Cassian Legacy: The Vampire Prince
Chapter 32

He stared at me for the longesttime, absorbing my answer. When he finally spoke, it was a question I should’veprepared myself for, but hadn’t.

“What is a Krusnik?”

He had dropped his hand from mywing and I found that I wanted him to touch me again. Somehow when our skin metin this form, I felt safe and strong, not fearful. Slowly I grew weary overwhat we were about to discuss. Some of the fear from earlier crept back in.That promise that I’d never tell him was about to be broken, shattered really.The sad truth was I wanted him to know about me though I expected him to startyelling, attacking, and possibly fleeing the area before it was all out. But Iat least had to try.

“I feed off of the blood from othervampires.”

He frowned. When his face poutedlike this it was awfully cute.

Instead of doting on his facialexpressions I continued explaining. “I’ve been feeding off of your kind forcenturies, never knowing there were born vampires until I met you. I only knewof the created.”

“But you’re a vampire. You drinkblood…” he whispered, though never sounding fearful of me. It was like he triedjustifying my blood drinking ability, however cannibalistic it sounded.

I walked around him and sat down onmy bed. My wings brushed up against thecomforter, and it felt odd. “I don’t drink from humans.”

His facial features twisted up intoa makeshift pod of feelings ranging from misunderstanding to curiosity. I hadnever seen anything like it on a human or vampire. “But the wine and the grapedrinks, you’ve tasted those. I witnessed you drain that whole bottle of wine atthe club.”

Of course he would remember that. Isighed and retracted my fangs. When they receded, I felt my wings curl up intomy back. “The blood of humans makes me feel dizzy and confused, which is why Idon’t drink it. Besides, it usually tastes gross.”

Finn gasped in surprise. “Yourwings…you can retract them just like your fangs?”

I raised my eyebrows. Again heasked about something that had nothing to do with my diet. Once the initialshock of the arrangement of his words wore off, I realized what he said.

“What?”

Before he could answer me though, Iturned and faced the mirror once more. Sure enough, my wings had completelydisappeared. I felt them curl up into my back but I never thought they’ddisappear completely. I flipped my hand over, reached through the neck of myshirt, and rubbed my upper shoulder blade. There were slits there in my skin,but they didn’t hurt. It must’ve been the place where my wings were hidden whenI needed to blend, where they lay dormant before tonight.

When I saw the things protrudingfrom my back, I immediately thought that I would never be able to attend schoolor have friends or even go out in public again. Now those ideas vanished.

“You’ve never had wings before,” hebreathed.

I snapped my head back to his face.He was in complete awe of my form still. But how did he know that?

“I was guessing,” he mumbledquickly. He must’ve seen the surprise in my expression.

My eyes shut. “No, I’ve never hadwings before tonight. I’ve been alive for over three centuries, and never hadwings.”

His fingers wrapped themselvesaround mine as he took my hand in his. His skin was soft and gentle againstmine reminding me that he wanted to understand my past, but that was somethingI still didn’t want to share. “What happened to you?”

I opened my eyes and met his gaze.“What do you mean?”

“You never fully told me the storyof your past,” he began. “I’ve been patient, hoping you would explain. Thereare so many things that you do, where I can tell you’re not from my generation.I’m not trying to push you away, but I’m sure that I can understand it now thatI know what you are. Why won’t you let me in?”

I shook my head. “I can’t.”

His tense body relaxed. “Abelia, Iknew long ago that you weren’t what my father or mother or anyone else thoughtyou were. It is true that they think you’re protecting me, and I know you are.But I also know that I can protectyou. I’m not going to run away and tell every single person in my clan what youare in order to protect myself. You’ve never showed any inclination to hurt meor jeopardize my life or Emery’s or Thalia’s. Even Atria and my parents aresafe in your care, and though you’ve used your compulsion on my sister youdidn’t do it out of malice. You know that you will never harm them and I knowit too.”

A tear streaked out of my left eye.“I may not harm you, but I can always harm them. If they did anything to get inmy way, or to discover what I was, that I am a danger, the threat I pose…ifthey started hunting me… Finn,” I pleaded with him. “I can’t stay here.”

He shook his head, telling me no.“Wherever you go, I’ll follow. You cannot cut me out of your life now, Abelia.I’ve created an oath with your blood which means I can replace you if I feelthreatened. And without you by my side, I willfeel threatened. In case you haven’t realized it, those that attacked meweren’t just created vampires. Two were born vampires, from my clan. You maynot have met them, but I knew them. Whatever happened to Jennifer, don’t holdit against her. They used her insane mind to get to me.”

Throughout his monologue I weightedthe truth of his words. I hadn’t known I attacked and killed two born vampires.I was so focused on Finn’s safety and Ms. Ingram’s demise that I ignored allother facts. When he reminded me of the oath I had made with him, I realizednow why I felt drawn to him. I would always be drawn to him, I would alwayswonder if he was safe. It was a part of the magic of the blood oath between us.

I sighed heavily. I hated having todo this, open myself up like this. No one was alive in this day to rememberwhat really happened to me. I was the only one who held the horrible truth. Mylife had become a legend, a story told to vampires both young and old, a fableand myth. There was a chance he might not believe me because the truth hadbecome so muddled over the years. I had done nothing to refute the claims, butthen again I struggled with hiding what I was. But even as I prepared myself totell the awful truth, I held my emotions in check because there was a chance hewouldn’t believe me. Honestly if I had been raised on the legend, I wouldn’tbelieve me either.

I swallowed back the bile that rosefrom the pit of my stomach. “Remember when I told you that my past was like Cassius’s Plight?”

He nodded.

It took a lot for me to get thewords out, and throughout my struggle, he was patient. I hated reliving this.“It’s exactly that story, but with a rather drastic twist.”

He didn’t get it right away and Iexpected this. A confused expression smeared across his face looking even moreconfused than when I told him what I was. “Cassius’sPlight is nothing more than a legend, a fairy tale told to all vampires.It’s a myth and nothing more than a ‘keep your children in line’ kind of deal.”

I tried smiling, but I failed. Toknow that the story was morphed into a child’s bed time story horrified me. Itwas my story – mine, and not anybodyelse’s. “Contrary to popular belief it’s not a myth. Over time the words havebeen warped from use and disbelief, and I haven’t been around to refute them.It’s not completely unheard of when you go back and look at other tales.”

He chuckled. “But you aren’tCassius. You didn’t die from heartache.”

“Cassius was never…” I couldn’tfinish what I wanted to say. I met Finn’s playful gaze. “I am the girl that heloved.”

It took him a while to figure itout. I was sure he was running through that fairy tale of a story in histhoughts. Who knows what version he had been told? I recognized when got to thepart about the girl, his eyes softened and he once again stared at me withwonder.

“They said you died,” he gasped.

“I did.” I owned up to it.

He didn’t believe me, and Iexpected this again because of my physical attributes. “But you have aheartbeat, just like us.”

I looked everywhere around theroom, purposefully ignoring his gaze. My confession astounded him to know thatI had survived that horrible fate that was told in the stories, but yet neitherone of us would be able to explain how I did it, even when I was the one whowent through the change. To this day I couldn’t remember all of my creation orhow I came to be this way. But I knew the specifics and details of where thestory changed into a false recount and passed on into legend. There was areason why nearly every vampire knew the tale. There was a reason why it wastold and morphed into a horror story of sorts. My creation was an abomination,and should’ve never happened.

His hand distracted my thoughts ashis fingers touched my left cheek. I froze, because even though I knew I wasfeeling all this pull towards him because of the blood oath, his touch sentsignals through my spine. It didn’t make any sense to me why his touch did that and not Emery’s orany of my other friends. What was it about him that made this situationdifferent?

He brushed a lock of my platinumblond hair out of the way, so that I saw his eyes instead of hiding my facewith the pale curtain. His finger made a loop and traveled down to my neck,right where the carotid artery was. He gently pressed into the side, feeling mystrong pulse there.

“It’s impossible,” he whisperedwith awe.

I shrugged, dislodging his finger.As he dropped his hand once again I met his gaze. The words came easier than Ithought they would. “I was sixteen when I met him. We were to be friends forseveral years. Tiberius, my baby half-brother, even liked him, and Tiberius waspicky. He had a name that I had never heard of. But it was so beautiful to myyoung mind that I didn’t care if he was different and not like us. My parentshated my decision to marry him, because it went against the grain of society.As a result, they whisked me away to France before we could elope. I washeartbroken and thought I would never see him again.”

The room melted away and I was backin my sixteen year old body sitting at the piano while my baby brother playedon the ground right beside me. The piece was directly in front me - acomposition from an unknown artist that would eventually be titled Tiberius’ Lullaby. I stared at theparchment like it lay directly in front of me though it was all in my mind andcontinued my tale. “I missed him so much in the beginning that every night wewere separated in that first year I played a waltz we shared a dance with atthe ball where we met. That was how I remembered him. I taught Tiberius how todance by that waltz, once he was old enough to learn. Every night for threeyears I did this, until he finally returned to me. But by the time hereappeared in my life, my father announced my arranged marriage to a duke bythe name of Cassius. They had planned it in secret and set the date into stonebefore I could voice my opinions on the matter. The night before my weddingday, Noah appeared. He proposed that we run away together. I was older now, andcould leave on my own. I had my inheritance, given to me by my mother a fewyears earlier when she succumbed to a disease. I didn’t want to leave Tiberius,so I told him where I was going. He was still very young at the time, which wasprobably why things turned out the way they did. I didn’t think about myactions then. I finally felt happy and free. But my world came crashing downsoon after. The Duke found out about our plans, and he came after me.”

My old parlor swept away and soon Iwas back on the street, hidden in the shadows of an alley between two buildingsmade of white stone. A wooden cart was parked on the pavement, blocking thethree of us from view. I swallowed back tears. “He twisted Noah’s neck whenthey fought. I knew he had died instantly. As Cassius approached me, his teethhad elongated somehow. His eyes were no longer the pale green of spring, but aferocious yellow. He looked wild and primal, and I tried fighting back but hewas so strong, much stronger than me.” I paused not wanting to express the nextfew memories.

“He bit into my neck. I can stillfeel my blood being drawn into his mouth against my will, feeling the pain andagony it caused me as I withered away in the arms of a man I abhorred, a manwho supposedly loved me when I didn’t love him in return. Helplessly, I watchedmy world grow dim, completely horrified, knowing that I would die in thisfilthy street, alone and afraid. I tried hanging onto my life, even when I knewit was futile. When he dropped my body onto the ground, I didn’t feel it. Itwas like I had lost all of my senses, but my sight remained. It too eventuallyfaded away. But right before I let the darkness take me, before my consciousmind fell asleep, something wet filled my mouth. I suddenly had this thirst Icouldn’t explain. What I’ve come to realize about that moment is that all thoseyears ago Cassius was a vampire – and he created me.”

The tears fell freely, but I didn’tfeel them. My touch was numb from revealing the knowledge of my creation tohim. This is what that night did to me whenever I relived it. I had been sobroken and traumatized after the event in question. Every time I remembered apiece of that night, I couldn’t sleep for a week. “I awoke at his house, in hisbed. Noah’s lifeless body lay beside me. He seemed peaceful, but Cassius kept astake in his heart, claiming that the boy would never wake up from the slumberI wished he was in. I hated Cassius for what he did to me - what he did to Noahand me. I attacked him using the stake from Noah’s heart, and fought him. OnceI plunged the stake into the Duke’s heart, I really thought I had killed theman. But I didn’t know then that it took more than a stake.

“I ran back over to Noah, andpulled him into my arms praying for a miracle, but he wouldn’t move. His neckwas still twisted in a bad way, so I put it right. But he was gone. Noah wasn’tlike me or Cassius, changed and different. Slowly I remembered how Cassius hadturned me into this creature, and praying I wasn’t too late, I tried doing thesame for Noah. I opened up a main artery and let my blood drip into his mouth,but it didn’t work. I let my blood flow into him for several minutes, an houror two… but nothing. He never awoke.

“He died trying to protect me thatnight. And I couldn’t save him in the end. Cassius had won,” I cried. I waitedfor the tears to subside before I continued. “I passed out from blood loss, Idon’t remember what happened the rest of that night, but when I awoke next, Ihad the thirst again. Though this time, the first person I drank from was Noah.I couldn’t control myself. I didn’t want to harm him further, even if he neverawoke, but it was like my mind was wild and raw, like I had never had a consciousor a soul. After I drained his blood, I was still thirsty. I turned to getCassius’ body, but he was not there. He had pulled out the stake at some pointwhile I was unconscious and left. So I hunted him.

“I found him a year later. Hisdaughter was being courted by my brother. Knowing what he was, a monster, Icouldn’t have that. I isolated him and attacked when he thought he was safe.His daughter walked in while I took his blood, and in that moment shetransformed and attacked me. I couldn’t let her live knowing the impact she hadon my family. So I killed her as well and took her blood. After that my thirstwas satiated for several months. I wandered most of Europe, but never reallysettled down. I was heartbroken and unaware of what I was.

“I returned home eventually, onlytelling Tiberius what had happened to me. I made him promise to never tell ourfather or anyone else what had occurred. He never saw the Duke’s family againbecause of what I did. My father eventually retreated for England. In aboutfour months Tiberius departed, returning to my original home, and I followedhim, making sure that he stayed safe. But it got more and more dangerous for meto remain near him. While he aged, I didn’t. And I couldn’t keep answering theendless questions surrounding my powers and abilities when I didn’t even knowthem myself. When he was twenty, I left England for good and never returned.”

The room I stood in, my room… wasstrangely back. It was dark outside, plus the only light came from a lamp on mydesk across the room. But even in the near darkness, my eyes found Finn’s.“Until that day at your house, I had never known what had become of my brother.But it’s clear to me what has happened. Tiberius Stephen Cassian married, andone of his daughters married into your family, the Tierney’s.”

Finn sighed with this shared pieceof knowledge, but it didn’t change the facts of the horrible things I had donesince becoming a kruznik. I figured at this point he would run toward themountains and retreat away from me. He should. There was violence in my past,and heartache. My life wasn’t a happy ending and it never had been. I even ranfrom my own past and hated myself for what I became.

But instead he surprised me, yetagain. He didn’t look upon me with fear or hatred, and I knew he should. “Noah.That was his name?”

I nodded. I hadn’t reallyintroduced my former love properly, but then how could I when I hadn’t evencoped with his death?

“Noah Tierney, the famous writerand explorer?”

I frowned. I had never known Noah’slast name. “I didn’t know…” I sucked ina breath of air realizing what that meant. Tierney… was that really Noah’s lastname? How come I hadn’t known? In fact I had never made it a point to replace thatout. First names were intimate four hundred years ago. It’s only recently thatpeople have used first names in social circles. I should’ve known his lastname, but somehow I didn’t. The fact never bothered me until now.

Finn’s smile spread across hisface. “He would’ve never told you,” he answered my unspoken question. “Itdoesn’t bother me that you drank the blood of a created vampire or that of aborn one. You were born from lust and arrogance, hatred and selfishness, and Ibelieve that does something to you. If it were me, I’d want vengeance. Cassiuswanted to own you, and you never let him, even after you were reborn.”

My mind reeled with theinformation. Noah Tierney…I had never known…

“Abelia Cassian,” he used my realfull name. He reached out and pulled me close into a hug of some sort. Hishands caressed my back, stroking the skin between the slits in my shirt fromwhen my wings sliced through it.

Every time he caressed that part ofme, I received electrical zigzags all throughout my skin. Noah’s touch neverhad that effect on me. But even then, I wasn’t what I was now. Despite beingdead and alive for over three hundred years, I had never been held like thisbefore, so it was a new experience.

“I always hoped you existed,” hewhispered in my ear.