"There must be somethin' in the water, cause every day it's gettin' colder. And if only I could hold you, you'd keep my head from goin' under."
~Lewis Capaldi, 'Bruises'

~~~

*Tutor's POV*

My head pounds painfully from stress, and my bury my face in my hands. No matter how hard I try, I can't come up with a way to get out this marriage.

Fighter told me about Hwa's proposal. While it was an incredibly sweet offer, I could never do that to her. She would be married to a gay man that she knows would be seeing someone else. Hwa is my best friend, and she deserves better than that.

There is one solution that keeps popping into my mind, but it's far too risky.

Telling my father about my relationship with Fighter, and declaring that I will not take the throne unless I get to stay with him.

Pros? My father has no other children, no other heirs, and would be forced to let me take the throne no matter what. If it worked, I could stay with Fighter.

Cons? My father could decide he would rather our reign comes to an end than letting his gay son become king. And then he would send Fighter away, or do worse to him.

There's too much risk with that plan. No matter what happens to me, I have to protect Fighter.

I sigh, rubbing my face in frustration. The sky is growing darker and darker, and my legs twitch the desire to carry me to the cabin. The past few nights, I've noticed Tee hanging out in the gardens at night, making it impossible for me to sneak to the cabin with Fighter. If my father knows about our relationship, it's possible Tee knows too.

Or, maybe Tee is the one who told him...? But how would Tee have found out? And why would Tee go directly to my father, instead of talking to me first?

Ugh, my head hurts.

"Trouble in paradise?"

My head snaps up at the deep voice rumbling in my bedroom. I whip around, but there's no one else in the room. Maybe I'm hearing things...?

"How unfortunate that the king can't recognize true love," the disembodied voice echoes. "Love is the most powerful element in the world, after all."

"Who are you?" I demand in a whispered tone. The voice chuckles, making my blood turn cold.

Suddenly, my blood isn't the only thing that's cold. The temperature in the room drops several degrees, causing goosebumps to break out over my skin. I shiver, wrapping my arms around myself.

"Do not be afraid," the voice wisps through the air, making it impossible to pinpoint a source. "I'm not going to hurt you."

My teeth clatter from the freezing temperature. "I d-don't see w-why I s-should b-believe you."

In an instant, the cold is replaced by a soothing warmth. I sighs in relief, rubbing the remaining chill from my arms.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Prince Tutor."

The voice has now solidified, and I spin around to see a tall man standing by the window. While he's shrouded by a dark cloak, I can see the man's pale skin, sharp fangs, and glowing red eyes.

"Who are you?" I demand again, my voice a lot more steady this time.

The man chuckles darkly. "I'm hurt. It seems my son neglected to mention me."

The blood drains from my face at the revelation, and my legs feel weak. "No," I whisper. "It can't be."

He hums in amusement. "So he has mentioned me. I'm glad. My name is Ruen. It's an honor to meet the great Prince Tutor."

"What are you doing here?" I question shakily, skipping the nonexistent pleasantries.

"I doubt you need me to explain that much to you," Ruen sneers. "I'm here for my son."

"No!" I deny him firmly. "He doesn't want to be a part of your clan. You can't force him."

"That's where you're wrong, dear prince," Ruen says with a sickly sweet smile. "I know my son better than anyone else. Even you. He's incapable of denying me anything."

"How did you even find him? It's been over a decade since he came here."

"Ah, now that's something I'm curious about as well," Ruen says, taking a seat at my desk. "For the past ten years, I've searched through cities and villages for my son, coming up empty handed. I was nearly prepared to conclude that he died long ago, until I felt a tremendous amount of power coming from this palace. Curious, I came here to inspect, and imagine my surprise to find my own son not only living in the palace, but having an affair with the prince."

A tremendous amount of power? Who could have possibly used so much magic—

A gasp escapes my lips as I grasp the necklace around my neck. Fighter had mentioned Xan warning Saifah against performing large spells. Is this why? Because he knew Ruen could sense that powerful of magic?

"You stay away from him!" I hiss, shaking in anger. "He left when he saw you for the monster you are. Fighter doesn't want anything to do with your lifestyle. He's happy here. Why can't you just leave him alone?!"

I mentally prepare myself for the backlash from yelling at a vampire lord, but it never comes. Rather, Ruen begins to laugh in delight, clapping his hands together.

"Oh my, this is wonderful," he chuckles. "To answer your question, dear prince, I need my son to rule over my clan after I've passed on. I'm not planning on retiring for a few more centuries, but that should be plenty of time to properly train Fighter for the role. He's 25-years-old now. It's time for him to become a full vampire and embrace his destiny."

"You're disgusting," I spit through clenched teeth.

My back hits the wall as Ruen pins me in less than a second, his hand on my throat. I gasp for air, clawing at his icy cold hand.

"I admire your courage, dear prince," Ruen says darkly, his red eyes peering into mine. "Your willingness to stand up for my son only proves that the love between you is true. I'm relieved that this should go rather smoothly."

"What are you talking about?" My voice is raspy beneath the weight of his hand.

"If Fighter didn't love you, he wouldn't be able to devour your heart and become immortal," Ruen smiles at me, the sight making me sick. "Having him complete the ritual would've been impossible, but thanks to you, Fighter has the perfect sacrifice."

"He would never. Fighter would never kill me to become like you."

"He won't have a choice. If he refuses, I'll torture you ever day as he watches, until he agrees to relieve you of your suffering. Isn't a swift death much more preferable to a drawn out one? I don't doubt Fighter would opt to kill you himself, than let me do whatever I please with you."

Tears roll down my face as bile rises is my stomach. "Please don't do this," I whimper desperately.

"I am sorry, dear prince. You seem like a good kid, and you probably would've made a great king. But, my son fell in love with you. And I do need my son to return to me. I'll give you two days to say your goodbyes."

Ruen releases my throat and I fall to the floor, gasping for breath. I hold my bruising throat that begins to heal from the necklace.

"Oh, and Tutor?" Ruen calls out as he stands by the window. "Breathe a word of this to Fighter, and I'll kill the both of you. Have a good night."

He vanishes from the room, leaving me crushed beneath the weight of everything he just told me. I feel like I'm going to vomit as his words echo in my mind.

'...the love between you is true...'

'If Fighter didn't love you...'

'But, my son fell in love with you...'

This is all my fault. If Fighter hadn't fallen in love with me, Ruen wouldn't be here, wanting to force Fighter to complete the ritual.

All this is happening because I couldn't stay away from him. I reassured him countless times that we would be fine, but would we really? Who am I to make such promises? Ruen is going to destroy Fighter, all because he loves me.

Because he loves me...

As a plan formulates in my mind, I cover my mouth to silence my sobs. My heart is shattering, but I know I need to do whatever it takes to protect Fighter.

I'm sorry, Fighter. But I can't let you complete that ritual.

~~~

My apologies for the next several chapters 😅 I'll try to update quickly so you're not having to wait in suspense

So we've met Ruen! He's icky, right? We don't like him

Thoughts??

See you next time!
-Gumbie