Back To You

Chapter 17

Tilrigen, the vampire homeworld, 700 years ago.

"Mathias! Stop wasting my time and show yourself." Thirteen-year-old Lannetta Bloodreign stomped around the castle gardens, searching desperately for the eight-year-old brother who should have been in their father's study half an hour ago. Father's anger was snowballing, and she was forced into hunting down a little brat.

"Mathias, please do not do this to me. Have I not been a good sister to you all these years? Have you forgotten all the times I gave you blood candies after lunch or sang you sweet lullabies to sleep?" The youngster tried and failed unsuccessfully to lure out her brother by guilt-tripping him. With a groan of defeat, the teenager stomped off to a different section of the vast gardens to further her search.

From a narrow gap between two hedges, a small head peeped out, wary sky-blue eyes roaming left and right, confirming that the coast was clear and it was safe to come out of hiding. Quickly, the young boy crawled out from the little hole in the ground he had made in between the neatly trimmed hedges. Half-heartedly he dusted off the dirt on his expensive clothes before running both hands through his messy hair in a useless attempt at removing the twigs caught in those shoulder-length chestnut brown strands.

Like a little mouse, he scurried along as fast as his little legs would go, the intended destination a disused side gate that led to a shed that the gardeners no longer used. From there, he could follow the outer perimeter garden wall until reaching the front of the castle. While everyone fixated on looking for him in the gardens, he would simply waltz up the front door, all the way to his bedroom unnoticed. But first, he had to get to the side gate discreetly.

Carefully peeking around a tall hedge, he could see the gate directly ahead. All he needed to do was get to it before anyone noticed, and it would all be good. It was now or never, he thought to himself, taking a deep breath before hurtling forward with all the speed he could muster. The carpet grass under his soft leather boots was springy, muffling the faint thuds of his footsteps and making him feel feather-light. The gate was now almost within reach. Mathias reached out to grab the latch, ready to celebrate the success of his plan, when all of a sudden, he was yanked backwards and away from freedom.

"Just where do you think you are going?" A deep voice, rumbling with barely contained anger, made Mathias fall limp in terror.

"Father—" his subsequent words were cut off when his father spun him around, leaving him dizzy and unbalanced. He leaned against the solid form of the angry man, knowing escape was futile, "Father, I am sorry." He looked up at the imposing figure before him, sky blue eyes wide and apologetic.

King Gaius Bloodreign looked into the pitiful face of his only son and sighed. This little one, who resembled him greatly in looks, could not be more contrasting in character. While Gaius, even as a child, had been keen to study the art of war and politics from his elders, Mathias abhorred it more than stale blood.

Training him as the heir to the throne was turning out to be an uphill task, but ancient laws dictated that a male heir would always be first in line to the throne, ahead of all other female siblings. Gaius thought it a backward rule, but there was strong opposition to change of any kind in vampire society, even amongst those who thought of women as equals. It was frustrating for Gaius, especially since Lannetta would have been his preferred choice to ascend the throne.

"Mathias, you are the future ruler of our people. Therefore, it is imperative that you take your lessons seriously. There is much knowledge to be learned, without which you cannot hope to achieve success, especially in battle, against our enemies," Gaius chided the boy, reigning in his anger to his best ability while leading the way back to the study room. "You have a duty to uphold, and I cannot let you shirk your responsibilities for some unnecessary playtime."