Chapter 199
(Eros Pov)
With a gust of wind, | landed on all fours in front of a small cave hidden deep within a large rock.
The moon cast a soft glow over the entrance of the cave, which shone with strange symbols carved into it.
With a grunt, | stood up and wiped the dust offas I stretched.
This was sacred ground. It was invisible to the uninitiated, but | had access to it because my initiation process
had begun.
However, | might have made a mess by leaving before | finished the final procedure.”
Because of Eden.
| had no idea what had happened. One minute | was inside the cave lying in a coffin and the next | was next to
Eden, Susie, and the hybrids.
All | remembered was tBeast had sensed Tiara’s desperation, and then all went black.
When | becconscious again, Eden, Adonis, and others stared atin shock. Apparently | must have done
something.
Susie suggested | leave, and | did.
| still felt a great urge to go back to the coven and bring Eden along, but | couldn't. I would ruin everything.
“What the-“I gasped as | heard a loud ring in my ears and beclightheaded. | stumbled forward and grasped
the sides of the wall for balance as quickly as | could.
Pain ravaged my body. It ran straight from my head down my spine. | groaned in agony as | fought for control.
ok a long while before | got myself back.
Lros?”
Startled, | looked back to see who called me.
A small woman who wore a white cloak that covered her from head to toe stared back at me. She held an oil
lamp in front of her, which she raised to my face.
| shielded my eyes from the bright light.
“By the moon!” She gasped. “You look terrible. How could you disregard all that we warned you against?”
| guilt chewed my insides.
“My apologies.”
She narrowed her gaze on me. “You ruined the ritual. You were supposed to stay locked in the coffin for thirty
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days, underwater, but you got out.”
| closed my eyes. “I know.”
She hissed. “Let's go back to the elders.” She instructed as she led a path through the entrance of the cave.
“They will decide your fate,”
My heart plummeted into my stomach. What if | won't be able to fix this?
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14:00 Thu, Nov 28
Chapter 199
| followed behind as | thought about how I left this place in the first place.
1 thought about Eden again.
| had so many questions. Why was she in a vampire coven? And the other hybrids?
| had no idea what Eden has been up to for the last few days. The last twe made love and | left, | deliberately
refused to inform her about where | was going because she would have tried to stopor insisted that she
followed me, but | was supposed to do this alone.
This was something | needed to fix for both of us. And whatever problem there was, | was sure Arthur and the
rest would fix it. They must have heard about the ritual as well. | was told they would announce it.
| knew Eden would wait for me; | only hoped she would be able to forgivebecause | kept the ritual a secret.
Distracted, | suddenly hit my leg against a stone on the floor. | cried out in pain, and the woman turned to me
sharply.
“Shut it.” She growled.
| nodded. | knew the procedure. | wasn’t supposed to say a word when going through the cave until | met the
elders.
Finally, we entered a large opening. It was skind of circular space.
In the middle, there was a large pool of water, the crystal clear blue shimmering under the glow of the numerous
fire touches attached to different parts of the cave.
According to the ancient scrolls, it was said that this very water was where the moon goddess had descended
into. And till this very moment no one could explain why the water glows even after centuries of being in
existence.
Beside the pool, a coffin was opened, and | shivered. That was the scoffin | was in an hour ago.
A few inches away from the pool, there’s a raised platform attached to the walls of the cave that formed a
semicirci, on
ood the 12 elders of the realm.
y were dressed like the woman beside me, but their cloak had more shine and a blue clasp that held the cape
together.
| couldn’t see their faces, but | could sense their displeasure even from where | stood.
The only person | could recognize was the elder who stood at the left end.
He was Susie's father.
It was when the elders broughtto this cave that | realized that Susie now worked for the elders. She was here
all through the first ritual procedure.
“You defiled the process.” One of the elders said his voice rang out with an echo.
“How dare you leave in the middle of the ritual? You ruined everything we took days to prepare for.” Another one
interjected.
I didn’t know their names; they never revealed their faces, but | knew they took turns to speak.
“You should be glad you haven't gone rogue. You have no idea the kind of power you took along with you. It
could have destroyed you and those around you.” Another said.
I shivered.
The only thing | remembered was opening my eyes in front of Eden and the hybrids. Susie was there too, which
didn’t surprise me, but what I couldn’t understand were the strange faces and the man who looked exactly like
me.
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14:00 Thu, Nov 28
Chapter 199
| heard another ringing in my ears, and | held my head in pain. The pain engulfedand I fell to my knees.
“It has started,” one of the elders gasped. “We must finish the ritual if you want to stay alive.”
But the voices of the elders faded in my ears. A scene flashed in my head.
All I heard was “Killstepbrother.” | had a sudden flash of my experience with the man who looked like me.
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A breath of relief left my lips as soon as the pain began to subside.
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It must have been an illusion. There was no way he looked exactly like me, and | don’t have a stepbrother. | must
have imagined it.
| focused on the task at hand.
“I am sorry.” | apologized, “What can | do to stop the ritual from becoming a failure?”
There was a small silence before Susie's father finally said
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“We wouldn't want you to end up like his father, who had lost control of his beast and got himself killed by it.” He
turned to the elders “We should help him.” He said.
| knew what he meant. When | was still young, barely 6 years old, my father had issued a command to wipe out
an entire vampire/coven.
Shortly after that time, he lost control of his beast. He becblood thirsty and killed a lot of people for fun.
That was how | lost my sister.
In one of his monstrous episodes, my sister got in the way of my father’s attack on a maid, and she was sever
wasn't properly taken care of because at the stime, my mother had withdrawn into a shell. My sister die
1. She
ather had gone insane. No one could stop him. He was too powerful. However, after a while, his beast turned on
him ore him to pieces. He killed himself.
As a child, | watched my father turn into a monster, and | becscared. | thought the throne did that to him.
That was why | decided not to rule, and Pison took over, until now.
“We did this sritual for King Pison, and he didn’t go rogue. He had a reign without bloodshed. We must do
the sritual to make sure you won't turn into your father.” The elder in the middle said.
“We will start all over again. Do you accept it?”
I nodded. “Yes, | do.” I had no choice.
“Step forward, and enter the coffin.” The woman at my side instructed.”
| obeyed and entered the coffin and laid in it with my arms crossed in front of me.
The coffin was closed, and | felt myself being lifted and dropped
The coffin sank to the bottom of the pool as the darkness overwhelmed me.
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