We stood on the drawbridge, upon the ancient wood. At one time, this was where the horses passed over, until we decided that cars from human realm were more convenient. Castle walls rose out of darkness, out of silent charcoal curtains that is the dusk. The magnificence of the fortress was reflected in the people standing before it. Gold cloaked people were standing still amidst the howling wind as we marched towards them.

Creaking sound of the ancient wood echoed around the still forest, creating an eerie atmosphere around us. I could see a tall figure draped in gold, standing silently in front of everyone. He stood straight with his hands clasped behind, waiting for us to reach him.

"Chin up, walk straight and look at them like you want to gouge out their eyeballs."

Nick's confident deep voice calmed my racing heart a little. His tall form came into my vision as he walked beside me, preventing me from looking at my father and his loyal subjects. I watched the silver flecks, embedded in his forest green eyes, glow with intensity. He wanted me to believe every word that came out of his mouth.

"Don't let those old hags intimidate you, Eva," he said, staring at me earnestly, "Walk like a queen and feel like a queen! You're Evanora Cordelia Magnus and you're better than anyone who thinks they can pull you down and watch you fall. Do you understand?"

Without giving me a moment to reply, he strolled forward with his head held high, his posture erect and proud. Taking a deep breath, I tried to gather my strength, that had weakened at the prospect of meeting my disappointed father. My magic bristled and warmed a little as I pushed back my shoulders. Slightly lifting up my chin, I walked briskly towards the towering palace. The soft satin fabric of my white dress brushed my ankles as I lengthened my strides, decreasing the distance between us.

The gypsy cut sleeves lightly caressed my skin, reminding me that I had sincerely tried to dress like a queen today. A semicircular high collar, made of silk like materials headed the ankle length gown. Golden swirls, that seemed to dance across the plain white fabric on their own free will, decorated the gown, giving it a more intricate look. The seamstress had done a brilliant job in cinching the waist line, makin it seem as if I had the perfect figure. This dress was a delusion, making others believe something that wasn't present inside. I had to be like the dress I wore - a web of delusion. My thoughts fell apart when a swift puff of wind swept through my black hair, before it silently slipped into the woods to rustle leaves.

Magnus Castle stood proudly before me. The structure showcasing the immense wealth and power our kingdom possessed. Eleven strong, square towers were built on various tactical spots for an ideal defence. All of them were connected by fortified, wide walls made of obsidian. Refined windows were scattered roughly across the walls in an asymmetric pattern, alongside symmetric crenelations for archers and artillery. From the towers once stood the mediaeval watchers, the spell casters, with their arrows and magic ready to fly. These steadfast walls were built in an age that was defined by envy, avarice and love for power as much as honour, nobility and loyalty to the crown. It seemed like nothing had truly changed yet.

A bulky yett was the only entrance to the crude fortress. Painted with golden colours, adorned with white flowers - the iron gates were as enchanting as the castle itself. Statues of kings were lined up outside the castle gates, serving as reminders of the past. This castle had clearly stood the test of time and its inhabitants were intend on making sure it stayed that way for ages to come.

"Uncle! How are you?" Nick asked, hugging him immediately. It was almost comical to see the feared coven leaders gasping in unison, baffled at the behaviour displayed by the infamous Vampire King.

"Greetings, Father," I said, bowing respectfully. He nodded and removed himself from Nick's passionate embrace.

"Behave, Nicolai. You're a king now," he said, but the little smile on his face showed that he didn't expect Nick to follow his orders anytime soon.

Putting his hands on his heart, Nicolai sighed sadly, "You broke my precious  heart, uncle! Aren't kings supposed to express their love?"

We stared at him, silently. After a few    perplexing seconds, he cleared his throat. "You guys need to chill. The coldness in your sou--

"You're spending your time in human realm, your highness?"

A raspy voice penetrated the still air, making shivers travel down my back. The voice sounded like it originated from the vocal chords of heavy sandpaper. I tried hard to reign in my shock when a cloaked figure walked beside my father, standing directly before Nick. The cloak vanished and her distinct purple curls tumbled down her olive shoulders. Her red tinted lips effortlessly pulled into a smirk, showing how proud she was to catch us off guard.

"You didn't answer my question, your highness," she said, her silver eyes shone like twin moons in our dark surroundings.

"Your highness?" she asked, batting  her thick black eyelashes. I looked at Nick who was as white as chalk. His eyes and his mouth were frozen, open wide in an expression of stunned silence.

"How?" he whispered, opening and shutting his mouth like a goldfish. The woman standing before us smiled gracefully, clutching her form fitting dress of lacey periwinkle.

"Greetings, my lady," the woman said, bowing elegantly to me.

"Althea, is that you?" Selene stepped out and walked towards the lady hesitantly.

The younger version of Althea started to giggle through her nose, snorting occasionally. A sigh of relief left my mouth. An imposter couldn't imitate the strange laughter that Althea had. She sounded like something was stuck in her throat. Her laughter was always very strained, on the verge of choking. Shaking my head in disbelief, I looked at Nick who was scrunching his face as if he was just forced to eat a sour lemon.

"I conjured a youth plant, Selene and it made me like this!" Althea said, still giggling.

"You look exquisite, Althea. We were actually planning to call you in the castle. I can't believe you're already here. Why? Is everything alright?" Selene inquired, knitting her eyebrows in concern.

Althea lived far away from our kingdom, running her own elite witch training school. Nick and I had trained under her guidance for almost ten years - without succeeding to defeat her. She didn't leave her school untill and unless there was an emergency. It was strange of her to come out of her territory.

A line appeared between her brows. Sticking up her nose in the air, she snarled, "A fustylugs tried to kill me!"

"Someone tried to kill you?"

Nick and I asked in unison, suspicion dripping from the tone of our voice. Everyone in the supernatural realm was aware of Althea and the power she possesed. Anyone who tried to kill her was as good as dead. She scrunched up her face and gave us a dirty look.

"Evanora! Nick! Come to the training field, right now!" she barked her orders and disappeared.

"Do you know what the hell is a fustylags?" Nick whispered, making me sigh in annoyance.

"Alright! I am going to kill you both if you treat this as anything less than a full fledged battle. Fight like you mean it or else be prepared to die. Do you understand?" Althea asked, her face turning hard and serious.

"Yes ma'am!" Nick and I shouted after taking our positions. Taking a deep breath, I balled my fists. Hot deadly fire rose through my veins, heating my body and creating a mighty aura around me. My eyes went round when I looked at Althea who had transformed into a shadow like creature.

Looking at Nick, I nodded. I spread my hands at my side, palms up, and lifted them. Blue fire surrounded my lifted arms. The shadow creature suddenly  duplicated itself into numerous beings, trapping us within a circle. Each clone simultaneously opened their mouths to snarl at us, their sharp teeth glinting in the dim light.

My magic raged, thirsty to cause the destruction of the monster before us. A thin, transparent film rose quickly from the ground in front of me. It was a glacial wall - Nicolai's masterpiece. He had taken years to master the art of shield making. Just then, a human like scoff was heard from the creatures around us. One of them charged towards us, snarling and growling like a hungry lion. I quickly called the wind to throw it away. The wind swirled around the creature but couldn't stop its advance.

"Does she want to kill herself? That can do nothing to my shield."

I  felt like the time had somehow slowed down. The creature's talons grew sharper and clearer as it got near. His red eyes burnt with murderous rage when it collided with our ice shield, a thump sound tearing through the silent atmosphere. The crack that reverberated around us sent shivers of terror down my spine. Before it could jump and have a taste of my flesh, a line of blue fire emerged from my uplifted palms, hitting him right in his shadowy chest. The creature flew back and smashed into a large banyan tree, groaning and whimpering in pain.

Feral growls filled the air, angry and thirsty for revenge. We were surrounded and unprotected. If Nick's shield wasn't working, mine were much worse than him.

"What do we do? Shooting balls of ice or fire would do nothing to them! They are countless!" Nick exclaimed.

"East is your side. Do a circle of winter. I will manage the west side!" I said and started to will a wall of fire to form towards them, enclosing them within its warmth.

The creatures snarled and ran towards me. All of them ran in synchronisation, effortlessly crossing the red wall. Blood drained from my face as I watched them getting close, without a single burn mark on their body.

I was surely going to die today.

First of all, whoever is reading this - THANK YOU SO MUCH! This book has 4k reads now and it's all because of YOU! So, thank you for your time and patience. I know my book has several mistakes and I'll really try to improve them as we go on. *or once I finish this draft first*

Also, I know this update took a lot of time. I am really really sorry for that!