Kayden’s POV
“It utterly disgusts me to say his name, and truly, if I ever get the chance to be alone with him, I will not hesitate to bury a dagger deep into that black heart of his. Even if I die after that, I wouldn’t mind because then I would finally have gotten the justice that the people of Luceras deserve. The tyrant declared himself King; he took our kingdom as a mere conquest, simply as a way of expanding Vampire territory. Our kingdom is the largest in this region, so it was no simple attack. It was a well-planned strategy, and we all fell for it. After becoming king, he began killing the nobles one by one just because they refused to surrender to him.
Many people tried to leave the kingdom, but they couldn’t; his minions had sealed off the border.
It all happened on a fateful day that I can never forget; I had only been seven then. The vampires invaded our home and killed my parents so brutally and right in front of me. It feels just like yesterday, and it still gives me nightmares. My father was the leader of a small resistance that was building up to help defend us against the vampires. It would be impossible to take back our city, so the resistance was formed so we would be able to fight the vampires at the border and at least escape the city in search of a better place. But the vampires somehow got wind of it, and because my father was the leader, those dreadful creatures came to our home and killed my parents. Their evil king came with them, and after killing my parents, he looked me straight in the eyes and laughed. After killing my parents, they set our house on fire and burned their bodies right in front of me. I was young and feeble; I couldn’t take it. I cried so much that I fainted, and when I finally woke up, one of them suggested killing me, but he refused and decided that I would be made to pay for my parents’ sins by being a slave all my life because his twisted mind reasoned that killing me would be too little a punishment and it wouldn’t be beneficial to them.
I became a blood slave and served a vampire lord for ten years before I was finally able to escape. The tyrant made sure that almost all the grown men were slaughtered, leaving only the women and children who became slaves to the vampires. Because of the terrible fate that befell Luceras, all the kings of the neighboring kingdoms instantly became afraid, and they surrendered to Cassius. He has vampires stationed in every kingdom, and he is the supreme leader of this region. He became some sort of feared and revered King, and all the other kingdoms pay tribute to him every year.
In those ten years of slavery, I saw hell. When I turned 17, I decided that I had had enough and I killed my owner. It wasn’t really easy, though; the encounter left me with scars, but it was all worth it. Growing up, I had secretly learned to use and throw knives. The vampires love meat, and I was in charge of killing the animals while an older woman cooked them. I was desperate for the ability to defend myself, but I was more desperate to earn my freedom, so I somehow learned how to make good use of sharp objects. After five years of secretly training, I attacked my master when I knew I was ready. By the Creator's grace, everything just turned out right for me that day. My master had taken me and a few others on an expedition that day, so I killed him outside the city, and that’s why I wasn’t met with any resistance.
A few of us escaped into the forest while the others ventured to go to neighboring kingdoms. It’s been five years since the incident, and a lot has happened during that time. I started my own resistance made up of vampire hunters, and we were able to save a few of our kind, and thus, our numbers increased. What worries me most is the fact that our numbers in Luceras are dwindling. The vampires are killing humans like birds, and if this continues, we’re more likely to go extinct since they don’t allow humans to mate with each other much. They’re afraid our numbers will increase and so will our power. At this point, I’m not even considering taking Luceras back from the vampires; it’s clearly impossible. I only wish they would set us free and let us live in peace, the way we used to." She said and sighed before wiping her tears, and only then did I notice that she had been crying.
I truly feel sorry for the humans. It would be hard to imagine all that they’ve been through. According to Evelyn, love is all that’s required to solve most problems, and I believe that would be the only solution to this problem unless werewolves go on an all-out war with vampires, and I honestly doubt that that would solve anything—only complicate the issues further. Well, there won’t be a need for any war once we somehow get Cassius and Lucia to fall in love with each other, but honestly speaking, it’s so much easier said than done. Especially due to the fact that Cassius seems to be directly responsible for the death of Lucia’s parents. Only Selene, or rather, Lilith knows how to make it happen, but I do believe that wherever there’s a will, there’s always a way.