Page 6 of The Dark War

When we first arrived in Bergarian, Taliyah wanted to immediately head to the Vermillion castle to figure out what kind of shambles her half brother had left it in. Taliyah did a lot for Darius, from calculating taxes to taking from the people down to spells to make his compulsion stronger.

Taliyah knew the nation was already in shambles, and digging deeper into the archives of the treasury, the Parliament, and the welfare of the people only made her mood more somber. There was much to be done, and not many willing vampires and witches left to help.

Upon arrival, there was nothing but dead trees, crumbled leaves on the ground, and decaying corpses of animals laid barely intact. The homes on the outskirts of the main square were broken down, shutters crumbling to pieces. Several vampire children were running and playing with sticks while their parents hung up clothes on the line riddled with holes.

Many of the small towns we passed by were ancient and burned to the ground; not a single life was left.

The carriage trudged along. Taliyah looked out the window sadly. Her white hair was pulled back into a braid, her red eyes tearing up from the lack of shelter for the vampires and witches that dared to live their lives in this land. “I don’t know where to start.” Taliyah sighed. I jumped up from the other side of the carriage, putting my arm around her. Her head went straight to my chest, my fingers tickling down the side of her cheek. The wetness of her bloody tears pooled on my thumb.

“You can’t blame yourself, Taliyah.” I pulled her up to look at me. “Darius did this, not you. He left the country in shambles, let the rogues take over, and now the innocent suffer. We can ask for help. We are friends with the Cerulean Moon Kingdom, remember?” I smiled, pulling her chin toward my lips.

Her cold lips met my warm ones, sparks flying across them. How I almost gave this up, I’d never know. Taliyah sighed, her fingers entangled with mine. “Are you sure you want to do this, to help me?”

“I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my time.” I chuckled.

The months flew by. Kane and Clara had become Alpha and Luna of the Warrior pack and welcomed a new alpha and future queen of the throne, Evelyn. We missed it all, too busy working with various members of the Parliament, weeding out who needed to be thrown into the dungeon and who we should keep. There weren’t many options for vampires with enough education to help us through anything. Taliyah was literally running everything herself.

She poured herself into books night after night, learning how to rule a nation. She was at a loss. Her frustration pulled at my heart, knowing how compassionately she put the desire to return Vermillion to its former glory. She was so poorly treated for so many years she didn’t owe the country anything. But here she was, being my selfless little witch.

The first area of the castle we worked on was the study. It was dark, dreary, and held many years of Darius’s morbid paintings of vampires feasting on humans. The Cerulean Moon Kingdom sent a large sum of money that helped us get started, most of it going to the people, but some we left to clean up the dank office.

Her office was now the brightest room in the entire castle. Fresh green plants lined the windows, and a small bird flew around in the corner of the room. Filled with creams, tans, and whites, it brightened my mate’s mood considerably, that is until she dove deeper into her studies.

“Taliyah, please, let’s go to bed.” Taliyah’s crimson eyes didn’t leave the paper, her hands in her disheveled hair. Shaking her head, her finger slapped the book where she lost her place.

“I can’t. I have so much to do.” She sighed, sitting back in the chair. “I don’t know what to do. I can’t fill the Parliament chairs. Education, the welfare of the people, and distribution to the poor are empty. The only seats filled are for the General of the Guard and Land Operations. Nothing I can use right now! There are barely any soldiers, and there is no life left. The animals have fled, and now we have to rely on the gnomes’ deer population, and they are strapped. The deer population has plummeted immensely.” She threw her hands up in the air, rubbing her eyes.

“There isn’t anything you can do now.” I came around the desk, rubbing her shoulders. She groaned, feeling my fingers kneading into the knots of her back. “How about you come upstairs? I’ve drawn you a bath, and you can relax for a bit. I’ve already taken care of a few dark fairies that are helping out at the blood bank in the middle of town. The children have been fed, and an old industrial garment building has been cleared out. Cots have been set up for them to have a roof over their head.”

With Kane and Clara’s gracious help, they asked wolves to donate blood. Each wolf could produce a bag a day, enough to help the starving families in the city who stood by the standards of not force-feeding on other supernaturals. The past month had been a success. We received enough blood from several packs alone to stabilize those who sought nourishment. Luckily, we didn’t have to feed fated mate couples since they could feed on each other, but the children suffered.

Taliyah’s red eyes glistened. Red tears dripped down her cheeks. “Don’t cry, my little witch.” Her vampire blood was equally strong as her witch genes. It would either help this nation or destroy it.

I had heard the whispers of the few that supported Taliyah. They worried no one would accept her because she was a hybrid. First of her kind, the people were scared of her. Taliyah refused to have a crowning ceremony to save money and distributed it among the poor to show her compassion and willingness to help. Those hungry were grateful, but the dukes and duchesses that still held most of the money—Darius’s most significant supporters—did not find that amusing. Unfortunately, that was who we needed to gain favor from if we would make this country work again.

“Come, My Queen.” I lifted her out of the chair, one arm under her knees, another behind her back. Her head leaned into me. Kissing her forehead, I took her up the winding stairs. The very few servants that still worked in the castle had done a fantastic job helping with cleaning up in exchange for food, shelter, and hope for a new nation. Many were grateful that their families could move into the castle as well.

The dark hallway containing the few candelabras on the walls led us to our room. The first was at the top of the stairs. It wasn’t the royal suite; it was a simple bedroom with just a king-sized bed, a few pieces of furniture, and enough clothes to get us by.

It was comfortable, just enough for both of us.

Carrying Taliyah to the bathroom, I set her down gently. We had not taken our relationship further, just a few stolen kisses and sleeping in the same bed. I wasn’t pushing, she wasn’t asking, and I was happy with the arrangement. Proving myself was my goal; even if I had raging blue balls for the rest of my life, I would be satisfied as long as she was.

“Thank you, Jasper.” Her eyes blinked up at me. Stepping up on her toes, Taliyah gave a quick peck on my lips. She lingered longer than usual, my wolf reveling in her touch. “I don’t know what I would do without you. You’ve done so much...” She sniffed.

“No, no, I haven’t done enough,” I whispered to her lips. “I owe you the world, Taliyah. I owe you everything for giving me a second chance, and I will prove my undying love to you.” Taliyah smiled, her lips brushing mine again until her tongue reached into my mouth. I groaned, pulling her close to me, but respecting her boundaries. I wouldn’t push anything on her. I was at her mercy.

Unfortunately, she pulled away, her white fangs shining against the candlelight. I had spread rose petals in her bath along with hibiscus oil. “I hope it’s all right, but I put your night clothes on the counter. Once you are done, I can feed you.”

Taliyah, being half-vampire and witch, could eat regular food, but blood gave her more strength. She didn’t like to feed on me, thinking she was using me. Anything to get her to touch me was a reward, and I didn’t mind the euphoric feeling it gave me after using her venom. “Jasper, I’m all right.” She sighed, wrapping her arms around me.

“You need your strength, and I’m happy to do it. That’s what mates are for, right?” I used to think vampires sucking blood was disgusting and an abomination at one point in time, but one little vampire caught my heart, and now it wasn’t as bad. Just as Clara said, one lousy vampire didn’t mess up all of them. Kane had to learn the same thing, even with the majority of Vermillion up in arms and still wanting to carry out Darius’s previous scrutiny.

“Take your time.” I kissed her forehead. “I’m going to clean your office.”

Heading down the stairs, maids walked by, asking if we needed anything. It was already late into the night, so I urged them to sleep. Even the omegas didn’t stay up that late, but more work needed to be done to the castle to get it into running order.

Taliyah had shown paintings of Vermillion’s lands before Darius was crowned. The images were different from what I had pictured Vermillion to be. Vermillion had always been a darker nation, but the deep colors did make it captivating. Deep navy blues with hints of white flowers hung in the trees. The grass was lush and rich, dark green with red tips. Plants that didn’t need the sun thrived well here, but the bright blue moon shone most brilliant on this side of the world. It was beautiful in its own right, just like all the other regions of Bergarian. If we could help the land and people recover, it would be beautiful once again.

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