Explanation:

Hey, guys. I haven't been present here in so long. First thing I want to do is to apologize for my lack of activity around here and for not reading your amazing stories but I promise, I have a very strong reason for that. The thing is that I'm currently facing the most important and life-changing decisions I've ever faced, such as buying a house and choosing my wedding date. I literally don't have one moment free between my job, searchings for a perfect house, meetings in the bank and doing all the usual stuff with my family. The only free time I have for writing is when I don't have much to do in my working hours. With that being said, I have to inform you that I'm gonna take a little break from Wattpad. I'm gonna finish my story and all the other stories I'm currently reading, but I noticed I can't follow my schedule anymore so I can't promise regular updates or regular readings. I'll put as much effort as my time and obligations will allow. Once again, I'm very sorry and I hope you all understand.

Thank you and enjoy your read of chapter 18.

Amelia.

-

"Hello, daughter!"

"I seriously don't know what to think anymore," Camila said, her voice clearly showing a lot of frustration. She walked side by side with Kaley. The other woman just looked at her. Camila looked really drained.

"You should've been completely honest with her. You know how Amelia is and that her head is totally in fighting with red ones. She doesn't see further from that. I mean, you blamed her for something she doesn't even know about."

Camila stopped walking and rolled her eyes.

"Really?" she asked sarcastically. "Then how the hell does she's not blind when it comes to Xenia?"

"The whole complex turns around when Xenia walks by."

Camila stopped dead in her tracks, looking at her cousin in disbelief.

"Wow, thanks for making me feel better, Kaley!"

She just approached a very distressed Camila and hugged her in comfort. The singer didn't hug back.

"You know I didn't mean it like that," Kaley explained herself. "I really want you to stop comparing yourself to Xenia. The two of you have nothing in common and I'm sure Amelia is aware of that. She's just...Xenia was born here. They kinda grew up together. Maybe that's why she has trouble with breaking up their relationship."

Camila gently pushed herself away from Kaley.

"Trust me, it's not like that at all. She always says they aren't together. She doesn't consider Xenia her girlfriend. And she definitely isn't thinking about breaking up with her because, on Amelia's account, there's nothing to break off."

Kaley just smiled.

"Then you don't have a reason to worry about!" she stated. "You're taking all this too seriously. Maybe you just need to chill off a little."

Camila huffed. She simply knew her cousin wouldn't take her seriously. And that was exactly what happened. Kaley brushed it off like it was no big deal. But for Camila, it was a big deal.

They continued their walk through the park in silence. Just as they passed by one of the benches, Camila lifted her eyes off the ground and they fell on two silhouettes working out on exercise field. She paused for a bit.

It was Amelia, along with Damien.

The singer took a sharp breath, her eyes roaming over the vampire's half-naked body. Kaley almost laughed at her stunned expression. As if Camila had never seen Amelia working out before.

-

"Two hundred...two hundred and one...two hundred and...two..." Amelia counted as she furiously lifted her lower parts up and curled her body while hanging from a gymnastics bar. The exercise was called Hanging Knee Tucks.

She could see Damien watching her in discomfort.

"Don't you want to slow down?" he asked, cringing. "A few more and your muscles will burst."

"I...need...this..." she panted out, not stopping.

The man stopped doing what he was doing and approached her. He was worried Amelia would push herself over the edge.

"Okay, you've proved your point. I know you can do it. Now take a break and let your muscles rest for a bit."

Amelia still didn't listen to him but continued with her exercises. Damien sighed, looking in another direction.

"Hey, isn't that Camila and Kaley over there?"

Damien mentioning Camila's name finally made Amelia stop. The woman jumped to her feet again, following the other vampire's gaze.

There were indeed Camila and Kaley, standing and staring right back at them. She didn't think twice. She just picked up her towel, wiped her face up and then headed straight to them.

She could see Camila's eyes first widening and then, in a matter of seconds, becoming sharp. The singer turned around and started walking away. Kaley looked completely lost as if she had trouble deciding whether she should go after Camila or wait for Amelia and Damien.

Amelia knew Kaley liked Damien almost as much as Damien liked Kaley but the nature of their relationship was still hidden. She wanted things to be that easy for her. But it was impossible.

Amelia ran forward, determined to catch up with Camila. She wasn't planning on letting her ran away like the last time.

"Go after her," Kaley said, their arms brushing softly as she ran past her.

Camila was really fast at walking which almost made Amelia smile.

"Hey, wait!" she yelled.

After finally getting into her close proximity, Amelia grabbed her upper arm, making her face her.

"Can you, please, stop trying to run away from me when I'm trying to talk to you?"

Camila stepped a few steps back, crossing her arms on her chest. Her eyes were still narrowed and sharp. Amelia could tell she was mad.

"Can you tell me what exactly did I do to you?!" she asked another question, which made Camila look aside and smile...somewhat bitterly.

"Tell me," she stated coldly. "When you're in a fight with some other red vampire, don't you have to figure out all of his moves before he even does them? So how come then you can't figure things out when it comes to me?"

"Camila..."

She pushed her away.

"No!" she almost shouted. "I have to go."

She started to walk away again, making Amelia furious.

"Oh, for fuck's..."

The ringing of her phone made her shut up and Camila to stop walking. Amelia pulled the device out of her loose gray pants and looked at the screen. The name worried her.

It was Neveah.

Amelia: "Hello?"

Neveah: "Amelia! You must come to Hot Springs. We...we're losing it."

Amelia's eyes widened in horror.

Amelia: "What?!"

Her shouting seemed to worry Camila as the human approached again in Amelia's close proximity but she was now totally focused on a phone call and a person on the other side of the line.

Neveah: "We haven't expected so much of them to come. It's like they are trying to make some kind of invasion. Please, Amelia."

Amelia: (gritting her teeth) "I worked my ass off trying to win that territory over and now you're telling me you're about to lose it? How many of you guys are there?"

She could hear some shouts from the phone.

Neveah: (breathily) "Just me, Storm and Paxon!"

Amelia: "Fuck!"

The shouting now attracted Damien's and Kaley's attention too. Both of them approached Amelia, Damien looking at her worriedly.

"What's happening?" he asked but Amelia ignored him.

Neveah: "How fast can you come?"

The other woman just rubbed her eyes in frustration and anger. She was outraged with red ones. So much time had passed from the last encounter they had that she almost forgot how was the feeling of being called to fulfill your duty as a blue warrior.

Amelia: "In a few minutes. Can you three compose yourself enough to stop a disaster?"

Neveah: "Just hurry up!"

After the last statement, the line went dead and Amelia loudly groaned, wanting to throw her phone among the trees.

"What's going on?!" Damien pressed.

"Call the others. We're going to Hot Springs," she answered, already moving toward the main building. The other three started to follow her.

Damien grabbed her upper arm.

"Woah. Stop and explain what happened, will ya?"

Amelia faced him, her face clearly showing anger.

"We're just about to lose it and you want me to explain? I'd rather do something about it."

Camila's eyes immediately widened in horror, now matching Amelia's state when Neveah first called her to tell her the bad news. She stood in front of Amelia, blocking her way.

"Wait, you're going out to fight?!" she asked, almost panicking.

"Oh, now you wanna talk?!" Amelia fired back with a frown. "Yes, we're going out to fight. Now out of my way."

After hearing such bad news, they completely forgot about everything else. They were both very much aware of how much Hot Springs meant to them. It was the last line of defense, before the complex. If they would lose it, then red ones would get almost free access to them.

"Damien, hurry!" Amelia called for him. She was a lot quicker and the other vampire had to run to catch up with her.

"We should call everyone."

"Can you send the message?" she asked.

Damien immediately pulled his beeper. Camila and Kaley continued to run after them until they found themselves in front of the main building's entrance.

"This is as far as you two go," Amelia told them.

"Wait? What's gonna happen now?" Kaley asked, her voice clearly showing worry.

Damien sighed.

"We have to go and see what exactly is happening in Hot Springs. We can't afford to lose it. It's important territory," he explained.

Camila and Kaley exchanged glances.

"And what if you lose it?"

"Then we're gonna be in deep shit," Amelia answered instead of Damien, giving him an angry look. "Damien, we don't have time for chit-chat. We have to go. You two, go back to your houses."

She didn't give them a chance to say anything else. They both went inside, leaving them at the entrance. Amelia didn't turn around. She didn't want to see Camila's face. She was already so fed up with everything and them possibly losing Hot Springs was the last straw.

Amelia was furious.

They went directly to the weapon storage room, to take their equipment. As Amelia put her bulletproof vest on, Janus entered the room.

"I've heard what happened. You're going out?" he asked, the same worry written all over his face.

Damien nodded, filling his gun with bullets.

"You were the one who said we're out of the danger zone," he stated, his eyes narrowed towards his father. "And look what happened. We were right from the very beginning. It was just a matter of time before something like that would happen."

Janus lowered his gaze to the floor.

"Damien, enough," Amelia warned him. "Let's focus on not losing the territory instead of looking for the person to blame this on."

The younger man scoffed but didn't say anything else.

"Please, both of you be careful," Janus verbalized his worry. "It's a literal hell out there. How many of you are going out?"

"I don't know yet. We'll see when we get to the helicopter," Damien replied, putting his daggers around his belt.

They were both ready to go. The older vampire once again stood in front of them. Amelia understood him. After all, he was Damien's father.

"You both have to come back...even under the price of losing Hot Springs. Do you understand me?"

Damien immediately nodded, putting his hand on Janus's shoulder, all the fights and disagreements they had forgotten.

"Amelia? Do you understand what I said? It's an order,", he repeated.

Her facial features stayed firm and unreadable. She didn't even flinch. She was just standing there, in full combat, her arms behind her back.

"I won't lose it. I promise! And I won't risk anybody else getting hurt over this," she stated.

Janus nodded in acceptance, squeezing both of their shoulders and then two younger vampires hurried out of the weapon storage room, ran down the corridor, towards the roof, where their ride was waiting for them.

As they entered a dim-light open space, Amelia could see a few more faces. There were around ten of their fellow warriors waiting for orders. She could recognize Sasha, Alexus, Daxx, and Osien. She was extremely glad for four of her closest friends showing up.

"Okay, guys, I don't have a lot to say," she started. "When we get there, attack them hard and fast. Let's surprise them, yeah?"

They just nodded and then started to move toward the helicopters. Her close friends followed her and Damien while the other took the other one. Her cousin sat behind the control panel and as soon as they got permission, he flew up, raising the helicopter.

Amelia was sitting in the copilot's seat, adjusting her daggers to fit into their holsters, placed around her waist.

"Guys, be careful, yeah? I know I don't have to say this to you but still, I'm not really sure what we're gonna find when we get there but I don't want anyone to get hurt or...killed. It's been quite a while since our last fight. You know how the red ones are. Keep your eyes open and all your senses on the highest level," she honestly said.

Five of her friends were very grateful for her concern. Sasha squeezed her shoulder in support. After that, none of them said another word. They all were focused on clouds they were passing by. Their heads were already in the fight.

Damien was more worried than the others because he saw how Amelia already blocked the rest of the world. She was in her element and he wouldn't be surprised if she would decide to jump out of the helicopter before he would even have a chance to land it on the firm ground.

"Inside of our complex is a lot of people who love you and care about your well-being. I'd like you to keep that in mind before you step down on that ground," he quietly said, not wanting the rest to hear him. Amelia's head snapped in his direction.

"I know!" she stated.

Damien hadn't moved his eyes from the wide open airspace in front of them.

"But you like to forget about it from time to time," he replied.

Amelia was observing him for a few moments and just as she was ready to answer him, they came to Hot Springs. After seeing what was going on down there, their eyes went wide.

There was fire everywhere and dozens of red ones were freely running among the fire.

Amelia's words got stuck in her throat. Now she began to fear about Neveah, Paxon, and Storm. Were they even alive?

"Oh, my God. Are we going into that?" Alexus asked with her mouth wide open.

"Is there anything to save?"

Amelia couldn't believe what was left of Hot Springs. A few buildings are still standing but the rest were just ruins. The fire slowly consumed everything.

"Holy shit," she slowly said, shaking her head.

Damien was looking for the best place to land the vehicle on but there wasn't much open space left.

"Just land anywhere. We have to go look for Neveah and the others," Daxx said to him. He agreed and soon managed to land the helicopter behind one of the buildings which were still standing. The other one landed not too far away.

As soon as Amelia felt a thud, she flew out of it.

"Wait!" Damien shouted but his cousin wasn't listening anymore. She was in the zone.

She immediately swirled one of her daggers in some random red one's direction. The outraged vampire fell down like a stone thrown in the water. She approached so she could pull the dagger out of him. The fire would do the rest. The others immediately surrounded her, ready for a fight to the death.

She continued to break through the barricades made of the red ones so she could get to the center, believing Neveah and the rest of her crew were somewhere there. Or hoping. The only thing she wanted to do was to find her fellow warriors.

"You fucking assholes! Where the hell are they?!" she shouted loudly, stabbing a red vampire in his stomach.

She was furious because there was no sight of any blue vampire fighting.

"You'll never find them!"

After hearing that voice, she slowly turned around. There were only two vampires among red ones who would approach her like that and currently, one of them stood behind her.

A slightly older red-eyed version of her.

"Wash!"

"Hello baby sis!" said a male vampire who was leaning against something which once was a wall. He had a cruel, sarcastic smile on his face as he was twisting a knife in his hands. "Took you long enough to get here. Surprise, surprise."

"What are you doing here?" she asked, ready to attack her own brother.

He once again laughed.

"Taking Hot Springs and all your warriors away from you, of course."

She looked around, her eyes falling on Damien and Daxx fighting with a group of red ones. The others were spread over the territory, also fighting and trying to win it over again. Amelia didn't wait for an invitation. She threw her dagger at him but Wash skillfully avoided the collision.

"Where the fuck is my people?!" she shouted.

"They're dead. Just as you will be soon."

No...no, no, no. She didn't accept that answer. She was sure Wash was lying, trying to lure her into a trap.

"So, are you just going to stare at me or we're going to fight?"

"Neither of that!"

As soon as they heard that, they both were dead in their tracks. Amelia knew that voice...but she wished she didn't. She turned in the direction of the voice and he was there, standing in all his glory. The other vampire. The only one she didn't want to do anything with.

"We're having such a nice family gathering here," Wash said sarcastically, standing beside the other older vampire.

Amelia was speechless. She didn't expect to see him here.

"Hello, daughter!"

She was still just staring at him, not even noticing all of her warriors gathering around her and a bunch of red ones standing behinds two of their leaders. There were just two of them.

Her and Victor.

She noticed her father carefully observing her. But it wasn't out of love. He was just looking for any weak points.

"Wash," he called, finally looking away. "Go bring three of our prisoners."

Victor's younger version smiled again, giving Amelia a look which told her everything. They were trapped. Victor had three of her missing warriors. She gritted her teeth in anger.

"What did you do to them?!"

He smirked, his angry and sharp fangs showing through his lips.

Amelia swallowed hard.

"They're fine," Victor answered. "For now."

It was such an odd feeling to talk to her real father. Her and Wash already had their fair share of fights through all the years but she never came so close to Victor. Him being in Hot Springs was a great surprise because he always sent his "dogs" to do the dirty job instead of him. It wasn't Amelia's first conversation with Victor but she never came so close to the older vampire in person. It was always over the phone or angry shouting from the distance in a few rare occasions when red-eyed leader decided to come out of his shelter residence.

Just as she thought about him, Wash and the two of other red ones dragged three of her missing warriors through the field. What she saw shocked her.

"You monsters!" Damien screamed from somewhere behind her while Amelia was unable to utter a word. "What did you do to them?"

"Shut up!" Victor screamed back. "You're just as stupid as your useless father. It was about damn time I show up and give you a lesson you all deserve."

Amelia looked back and saw all of her other fellow warriors save and sound standing behind her and waiting for the further instructions. They were tense, ready to attack.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I now present you three of your missing people," Victor spoke again with a huge sadistic grin on his face, gaining Amelia's attention. "Not exactly what you hoped for, yeah? To be completely honest, I expected more from the people who killed so many of my red ones throughout the centuries. Instead, it was all a child game."

Amelia looked at each of her friends who were currently barely standing on their feet, trapped in the enemy's arms. Their faces were hardly recognizable as all three of them had daggers stuck in their upper arms. Their heads were hanging low with bruises everywhere. For the first time tonight, she was scared for their lives.

"Let them go," Amelia hissed and Victor immediately approached her.

She didn't step back, no. Instead, she let him drag her into this eye staring game.

Daughter against father.

"Have you really thought I'm done? That I used all of my resources?" he asked her, getting in her face.

Amelia heard a commotion behind her but whoever tried to meddle in, didn't manage to come close enough. She assumed it was Damien but somebody clearly stopped him.

"Do you really think I'm that stupid?" he asked again. "You underestimated me. All of you. And because of that, you're about to lose this war. You already lost the most important territory. Now you can only watch me conquer a world."

Amelia pushed him hard but Victor only laughed.

"Tell me I'm wrong," he said again but Amelia only stepped closer.

"Nothing is over yet," she said through gritted teeth. "Now you're the one underestimating me and the blue ones. I hate to be the one telling you bad news but the good guys always win."

Victor looked directly into her eyes and for a brief moment, Amelia felt fear. Fear of the fire burning in his red colored eyes. She snapped out of it when his eyes widened in some sort of surprise.

"Who is she?" he asked slowly.

At first, she was confused by his question but then, Victor laughed out loud.

"She's human? Are you fucking kidding me?"

The truth hit Amelia like a ton of bricks. He was talking about Camila. Victor actually recognized the change the other woman caused in her. The unbreakable bond the two of them shared through their bloodline once again helped him. Victor was able to read her like an open book. She exhaled because she knew without a doubt that he would use this at his advantage.

And she was right. Victor bent over his knees from laughing so hard.

"You have to be kidding me," he said between broken breaths and she scowled. Him knowing about Camila couldn't bring anything good for them. Things could get only worse. "After almost three centuries of you being so determined to exterminate my kind, you finally have a weak spot and above all, it's a human being. You let yourself get distracted. How pathetic can you be, my precious little daughter? I never thought I would be so ashamed of letting Janus get away with you alive."

Amelia squeezed her fists while all the red ones, including Wash, laughed.

"You and your blue ones don't deserve to call yourselves vampires," he said and gave Wash a sign.

The younger one seemed to understand what his father wanted him to do and suddenly, his dagger cut deep thought Neveah's throat.

Amelia's eyes widened as she flew forward.

"No, don't do that!" she shouted but it was already too late. Neveah's eyes rolled back while blood flew out of the open wound on her throat. She was dead in mere seconds.

"No!" she shouted, running towards Victor in full speed, all of her fellow warriors following her. It was clear that, by killing Neveah, Victor had announced them another war. Red ones were far from being defeated and he proved that tonight.

He proved it by killing one of Amelia's closest friends. And she knew for a fact that her father didn't have any intention to stop on Neveah. He would do anything to make her suffer even more. To make her weak and easy target. Because now when red ones once again possessed Hot Springs, Amelia was the only pole of defense the blue coven had left.

"You fucking scumbag," she yelled, taking out both of her daggers. "You murderer. I'm going to fucking kill you. You're gonna pay me for this."

But before she even got a chance to swirl her dagger at him, Victor threw a hard slap towards her. She yelped in pain, flying through the air, over the pile of ruins. She fell down with a loud thud, groaning in burning pain going through her whole head.

"No!" Damien shouted. "Amelia!"

She wanted to tell him to keep fighting but she was unable to utter a word.

Victor immediately approached her. He looked like some demonic creature with his angry face and the fire burning everything on its way all around him.

"What was that?" he asked with an angry frown. "What happened to your friend over there awaits all of your friends and family. I'm going to murder them one by one until I kill every single one of them."

Amelia was sure her head was cracked open considering the amount of pain she was in. Then, Victor grabbed her collar, lifting her from the ground.

"But let's start with you first," he said. "I'm really curious about how Janus and your little girlfriend are going to feel when they find out you're dead."

After, his last statement, Amelia felt a burning pain in the lower part of her body. It was clear he cut her abdomen. But apparently, it wasn't enough for him.

He threw a punch towards her.

And another. And another. Until all she saw was a blank space.

-

Author's note:

I don't have much to say. If you liked it, please hit a little star bellow the chapter or leave a comment.

Thank you in advance.

As always, stay true to yourself and have a nice day.