a good son. He was standoffish, grumpy, and unsociable. He cherished his people but didn't necessarily like being around them. He hated working, which only gave Arlo more to do. He broke many rules and got mad for getting lectured about them. He made dicey decisions and hated himself when he got upset about the outcomes.

This whole battle was a great example of that.

To Iris, he was just a prince. Sure, he'd be missed by a few, but the world wouldn't end if by some chance he didn't stand back up. That was where his thoughts went, how they circulated his mind; because of that, he was going to do everything in his power, as a human and as the prince of his kingdom, to put an end to the Vamps and their revolution.

At least then I'd do some good, he thought.

Iris looked up to his dad. He wasn't a man with clean hands, but he worked his way up to put his crazy past behind him. He opened his arms to vampires in need and in exchange for his hospitality, he gave them a reasonable job.

Help fight for me and I'll fight with you. What more could a vampire want than to hear someone say they'll fight with them? Fight the discrimination and hate they got. Vridora wasn't nearly a sanctuary for vampires, but Arlo wanted it to be. He wanted them to feel safe in his kingdom. Whether they were his guards or not. But of course, there were those who disrespected his wishes.

Uniting vampires and humans wasn't an easy task, and it certainly didn't happen over the course of a few years. In fact, it may never happen. The closest thing to uniting the two would be an international agreement of mutual respect. The humans don't bother the vampires and vise versa; however, even that would take decades, if not centuries, to achieve.

But....it wasn't farfetched, which fanned that encouraging flame in those who wanted to maintain the peace.

Iris fell in love with his dad's idea. He liked vampires ever since a young age despite his dad telling him to stay away from them until he was older, or his mother spitting rumors about how vicious they were. Her tales never scared him. They excited him.

He was rebellious and disobeyed his dad's wishes. He snuck away from his nurse to watch the vampires train. They fascinated him. The guards weren't the monsters his mother claimed them to be. They laughed at cheesy and inappropriate jokes as any human would. They got hurt and bled like a human would, they bruised and ached and shed tears as a human would. They just had unique characteristics that made them different from humans; take away the oddness of them, and they weren't that different at all.

Arlo's idea of uniting the two species blossomed in Iris's head the second he saw his first vampire. As he grew up the idea strengthened, and though his actions might've lacked, he never gave up on the idea.

Iris only hoped he did something before he died–not that he specifically planned on dying. He didn't want to die and leave all the things he loved behind, and he wasn't prepared to, he just made peace with the fact that he might.

And the probability was high.

That thought was looming, a treacherous wave that lurked and readied itself to crash and flood Iris's mind. But he didn't let it get to him. He forced himself to focus on his kingdom, helping his people and putting an end to Annesa's plan.

For good.

***

"You're shivering."

Iris looked up at the same time Kai clasped his hands over the prince's. His hands were indeed trembling.

"Just a little chilly," Iris said. He bit the inside of his cheek when Kai brought his hands up to his lips and blew into them, warning his hands up.

The temperature of the air had dropped several degrees while they were outside. Iris didn't mention anything, but his fingers were a little numb and his cheeks were rosy, like the tip of his nose. He knew how useless it was to complain about how cold he was, let alone how insignificant it was compared to their plan, compared to the whole situation.

"I apologize, Iris, I briefly forgot you were human. You get cold faster than us."

"I'm not cold." Iris slipped his hands away from Kai's, cringing at how immediate his fingers strung from the crisp air. "And that's a silly thing for you to forget."

Kai smiled down at him. "You don't act like a human–in this case anyway. You're not cowering away like the others, you're keeping your head up. I know you feel like you have to, and I also know you're struggling to do so, but you're still doing it. Your strength is praise-worthy."

Iris stared at Kai thoughtlessly before raising his gaze to the sky. He closed his eyes, sighing as weight got added onto his chest. He thought hearing Kai's encouraging words would lift away the luggage, the heavyweights pulling on his shoulders, but they only added more.

He looked back down and said nothing as he stepped forward and pressed his face into Kai's chest. His hands clutched his shirt, balling the fabric into his fists.

"I better see you in one piece when this is all over."

Kai closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Iris's body. He pulled him closer, squishing him against his chests.

He planted a long kiss atop Iris's head, savoring his scent lingering on the strands of his hair.

"You better as well."

Just beyond then, passed a few burnt houses, was where the main fighting took place and where it would all end.

All of the others, the Vamps and vampires they gathered, had already joined in. Kai offered to linger behind a little longer to catch anyone who decided to attack from behind. Iris tagged along with him.

Their continent, let alone Vridora, had never experienced this kind of outbreak in over centuries. Small riots took place but nothing this grand. Annesa had already taken three other kingdoms and persuaded thousands to support her uproar.

Vridora had not prepared for anything other than a human invasion, thus they only had a couple hundred guards; only a handful was able to take down a hundred human soldiers.

The Vamps were stronger and faster. Their movements lacked grace but their attack methods were effective. Their regeneration was hauntingly quick, too. In the long run, their abilities were potent and a normal vampire had to exceed their limits to just match the strength of a Vamp.

However, luck was on their side.

Zoe exposed all of the Vamp's flaws. They bleed more blood than they consume, so even though they were more powerful, they had to periodically feast if they wanted to stay at full power. They heavily based their attacks on speed, so they used their feet a lot. And they didn't have foggy eyes for no reason. Hearing was their strongest sense in exchange for their sight. They couldn't see as far as a vampire could and their field of sight was narrow.

Come up with a tactic that defeated their weak spots and a vampire could go toe-to-toe with a Vamp; creating an equal chance to obtain victory.

However, even though everyone was prepared their futures remained a mystery. Would they live? Would they die? Would they win or would they lose? No had an answer to those questions, and even the smallest unknown managed to create a gaping hole in their optimism.

That reality hit Iris a little harder than most. One flicker of hesitation and he was reminiscing unnecessary memories, ones that would only make his reluctance deepen.

"I know, I know you don't want me to say anything like this, but I'm really really glad I met you, Kai." Iris looked up, his gaze consumed with admiration.

Kai sighed. "Iris–"

"I know. "Nothing bad will happen"," he quoted the words Kai previously stated. "But it still feels right to tell you now because I never did before."

"You can tell me everything afterward. When we put an end to Annesa's war, which we will do."

"I know. But...I feel better getting these off my chest now."

Kai sighed again.

"Just one thing! For my sake."

Kai peered down, piercing his gaze into Iris's, searching in the depth of his hazel eyes that expressed both his determination and his fear.

"I don't know what to say."

"Well, you could say you're glad you met me, too."

"That's obvious, though. I'm more than glad I did."

"Well?"

Kai shook his head and angled it up, thinking briefly. "Fine." He looked back down. "I'm glad you opened your heart to me."

Iris bit his lip. "I'm glad you were patient with me. I was a pain."

And just like that, they became sucked in and started doing the one thing Kai vowed to himself they wouldn't do.

"You were, but I enjoyed working through that with you and I'm thankful you let me."

"I couldn't be happier knowing you accept my flaws. And it made me happy seeing you happy when I accepted yours."

Kai chuckled. "Your flaws are beautiful. Everything about you is. You're weren't–you're not always easy, but that's what made me fall harder for you, believe it or not. I liked how your emotions fluctuated, you knew when to speak up, even when you weren't supposed to, and when to sympathize. You hide sometimes, showing your vulnerability, and fussed over the littlest things–but I thought it was cute. And, I found your defiance very attractive."

Iris let out a gentle laugh. "Thank you for sticking up with me. I'm glad you're here."

Kai's gaze softened, the ocean in his eyes coming to a tranquilizing halt.

"I'm glad I fell in love with you."

Iris smiled and leaned away from Kai.  He opened his mouth but suddenly slammed it shut. He was taking in every word Kai said carefully and listening with fondness, but he so happened to process those last few words a little slower.

He looked at Kai with wide eyes and reached out, grabbing his shirt.

"Wait wait–love?! Love love?"

Kai's eyebrows perked up. "Hm?"

"You love me?"

Kai blinked down at Iris. Once, twice, before groaning out loud and running his hands down his face.

"Ah, I didn't mean to say that now!"

Iris's cheeks flared up, the color crawling up to his ears and down to his neck. He stepped closer, flattening his hands out against Kai's chest.

"Do you really love me?"

Kai lowered his hands, a mild look of indecisiveness in his expression. He wanted to kick himself for letting it slip, but maybe it was for the best he said it now.

"Of course I do." He brushed a few strands of hair off of Iris's forehead. "Saying those words...just something heavy lies on them. I wasn't sure when would be a good time to tell you–or if I was even allowed to." Kai chuckled quietly. "But I do. I have for a while now."

Iris leaned into Kai's hand when he cupped his cheek. He held it and brought it to his lips to kiss.

"Yes. Yes! You're absolutely allowed to tell me; because I loved you, too."

Kai chewed on his cheek to stop from grinning like an idiot. "Really?"

Iris chuckled. "Yes really." His gaze melted. "How could I not?"

Kai, for the lack of better words, broke.

He leaned down, making their lips collide while he embraced Iris in his arms.

His heart was going wild and adrenaline shot through his body. Or maybe it was relief–whatever it was, he enjoyed every second it coursed through his bones.

For a moment, the smoke cleared from the sky. The moonlight's glow was dazzling and bright, lighting every crevice of Vridora. Nature awoke, the wickedly smells evaporated and their doubt diminished. For a moment, everything in time was just as it used to be. Perfect; especially when it was just them.

And that was all they needed before reality chased away their love-struck daydream.

The ground trembled under their feet, causing them to pull away. There was a loud crash with screams proceeding the thunder-like rumble.

One glance was all it took for their focus to go back into hyperdrive.

Kai gripped Iris's hand. Now, their individual goals were to stay together as long as they could.

"Let's go." Kai tugged on Iris's hand and they started turning in the direction of Vridora's forth village.

"Iris!"

Just as they were about to run, a familiar voice halted their feet. Iris turned his head, squinting at the figure running up to them.

His eyes broadened and his grip slipped from Kai's.

"Dad?"

Arlo was short of breath when he stopped a few feet away from them. He inhaled sharply and held out his arms, which Iris immediately threw himself into.

"You're okay!" Iris squeezed himself closer to his dad, pressing his face into his shoulder. "I–I know they said you were at a safe house but I was worried."

Arlo clutched Iris's shirts, shaking his head. "I'm okay, I was more worried about you."

Iris backed away but kept his hands on Arlo's shoulders. "You're supposed to still be in the safe house. It's dangerous."

"I should be telling you that! Look at you playing hero!" Arlo sighed and patted Iris's cheek. "Look at you all grown up."

Iris shook his head. "You know, I'm barely holding it together..."

"But you saw being brave is what you had to do and you did it. You saw your people in need so you're protecting them. You saw a war that broke out–" Arlo poked his son's chest. "–and you're going to help end it. No one is ever prepared for these things. Maybe you're not either but you have a special kind of blood in you that pushes aside the fear so your courage could rise. I'm so proud of you, son."

Iris steadied his breathing. Now was not the time to cry.

"Thank you."

Arlo smiled and looked past Iris's shoulder. "Kai."

The vampire stood up straight and walked over.

In arms reach, Arlo patted Kai's back and gave him a single nod.

"I found these." Arlo held out the silver knives. "They're small but they're made with the same material that dagger is." Arlo pointed at the dagger slotted in Iris's pants. "Maybe you can hand them out?"

"Definitely." Iris took two of the four knives. "It's crazy out there dad, be careful."

Arlo stared at his son in astonishment. He sighed, dropping his head as if in defeat and ruffled Iris's hair.

"I should be the one saying that."

And into the fire, havoc, and bloodshed they went.

***

Hello lovely readers! I just want to say thank you SO MUCH for all the support you've been giving me and this story. Not gonna lie, I smile so much reading all of these comments, they're so simple but they mean a lot to me. I never expected this book to get so much attention, it's crazy! It makes me happy seeing how so many enjoy Iris and Kai's wild story. So, thank you!

This is also a little heads up because the last few chapters will be pretty lengthy! I want to make sure I cover everything with as much detail as possible so I don't bore anyone(though it could happen...it happens). Anyway, thank you again for reading!