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Third Person POV

Cain meticulously planned inside a castle of his own, one that he planned on making the new royal castle when he took over the vampire world. His platinum blonde hair shimmered in the sunlight, highlighting his best features. A hand on a quill and the other on a book, Cain wrote down his daily thoughts, just as he had for the past four thousand years.

𝘛𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺'𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥'𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘡𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘯. 𝘎𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘺𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦! 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨! 𝘕𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘥. 𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘝𝘰𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘢. 𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘴, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘔𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘏𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵, 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦.

𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮.

𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘊𝘢𝘪𝘶𝘴. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯, 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘖𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴. 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥.

𝘏𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘖𝘩. 𝘖𝘩 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘕𝘰, 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮! 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺. 𝘐 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘔𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘺! 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬!

𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘺? 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺! 𝘖𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦. 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦. 𝘐'𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦'𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘞𝘦'𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘝𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥.

𝘎𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮. 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴. 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘕𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘊𝘢𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺.

The blonde vampire had to put down his quill, screaming at the entry. His mind filled with thoughts of his singer, the man who he turned so many centuries ago. He lusted for his toned body, longed for his sweet touch and comforting embrace.

There were many days where Cain would scream, where he would kill one of the humans he kept in his dungeons in anger over Caius' absence. Drained to borderline insanity, Cain teetered on the edge of his own psyche, desperation in every move he made. It took all of his strength to not barge into Volterra and take his prince back for himself. No woman could compare to him, not in Cain's eyes. Cain was his perfect lover, his perfect protector.

Cain would do anything, even if it meant ruining himself.

His love lingered on the edges of obsession and toxicity, likely having crossed many eons ago. Cain still thought Caius was married to Athenodora, who in reality is just his best friend who picked him up after Cain broke every ounce of his once trusting nature in half. The woman who Caius saw as a sister or an aunt at most, now a target for Cain's obsessive tendencies.

"Where are they?" Cain questioned nobody, running his fingers through the group of letters he'd never sent. "Here. Here."

His pale hand picked up the first letter he'd written after Caius' turning. I love you, my Caius.

𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘊𝘢𝘪𝘶𝘴,

𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘕𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘔𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘔𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘊𝘢𝘪𝘶𝘴. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢 𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦. 𝘉𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

𝘐𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘉𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘈𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘳𝘰𝘴, 𝘮𝘺 𝘊𝘢𝘪𝘶𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦, 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘣, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵.

𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴, 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘺 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺.

𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩, 𝘮𝘺 𝘊𝘢𝘪𝘶𝘴. 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦.

𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦.

Grinning as he reminisced on the letter he wrote to Caius and was never able to send, Cain grabbed a bottle of wine mixed with blood. When he was not plotting to overturn the Volturi's rule or daydreaming about Caius, Cain drank. It didn't matter what it was, he would drink. Drink and drink until his body threw it all up. A vampire's alcoholism.

"When will I get to see you again, my little Caius?" Cain asked the empty room, crazily swinging around the bottle of wine. Before he could take a sip, one of his guards brought in Zenon, there in his old chains.

"Ah, my favorite of my beloved's brothers," Cain lied. He hated all of Caius' siblings, but he had to tolerate them if he were to be able to get Caius back in his arms. "What can I do for you, little Zenon?"

"I've located my sister." Zenon did not want to give his sister away, but the other guards' gifts would rat him out if he attempted to lie to his master. "She's in Volterra, in the castle."

Zenon did not know that his brother is a king, or that the angry king of the vampires is his brother. Cain made sure that the boy remained in the dark, to make sure that he created a level of ignorance that he could use to his advantage. They did not know of Aro, of Marcus, of Caius, only three kings keeping Cain back from victory.

The boy didn't believe that his brother left. Deep down, no matter how many times his mother and father told him, he couldn't believe it. Caius loved them. He was loyal, hardworking, and foolishly brave for their family. The perfect heir for my family, his father would say when he was younger.

Alas, Zenon lived as a prisoner, only being used for his gift of knowing when people leave or enter an area. Beautiful for a trapped guard.

Immortally frozen only three weeks after his brother, Zenon's hair remained a dirty blonde, fitting better with his features than it had with his father's eldest son. His angular jawline

Cain hummed at this newfound information. "Zenon, do you know if you can track the king's whereabouts? If they leave the castle? Can you track inside the castle so we can get a basic layout before our attacks?"

He was not ready for this question. It seemed so plain, so obvious, but Cain had never asked him to use his gift in this fashion. "I can, but what of my sister? Will you hurt her?"

Zenon knew of Cain's pure ruthlessness and he hated it. His family meant more to him than anything, and as long as he was being held prisoner he would do anything to keep them safe. If it meant taking the beatings, the whips and chains, he could do it. For his mother, father, little brothers and sisters, he could do anything, take anything.

"No, not yet. She will see my mercy and come running back like they all do," Cain crooned at the chained boy. "I am the only one who can be king."

"Of course." Bullshit, Zenon wanted to spit at him, We all hate you, you damn tyrant.

"Find your sister and map out the Volturi's castle." Cain smirked at the ancient vampire. "You know the consequences if you were to fail me."

☆꧁___________________________꧂☆

Astraea's POV

Wrangling out the letter from under my many pieces of free paper, I looked to see who had sent me this note. I smiled as I read my uncle's name at the top. Opening up the envelope, I begin to read his letter.

𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘈𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘢,

𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦, 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘭, 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥, 𝘈𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘢, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘭.

𝘈𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘺. 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘰𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘰𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮, 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩.

𝘔𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘔𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘺, 𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵.

𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘥𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯, 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳.

𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 :)

𝘜𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘈

I chuckled at his humor, which his sons inherited from him. I'm just happy he accepts them. And me, for that matter. It's not every day that you find out that your sons are vampires and that your niece is mated to your bosses that are also vampires and the kings of the vampire world. Terrifying. It's hard enough to just be a human who knows about all of this stuff, let alone experiencing something like this. If it weren't for his job, he would've been left in the dark or even killed.

My humanity wasn't something I've been concerned about. With Caius' panic attacks and emotional outbursts added onto all three of my mates' leadership roles, I've had to make sure each of them didn't overwork themselves. Aro did that the most, but even Marcus has been worked to the brink of mental exhaustion.

Having them at their best was my main priority, not figuring out when I want to be turned. My role on top of finishing all my online school work has been... difficult to say the least. Everyone needed something, whether it be physical attention or my opinion on a potential battle plan (even though I literally know nothing about those matters. Aro is under the impression that I can spot something he can't).

Bringing out the quill and ink, I begin drafting my next letter to my uncle. It was only fair considering he has no contact with me on a regular basis.

𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘜𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘦,

𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴. 𝘈𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘷𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘐'𝘮 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘐'𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘔𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱, 𝘰𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺.

𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘺. 𝘈 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵, 𝘢 𝘷𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦, 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘊𝘢𝘪𝘶𝘴' 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘹𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘱. 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘐'𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯.

𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺. 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦. 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘺.

𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦,

𝘈𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘢 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘴