Eric's pov

5 minutes earlier. . .

I took a second to catch my breath. I've never fought this much in my entire life of being on this earth for three hundred years. Yes, I've seen things and done things. But I've never been this much involved with something, ever since I left my kingdom.

I quickly rolled to the side when Ivan tried to pounce on me. The glass that Ivan held, was now plunged into the dirt. He growled under his breath as he tried to stab me again. I continued to dodge each shot.

Finally, I stood up, but the heel of his shoe hit me in the gut. My back hit the ground as he stood over me. He continued to swing the large piece of glass at me. I blocked and grabbed the glass with both of my hands. It slowly continued to stalk towards my face as Ivan continued to add pressure to it.

A small grunt escaped my throat. I tried with all of my might to push the glass away from me. My palms continued to get carved up. The blood from each cut continued to drizzle down my hands and onto my face.

I needed to find a way to get him off of me.

"You don't die, do you?" Ivan chuckled as he added more pressure to the glass. The glass was starting to get too close to my eye. Anything further is going to make me lose an eye.

I was starting to feel the pressure. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck slowly rise from their sleeping form. I felt like I couldn't breathe. My heart started to race and small beads of sweat started to form.

I knew I had to do something.

If I couldn't push him away, why not pull him in?

I swiftly pulled his arm in and to the side. He stumbled forward and stabbed the grass. Luckily, I didn't lose an eye. I only got a small nick on the cheek.

I took the chance and stood to my feet. I didn't hesitate to kick the glass away from him. The extreme facial expression of anger and frustration is painting its true colours. It was my turn. And I knew I was going to finish him.

I picked him up by the suit jacket and chucked him into the middle of the road. He was for sure going to get road rash. After all, he had already given it to me.

I took my chance to slowly stalk towards him. He wasn't getting away this time. After everything, after everything he did. He tore my family apart, stole my throne, nearly killed my mate, attempted to wipe out all of humanity, and to add the cherry to the cake, he tried turning all of my kind against me.

I reached to the back of my belt and pulled out a silver handgun. It was a gift from my brother, the last thing I had of him. It had the letter 'R' on it. It reminded me of the day I lost my twin. That day was the most horrifying day of my life. Ryker was everything to me. Even though he was one-minute older than I was, he was still my other half. And when I lost him, I lost my other half. I knew I was never going to get him back.

This is for everyone we've lost. This is for humanity.

Cebell's pov

"So, all I have to do is spill some of my blood?" I asked, then pointed to the large sundial.

"Pretty much. Take this knife and run it across your hand, and it should reverse the spell," she explained.

Madeline then handed me the knife. I couldn't help but feel butterflies in my gut. If this works, I will never question anything that is not impossible.

I took a slow and steady breath. I knew if I did it quickly, then there would be no pain. Simple, right? Oh god, I was wrong!

I dragged the metal across my hand, and the blood started to pool in my hand. The smell of iron filled my nose as I tilted my hand slightly. Crimson droplets made their mark on the cold stone.

It took a second before the sundial started glowing red, then blue. The illuminating glow gave off small little hidden stars, before disappearing.

"Did it work?" I turned towards Madeline.

She gave me a simple nod before speaking.

"It has been done. Now, you better go tell Eric, so he can hide before the sun rises." Panic soon formed in my gut. He's going to burn!

3rd person's pov

Cebell wasted no time sprinting to the door. The devastating feeling filled her chest as she knew she was going to lose him.

Eric finally approached Ivan and place the cold barrel on Ivan's skull. He made sure to leave the safety off. The feeling of anger was boiling over. Eric couldn't take it anymore. But he needed to know one thing. Why did he do it?

"Why?" Eric started.

"Why did you do it? Why did you go through all the trouble to kill my brother, and bring down all of humanity?"

Eric was willing to listen to Ivan, one last time, of course. One last time before he gives the road a new paint job.

"You win. I lose. Your brother was much more than a vampire prince. I knew he practised dark magic in the catacombs under your castle." he chuckled.

"Not only did he use it, but he used it for the better cause. When loved ones would die, he would simply bring them back to life for one day. Time is precious, you never know when it will be your last. In other words, when I killed your brother, I got access to every book, potion, spell, your brother had. I summoned a necromancer, and he vowed to my every command."

Eric's hands started to shake. He didn't know what to think. He couldn't tell if this was the truth or if it was a lie.

"Eric!" Cebell screamed as she started running towards him.

The sky finally turned into beautiful pinks and orange. Fluffy clouds started to paint their way onto the sky's canvas.

Eric finally glanced up to see the beautiful sky. He felt like a mountain had been lifted off of his shoulders. It was finally over. After everything, Eric worked for. He could finally rest, knowing that everything was going to be okay.

He finally glanced down at Ivan. Despite the feeling of hatred, he remembered Cebell's words. He knew it wasn't worth it. It wouldn't bring back his mother and twin brother.

Eric slowly withdrew the gun away from Ivan's head.

"Get out of here, before I change my mind." Eric snapped. Before he knew it, Ivan was gone.

Cebell finally got to Eric. With open arms, they embraced each other. After a long minute, they never wanted to let go. The feeling of being whole again was in the air.

"Oh, how I thought I lost you." Cebell's eyes started filling with tears.

"I thought we wouldn't see each other again," she whispered. He didn't dare to speak a word. This moment was way too precious to ruin.

"It's okay. I am here and I am never leaving," he said in a hushed voice.

Cebell quickly pulled away seeing the sunlight was starting to crawl across the street. It was making its way towards them.

"You have to go-."

Eric shook his head as Cebell placed both of her hands on his face. A small, sad smile formed at the corner of his lips.

"It's too late, I'm already dead," he explained. Tears started to form in the corner of her eyes. She felt the sudden pain in her chest. Oh, how it burned.

"No. Please," she whispered. Her words were choked by the saliva bubbling in her throat.

He shook his head. He was going to accept his fate, even though there were seconds left. The sun was coming up too fast, and he knew it. He was going to put the tears back in her eyes.

Cebell didn't bother wasting another second. Her lips connected with his. This was going to be the last moment she will ever see him. Tears started spilling down her cheeks as she felt pain in her chest. The sun was finally on the two. She knew he was gone. It was almost like a phantom kissing her lips.

Or that's what she thought.

She opened her eyes to see, that Eric was still there. She was in awe. There was nothing that could explain why he was still here.

Eric could feel the warm sun on his face. It was a warm kiss on the cheek that he missed for centuries. This was nothing he has felt before.

She suddenly pulled away in surprise.

"Eric!" she almost screamed in dismay. He placed his finger on her lips and hushed her.

"I told you I wasn't leaving."