Darkness (Book 1 of The Royals Trilogy)

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

ETHAN

I stared at the two vampires before me, deciding on my next move. I could probably take down Benjamin easily but Devion was the problem and he was, after all, King of Vampires. But I had to do something to protect the girl in front of me.

In an instant, Benjamin held Ana by the neck before I could react. I tried to get to her, but a sudden force pushed me aside. I fell on the floor groaning in pain. "Thanks Ethan. Thanks to you, now we have the girl like we told you to capture," said Devion with a smirk on his face. That had always been his plan, he knew that sooner or later I was going to lead them to Ana and by consequence, Emma, intentionally or not. How had I been so stupid? Had my desire to be close to her clouded my thoughts?

"Ethan?" said Ana bewildered, her voice was weak and frightened. She looked scared and her dark hair that had been pulled back now covered her face. Benjamin didn't take his eyes off her, it had been a while since we had tasted human blood and it didn't take a genius to realize Benjamin wasn't going to maintain his control for much longer.

Devion laughed evilly, he was now standing next to me, and turned to look at Ana, "yes darling, Ethan has been helping us all this time. You thought he was different? Stupid girl, he's a vampire, a Royal one at that."

"That's not true Ana!" I yelled trying to make her believe me, but she stared at me in horror, sadness and what really pained me, betrayal.

"Benjamin, take the girl home, I have to talk to Ethan alone," ordered Devion and Benjamin nodded.

"Like hell you are!" I yelled and used the energy I had left to lunge at Benjamin. Benjamin was taken by surprise and he let Ana go. The three of us were on the ground and Ana was the first to get up. Her eyes were staring widely at Benjamin and I, trying to process all of our fast movements that were barely visible.

I punched Benjamin across the face when I had him pinned down and he hissed at me. In a second I was thrown across the auditorium and against the hard, cold, brick wall. Benjamin looked very pissed off now but he didn't try to fight me, instead, he turned around and took Ana by the waist.

Ana yelped and squirmed in his grasp and tried to pull him away as she punched and kicked but it was no use. Faster that any human, Benjamin was gone, and so was Ana.

"No!" I yelled and tried to chase after them but I was stopped by Devion. His firm hand was on my shoulder holding me back and an amused look on his face. I turned away angrily.

"Brother, look at me," said Devion and I did. A sudden flashback crossed my mind...

FLASHBACK...

I was a nine year old boy with dirty clothes and worn out boots, both that had been handed down to me, running through the field trying to reach my older brother. "Boys!" Yelled my mom from the small house, the house where we lived.

"Yes, momma?" Asked my older brother his expression more serious now and I understood playtime was over.

"It's dinner time", she said in her natural British accent. Our mother looked tired since our little brother kept her up at night and she could never leave him in our care. Her dirty blonde hair was filthy and her clothes in worse shape than ours but she didn't have enough money to spend on new ones, instead she preferred to buy my older brother clothes that would be later handed down to my brothers and I.

Both my brother and I nodded and ran back in through the small wooden door.

At the table, my nine year old twin was already seated with his food in front of him and my little brother was wrapped in my mother's arms as she rocked him gently trying to calm him down, he was still crying and hadn't stopped since he woke up.

After dinner, my father came in with a sick expression on his face, he refused to eat and said he only needed to rest. His blue eyes looked cold and his brown hair dirty from working in the factory. He had decided to work more shifts once my brother was born in order to be able to maintain us all and it was already starting to show.

After that night, my mother's hysterical sobs and tears filled the house and my father never came out is his room again.

After our father's death, our mother began to sell things she made or in desperate times, furniture, blankets, anything from the house just so she could feed us. When my older brother was old enough, he began working in a factory just like our father and a few times I was offered jobs that I would gladly take for even the smallest payment they would give me. I needed to help my family.

Years went by and our family bond vanished. My older brother kicked my twin, my younger brother and me out of the house. "I don't want more mouths to feed! It's already hard enough!" He had yelled that day before slamming the door shut on our faces.

We had to grow quickly and take care of our brother as we lived in the streets and still tried to work to feed ourselves. After a couple of months, my twin and I had grown used to the idea of living in the streets until all of us were old enough to find better paying jobs. When my twin and I turned 18 something strange happened.

We walked to our old shed we had found a while back, we called it home, but before we could go in we were attacked by someone or actually something.

Blood dripped from our necks an our little brother was laying on the ground, dead.

Agonizing pain filled me and I could feel fire spreading inside of me. By my side, my brother cried out in pain too.

The excruciating pain disappeared after a while and when it did, a shadow loomed over us. "Brothers," said a voice we knew too well.

"Devion?" Asked my twin and Devion smiled revealing his fangs dripping with blood.

"What have you done?!" I yelled horrified by the sight of our former brother.

His smile widened evilly, "I've given you a gift."

I got up and tried to tackle him but he was faster than me as he stepped aside and I fell to the ground painfully.

"Ethan, you look a bit hungry, why don't you eat something," he said looking at our little brother's limp body. I followed his gaze and instantly stiffened, horrified of what he was asking me to do.

My mind told me not to take it, to fight against the thirst but the monster inside of me won as he tore my brother's flesh and began to drink his blood greedily.

Terrified, I saw as my twin, Benjamin, did the same when I was finished.

Decades, even centuries passed and everyday I felt sick with myself, disgusted and guilty. Devion never told us what happened with our mother but we could imagine.

Benjamin forgave Devion a few decades later and I stood alone against both of them. I would never forgive Devion for what he did to us but I couldn't leave them like Devion had abandoned my brothers and I in desperate times.

We became the most feared vampires that ever walked this earth and that's how we got our title as royal vampires. No one dared to go against the brother trinity and to this day nobody does.

As time passed, Devion ordered us not to call him brother he said it wasn't right, that we were no longer a family, that is, until today...

...END OF FLASHBACK