The sun never rose and never set.

Emrys couldn't tell how long it's been for time passed in a blur. He hadn't seen Adaliah since she left. So, there were no sounds or movements in the castle beside his.

At times his breaths and the echoes of his steps were too loud that he nearly tore his ears and legs off. It was maddening and he couldn't help but wonder how Adaliah managed to spend hundreds of years living in seclusion.

His days were spent roaming around endless rooms and spacious halls – a ghost searching for the light, yearning for life...or death.

Strolling, he'd stumbled upon a library once. Shelves upon shelves were stacked with books, each one full of ink and an infinity of words he could neither understand nor read.

His lack of knowledge infuriated him and each day spent in utter silence and loneliness only fanned the flames of his anger, self-repulsion, and sorrow.

Emrys lost his temper once and went on a rampage, tossing, smashing, and growling before he regained his senses. Then, he stood in the middle of the mess, staring at the broken pieces with a heaving chest.

I'm a monster, he thought, before he realized that Adaliah must've undergone a similar vicious circle.

His legs moved on their own, carrying him toward the window where she usually stood and watched.

He knew she wouldn't be there.

That didn't stop him, however, and he ended up staring outside at the barren lands around the castle before fog swallowed the surrounding area.

The trees were bare and gloomy. The walls that were meant to shield and fortify lay strewn in a mess of smashed rocks. Neglect was demolishing everything. The castle was a survivor of a lifetime of pain and anger.

Something within him twisted and ached and he found himself standing next to the debris of his own making before gathering the pieces. Slowly collecting whatever could help him mend the broken, Emrys started small with chairs and little trinkets then his tinkering spread to cover walls, torn curtains, and shattered chandeliers.

Feeling useful and purposeful, he finally returned to the bedroom they'd used. He hadn't slept a wink since that day – hadn't even entered the room.

Emrys stared at the rumpled bed before sighing. He tossed the shirt on a sofa nearby, removed his shoes, and lay on his side, staring at the empty spot beside him until his eyes fluttered shut.

A touch so light glided through his hair. He leaned into it, humming.

"Oh, my sweet Emrys."

He jolted up and quickly looked around.

The voice was familiar but didn't belong to Adaliah. It was warm like a touch on a freezing night. His head throbbed and his teeth itched as he lay back down.

Emrys shook as he sat up for the umpteenth time that week and leaned against the headboard. Each time he closed his eyes, he heard voices and saw faces – familiar despite his inability to recognize them but he had inkling suspicions about who they might be.

A terse inhale cut through the silence, disturbing the darkness that swallowed him, as pain stabbed his heart.

He scrambled to his knees, clutched his chest, and heaved for air. Unable to supply his body with any, he fell to his elbows in a grunting mess. His incisors elongated and dug into his lower lip as he panted.

Unable to shut his mouth, Emrys watched saliva gather and pour down onto the mattress. In one final attempt to stand, he ended up a sprawled mess on the floor as he succumbed to the dizziness that overtook him.

He was running.

Obnoxious, shrill laughter pierced his ears and he winced, picking up his pace. His heart hammered against his ribs. His arms pumped by his sides.

Emrys chanced a glance behind but there was nothing but purple mist and blackness swirling around him. It was gaining on him. He tripped, his body slamming hard against the jagged ground. Then, he staggered as he pushed up, fueled solely by the sense of urgency that consumed him.

"You can run all you want, human." The voice cackled and he looked around in futile attempts to pinpoint its source. "All weaklings have one thing in common." It seemed closer and he whimpered, biting his tongue at the sharp pain in his ankle. The high-pitched voice dropped into a whisper that penetrated his right ear. "Death."

Emrys swiveled but there was nothing and yelped as he found himself floating in midair.

Blackness condensed into a shapeless horror before his eyes. He tried to plead for his life yet his voice failed him as darkness wrapped around his neck. I have a family waiting for me, he wanted to say. Please let me go. Please spare my life. 

Please, please, please.

"Morana." The sound of a male reached him while Emrys tried to free himself. "Stop playing with your food."

I just want to go home, Emrys wanted to say, but his windpipe had been crushed and he was reduced to a wheezing mess.

"Shut up, Veles," Morana grumbled. "What's the point of prying on the weak when you can't tease your prey a little? It adds a bit of flavor to their souls."

Their cackles echoed around before Morana let Emrys drop to the ground. In her momentary distraction, as she chatted with Veles, Emrys scrambled to his feet and let them carry him blindly through the thickness of the forest, hoping the trees would camouflage him enough to get away.

"Look at him, so desperate to stay alive." Morana giggled while Veles condensed his body into a tall figure.

"You are too careless and immature." He didn't mask his disappointment as he gained on a desperate Emrys. "No wonder the Nerezza clan didn't even consider you in the line of succession but rather your sister. Tragic, how she betrayed you instead."

Morana let out a loud screech that shook the air and Emrys nearly toppled again.

"Zephyrine is one weak, stupid bitch. I'm going to kill her for abandoning us."

"You have a plan?"

Emrys faltered in his steps when the two figures surrounded him. He trembled, turning in circles as he searched for an opening to flee. He had no interest in their drama. He was heading home. 

"I'm collecting as much Keres as I'm able to." Morana sounded close. Goosebumps rose across his body when he felt a cold touch on his cheek. "And you, my sweet human, are going to join my collection."

She wrapped around him so tightly and squeezed. Emrys splattered and gasped, kicking his feet hopelessly.

"Too loud," Veles hissed, shaping his arm into one big, pointy blade before he stabbed him through the chest.

Morana screeched again, abandoning Emrys and chasing her companion. "You ruined his soul, damn it! It won't taste as delicious now."

While they bickered among themselves, Emrys gurgled as crimson gushed out and drenched his tunic. His gaze, hazy and heavy, looked up and, as he lay there moribund, watched blood spill out so much that it smeared the skies.

Morana and Veles had quietened down, the two intrigued by the red moon glaring down at them. It hung high and mighty and numinous as its bright rays bathed the grounds beneath.

Emrys swayed as he pushed up and sprinted aimlessly.

"He's running away."

"Let him be," Veles shrunk in size and cast one final spell toward their abandoned prey. "Let us leave. I have a bad feeling about this."

Labored breaths, choking, and wheezing, Emrys didn't stop until the ground disappeared from beneath him and the wind whooshed around him as he fell, fell, fell.

Tears gathered at the corners of his eyes and he finally surrendered to his end. When his body first connected hard with the protruding edges down the cliff, Emrys felt himself fade away into one dark, chilly abyss.

Warmth enveloped his body for a moment. 

Drip, drop.

Trickle, ripple, silence.

A droplet tickled his heart and – thud, thud, thud – breathed life into him.

"Emrys."

With a gasp, Emrys shot up, heaving and soaked with sweat as he came face to face with garnets that glinted in the dark. She was on her knees beside him, her hand on his cheek.

His body burned, his teeth ached, and his veins pulsated. Crimson swirled in his eyes when they settled on her neck, exposed, delicate, succulent. He salivated, leaning closer until his lips brushed her throat.

"Adaliah," he mumbled, his voice weak and breathy, before his incisors sunk into her skin.

Word count: 1432.

Total word count: 14842.

MEANING OF THE WORDS USED: (there's a lot to explain this time, lol)

Morana means death and illness and is of Slavic origin. (In Slavic mythology, it is the name of the goddess of winter and death.) She's also a character in my ONC2021 entry: 'The Whisperer Of The Dead'.

Veles is a Slavic variation of the name Volos. The name actually means ox. In ancient mythology, it was the name of the god of the underworld, cattle, dragons, trickery, the underworld, and magic. He's also a character in my ONC2020: 'Drakaina'.

Nerezza is an Italian name that means darkness.

Zephyrine is of Greek origin, meaning west wind. (Also a character of TWOTD, though briefly mentioned)

Keres means "evil spirits" in Greek.

Moribund in a dying state; near death.

Numinous (adj.) literally translates to "divinity"; a powerful feeling of both fear and fascination, of being in awe and overwhelmed by what is before you.