Piercing My Heart

26

I was walking to the dungeons when I ran into Hailey. Wordlessly, she shoved a blanket in my hands. I tried looking at her, but she just kept walking. Ahhh, it's supposed to be cold down there. I forget how temperature works.

The guards stiffened at my presence. I could tell they wanted to tell me I couldn't go down there, but they knew better than to speak. I brushed past them and headed down to the dungeons. I sighed at the damp room. It smelled moldy down here. The prisoners cowered as I passed them. I knew my friends would place Mila away from the others. She'd get the "best" cell they could offer.

I nearly cried at her shivering form. I gripped the blanket tighter in desperation to warm her. Even if I were to hug her, I'd only make her colder than she already was.

"Mila." My heart broke when she refused to look at me. "Please at least use the blanket." I sighed. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?!" She sat up with a start. "You're related to that man and I had to find out from him! He killed my dad! Enslaved my people and you're just saying sorry?!" She was furious.

"It was a different time Mila. I don't support his decisions anymore." I looked down. It's true that back then I felt no remorse for when her father was killed. But, it was different now! I was different! Mila, you know me.

"Why?" I withered under her intense stare. "Oh, please don't say it's because you met me!" She sarcastically stated.

"No, I've changed many years ago. That's why my mom, brother, and I decided to open up a company that can help people. It's a way for us to clean up the ledger that's so bloody red." I pleaded for her to believe me. "I was a power hungry, manipulative girl back then." I admitted. But, I'm not anymore! Believe me please!" I tried to convince her.

"What's done is done." She leaned her head against the wall.

"What do you mean?" I squatted down. "Why are you speaking like you've given up hope?" I quietly spoke.

"What hope is there to have left?" She looked like she lost her will to fight. "Your dad is going to kill me." I winced at his threat. "And we can't even try to escape since he has the place under lock and key."

"I will save you!" I promised.

"How? You were utterly powerless against your father." I'm not powerless. I'm just terrified that you'll fear me if you see what I'm capable of. "He'd kill you without batting an eye." I hated how she thought I couldn't protect her. "And I refuse to allow that. I'll do anything and everything in my power to protect you." She kissed my knuckles. She wants to save me?

"I can't stomach seeing you in a place like this." She didn't deserve to be in a place like this. She was the Queen of my heart and only deserved the best.

Impulsively, I ripped off the lock. I tore the metal door from the wall and absentmindedly threw it. Mila was in shock when I picked her up and sped her to my room.

I placed her down on my bed before closing the door. I then pulled her into my arms to snuggle. I think I need her in my arms more than she needed my affection. I felt secure holding my heart in my arms. That's what she was to me... my heart.

"I'll protect you. I promise."

X

I couldn't relax the entire night. My mind was plagued with what the morning entailed. The only reason this angel was sleeping soundly was because I placed a sleeping spell over her. She'd need all the energy possible to deal with my father. My heart fell when I saw dawn break. I ran my fingers through her hair. I'm not sure how long it'll be until we can be like this again.

I had to wake the beautiful girl to get dressed. She was nervous, but hid her nerves well. Lexi came in with some food she smuggled. I gave her a grateful smile.

Lexi was terrified of my father's response. She informed me that he was aware of my removal of Mila from the dungeons. From what she heard, he was not pleased. He's going to want to kill her. The only thing I could try doing is speaking with him.

I decided to personally escort Mila. I'll have to tell him she's my mate and beg for mercy. Before, my ego wouldn't allow me to beg, but I'd make that exception for Mila. When we got inside the throne room, I saw my father's anger. His demon was urging him to takeover. His eyes oscillated between blue and black. I gulped, but decided that I'd protect Mila to death.

"Why have you openly disobeyed me, girl?!" He stood up.

"She's mine!" I shouted back.

"Child!" He zoomed to me and punched me down. "What did I say?!" I groaned when he kicked my ribs. "I wanted her bound and gagged!" He dragged me up by my roots. "I wanted to destroy her from the inside, but all I can smell is your scent over her!" His face was near mine as he spoke.

I saw him put on the silver knuckles I made for him. He pounded me onto the ground with the weapon. I could feel my skin splitting from where he hit me.

"Whatever." He then picked me up by the back of the neck and slammed me into the ground. "I'll just kill her now and violate her corpse later." He hissed.

He released me and sped behind Mila. I saw his hand go around her waist while he moved her neck to the side. My eyes widened as I took in her fearful state. I growled and blurred in front of him. He moved to bite her, but I caught him by the throat. He tried to push against me, but I wasn't going to allow him to touch a pretty little hair on her head. I threw him into his throne. The impact caused the throne to break.

My breath hitched as I watched him stand up. He allowed his demon to take over. What I mean is that he allowed his hair to turn white and his eyes to be fully black. Only royal vampires had the ability to do that. All other vampires only had their eyes change red when they released their demon.

"She's mine." He chuckled and raced towards Mila.

"No! She's mine!" I was possessive over my mate.

We began fighting so fast that it'd appear like a blur. I swung at him, but he dodged it and managed to slice me with a silver blade. The cut had been so deep that it ripped opened a lot of my organs. I fell to the ground. He then kicked me towards Mila. I groaned at the searing pain. I knew pieces of silver were stuck inside me, halting my rapid healing.

I heard a loud yell. I turned to see Mila shift into her wolf. My father stopped and laughed in delight.

"Ahhhhh! Gold eyes with specks of silver!" He nearly collapsed from joy. "I found the royal heir!" His arms were spread out wide. "She lives! The lost baby of Enzo Ricci lives on!" He turned in a circle and addressed everyone in the room. "But, her time must come to an end!"

Her wolf snarled at my father. He tried rushing her, but I refused to allow him to touch her. I shot up and intercepted him. I then flung him through the wall. I fell down due to pushing my body too much. I could see the blood dripping on the floor. I was near bleeding out.

"Go east." My mother whispered.

Chiara then flipped me onto her back. I groaned from the pain. I gripped her fur when she started running. She lept out the window and ran down the mountain. She was too fast for any of the guards to catch us.

I recognized we were close to the Italian border. I wanted to pass out, but I knew I'd have slipped off her if I closed my eyes. I heard the sound of leaves crunching behind us. I didn't pick up the scent of vampires. I sniffed again and realized they were wolves. A wolf suddenly barreled into Mila. I went flying until my body collided with a tree trunk... ow.

I turned on my side to see Chiara knocked down. She was whining in pain. I saw the wolves menacingly approaching her. I flipped myself onto my stomach.

"You're eyes." I choked out. "Show them your eyes." I urged her again.

I'm not sure what they said through the mind link, but I felt two wolves lift me onto one of their backs. They then began running. I gripped his fur while groaning from the pain. I glanced down to see my body was nearly depleted of blood. If I were a regular vampire, I'd have died already, but I was far from normal. How long till we get to the destination?