Tainted

Prologue

TAINTED | PROLOGUE

A prince's death

His smile was so innocent and sweet.

I could not bear to think of the prince's death, let alone kill him myself. His mother would be heartbroken if she knew what the King's intentions were for me. I understood his reasoning behind it, but no one could kill a destiny so potent. It was foretold long ago that a vampire would be born of the King's brother's blood and would rule us out of the dark ages.

Who would've thought our sweet, loving queen would be the one to put this destiny in action? Eliza was the kindest of them all, but even the kindest have love affairs with mistakes. She was lucky to be the King's true love, or else she would've had a miserable fate.

The boy's face resembled his father quite remarkably. His cheeks were plumped and running with fresh red blood. The scent of it was of the royals. They smelt breathtaking. It was almost floral but nonetheless mouthwatering.

His small pink lips were full, settling into a pout in the corners. His eyes were almond-shaped and slightly far apart with thick long black eyelashes protecting them. The colors in them were remarkable. His eyes held a pale gray color that sparkled in the moonlight above us. His hair had thick black curls framing his face. All in all, he was a beautiful baby boy.

I reached into my pocket and dug out the dagger meant for him. I slowly lifted the blade toward the infant and gently ran the cool flat edge of it against his cheek trying to bring myself to do the task. He didn't cry he just stared into my eyes silently. After a moment he yawned, and it lifted the knife coming close to his eyebrows.

His tiny, fragile body laid in my arms, squirming around and trying to find a comfortable position to try and fall asleep. I put the dagger back into my pocket before it had wounded him. Out of parental instinct, I cradle him into my chest, tightening my arms around the boy. A few moments of him stirring in my arms, he finally calmed down. I thought he was asleep, to my surprise, I heard a gentle coo of the child in my ear.

Adjusting him in my arms, I looked him in the eye and a heart-wrenching thing happened, the infant played with a smile on his lips. Unknowingly, one branched on my lips as I traced the boy's face with a finger.

"I could never hurt you, you are my king," I whispered to him. His hands waved in the air, happily, and a giggle escaped the creasing of his lips.

My heart warmed, and I fell in love with the boy. "You deserve a name, a strong name. Alexander, that is what we will call you," I stated, caressing a thumb on his cheek. I needed to hide him. His survival wouldn't have been a reality in this realm. He couldn't be known as Stavros Belento Eari.

I tucked him under my arm in the most protective way I could think of and took off into the forest. The cold winds were splitting apart as my body met with them. My feet crunched the dead dried up leaves that were on the forest floor. I barely missed the trees as I sped past them. I knew I wouldn't hit them of course, but even if I did, they would split like a twig from my impact.

I needed to hide the future king into a different world. Because if he were to stay here it would be a terrible fate for him. I did not want that to transpire. So, I headed to the outskirts of our kingdom to a remote lake. It was guarded heavily with men from the royal court. They didn't know of me and the King's plans or of the betrayal I was about to go forth with. Inside the lake laid a portal to lead us to another dimension.

We headed to the clear blue water and the black sand bay. There were only two guards watching over the lake. Which to me was odd there should have been more men posted. However, it made it easier for me to make the momentary escape that I needed.