Chapter 6

The Twilight Dynasty bred their dragons in the pits of fire, and the deities bled fire into their veins, which can only be seen in their magic and the shade of their hair.

T he deserts are as vast and endless as the heat. Even though I was born here, this weather is too much. Guilt gnaws in my chest as I look at the fae worker next to me. He is a thin fae. I can see the outline of his bones sticking out of his cheeks, and his hair is all but gone from the top of his head. He's walking next to my horse as a lead, a rope tied to his waist so I don't use the horse to run away. His feet are covered in blisters, and he has no shoes. His skin is burnt nearly everywhere in shades of red and blisters so bad it's hard to look at him. The smell is haunting too.

All I want to do is reach for him, to tell him to go and get in the shade, that he doesn't need to walk next to my horse. But I know if I do speak to him, if I say a word, the king will kill him for speaking to me. He is possessive of his favourite, and it's another cage of his for me.

A dark shade is above me, keeping me constantly cooled, but the lotions on my skin stop any burns from the scorching sun. Here in the Lightsun lands, the sun feels like it never sets, and even the sandy ground is so bright it could resemble sunlight to anyone who looked upon it. Creatures like giant yellow scorpions and huge red snakes slither around the sand into holes, and many have attacked the working fae who are walking around with no shoes on. If they fall in the desert, the king's order is to just leave them to the creatures of the sun for food. I hate it.

I glance over at the king's carriage behind me, where he prefers to sit in complete darkness and mostly alone. I join him occasionally when he wants to feed, or fuck, or whatever he wants from me. But I prefer to be out here in the sunlight. There's a sense of freedom, and I don't feel as strangled by stifling heat.

I lift my metal drink container and open it, sipping on the warm water before looking around to make sure no one is paying attention to me. Thankfully, no one is. I slip the bottle down the side of me by my leg and gently kick the fae worker's arm to get his attention. He jumps and looks over before quickly facing forward. His hand soon wraps around the water, and he drinks some, hidden by his cloak. I can't give him much help other than this.

"Thank you," he whispers, his voice broken. I don't have the words to tell him not to thank me. The guilt I feel over the fact he is like me and he might die leading my horse is stifling. Eventually I get the water back when I'm sure no one is facing me. Bruises line my spine from how rough the king was with me yesterday, but I look at working fae, knowing damn well I have it easier than they do.

After six more days of travel, where the sands all look the same and there is nothing to look at on the horizon, a mountain district finally comes into view. Massive sheer walls surround the mountains for miles, and there is a single dirt road in and out. Bodies with sun birds picking at them hang next to skeletons outside the wall, a few feet between each one, and my stomach twists in disgust. The bodies move in the warm breeze, and an awful stench comes off them that I can't help but smell. I don't have to ask why they are hung outside. They're hung there to make sure that the workers don't try to form a rebellion and escape, because this is their fate. No one escapes here.

There must be hundreds, if not more, skeletons lining the thick walls of stone that are so high I can't see into the village. The metal spiked gates are held open as we go in, the watchtowers on either side full of bowing vampyres. I feel eyes on me, and I turn back, finding Prince Emyr watching me with Princess Caelina at his side. Both of them are on white horses, like they are pure, and it feels like a total joke. I turn back to forward, knowing they are both watching me.

The rest of the royal family didn't come except for the queen and Princess Caelina, the youngest princess. I don't know her very well, but I'm sure she's just like the rest of them. The queen keeps her close, takes her everywhere she goes, and they usually live in the snowy lands of the east where I've only been once. The king doesn't like it there. I much prefer snow over sand. If it comes to picking favourites between your children, I'm certain that Caelina is the queen's. However, Prince Emyr is definitely the king's. He lets them get away with too much to be anything less.

The fae workers help us off the horses before taking them to the stables, and I bow my head as the king gets out of his carriage. While I wait in silence and the vampyres here gush over the king being in their presence, I watch the village. Everything is bleak here. The houses are made of aged, weathered grey stone that stink of damp and rot. The people come out in their grey cloaks, marking them as workers for the mountains. Few of them lift their head and look our way, not daring to make eye contact. Some children peep out of their houses, though, their innocent faces snapping my heart in half.

In some ways, life's better for children in the breeding camps. The children there at least get the freedom of the forests and are mostly left unbothered by vampyres, and they're fed well, as the breeding fae are allowed to hunt for themselves. Here, if children are born, they're called accidental or mistakes, and they stay here until they're fourteen to be sorted. They are left alone all day with rationed food, sometimes all night while their parents work until they die.

Big towering mountains stand behind the village, casting a deep shadow that keeps it cooler here. The mountains are covered in yellow-almost-greenish sand from top to bottom, except for the enormous cave entrance dug out in the centre. They're huge, absolutely gigantic, and this mountain range appears to stretch for thousands of miles.

Finally, the king is done with the chatter, and I walk behind him, my head bowed, my red cloak covering my face. He gets on to a cart, the prince sitting opposite him, and everyone else, including the queen and princess, is led to the royal quarters on the other side of the village. The queen's red eyes meet mine for a second, and I internally wince. The queen is beautiful, but in the way a child vampyre can be before they rip your neck out for your blood. She is paler than the king, and her silver hair glitters in the braided bun on her head, where a silver tiara sits. She smooths her hands down her black gown, which must be hot to wear in this heat, before taking her daughter's hand and leaving. Her daughter looks just like her but is less poisoned with hate. Prince Emyr clears his throat and snatches my attention. "What are we going to see, father?"

I'm hoping he'll leave me behind and forget I'm here. My bag is handed to a working fae, and I glance at it for a second, knowing the book is hidden within a dress inside. If anyone looks, I'm dead. It doesn't happen very often, but if I pray to the deities enough, maybe they will bless me with luck on this trip.

"Ava, here." The king pats the seat next to him on the cart, and I smile like it's exactly what I wanted. The deities are not all-giving this day, it seems. Reluctantly, I climb on next to him and press myself to his side. His hand latches around my thigh like a snake biting, his nails digging into my skin, branding, marking, owning. He calls it love; I call it chains. I rest my head on his shoulder, giving in to what he wants, because the other option is death. Pretending has become like a well-stretched muscle for me, and I don't even notice anymore.

The prince watches from the other side, quiet and contemplating. His father is intelligent, and that intelligence has definitely gone to his child. Prince Emyr scares me, and he always has done. His obsession with Story Dehana was interesting, though. She clearly didn't care for his abuse, and I wish I could have been more honest with her about how I felt. I don't love the king. How could I? I kept Story's secret about her mother, and I will take that to my grave.

The cart moves fast, two chestnut brown camels tugging it along from the front. The king taps his other hand on his leg. "I've been spending years here, hundreds of years, creating something to keep the vampyres alive. You were not born when dragons reigned the skies and the fae ruled without any competition. No one could stand against them. There were five ruling families. Each one of them was powerful but, well, the Sun and Moon were known most. The Dawn Dynasty, where I came from, was weak. I was the king of the Dawn Dynasty, a young king of a small land. I wanted a way to live forever, and I wanted a way to make sure that we would never be threatened."

My heart pounds as I listen while he continues his story. "The Dawn Dynasty did not have dragons that could fly or fight. We did not ride them because the deities had cursed us with weakness. We were the only dynasty that didn't ride, and that made us considerably weak to the others. The Twilight Dynasty were very small in number, but they had the biggest dragons, making them the most formidable. I married the princess of the Twilight Dynasty, but she could not bear me children. She betrayed me in the end."

Prince Emyr frowns. "I know your history, father."

"I turned my second wife, and she has borne me very many children, as you well know. Yet my first wife has caused endless amounts of trouble that I cannot forget." He looks at me and then turns away before I can read his expression. "You know I was the first vampyre, but you do not know how." Sometimes it's good to be almost invisible. I'm the king's whore, his blood slave, and I might as well not have ears for all he cares when he speaks around me. Someday I might have all of the information to be a useful weapon against him.

"The magical book I once had…" the king carries on as we continue rolling in the cart, "there were two of them. One book mirrors the other. In the book that I had, I read everything in it and learnt the ways of dark magic. I learnt how to change myself into a vampyre and live forever like this."

"We are forever grateful for you, father." I nearly roll my eyes, but I remember that doing that would be stupid.

"When my first wife betrayed me, she took both the books. One she hid, and I searched endlessly for it. The other she took with her and disappeared with the dragons. I'm no fool. I knew that, one day, those dragons would reappear, most likely with royal riders. One day…I had to be ready. Dragons are not the only large creatures that ever roamed this world." A roar echoes from deep within the mountain, and I whirl towards the entrance where we are heading. That roar…it sounded horrid. "The dragon's magic may come from the sun and moon, but there is more powerful magic left in this world. In the darkness. The books dwell in the magic of the dark, and I read about creatures that once roamed this world. I found them as hatching eggs and made sure they would grow strong."

A weird noise echoes again, something like a roar, but it's too high pitched. The darkness of the cave entrance swoops over us, and a cold chill settles down my spine. The darkness seems like it lasts forever, and only the noise of the creaky cart is left until blue fire lanterns illuminate the long corridor and tunnels. The screeching grows and I dare to meet the king's eyes. He is looking right at me, and he touches my hair, like he often does. "You are safe, Ava. I need you. Do not be frightened."

I nod, my hands still shaking as I grip the wooden seat of the cart, not believing a word the king has to say. He is a liar, and he might say he needs me, but we both know I'm easily replaced. We go deep into the mountain in silence, and Prince Emyr watches the path ahead, his silver flashing in the blue light.

The king never lets go of my thigh the whole way. I hate when he touches me. His touch always makes me feel cold and empty inside, even he is talented at making my body react in the way he wants. But right now, when I'm terrified of wherever we're going, I quite happily forget he is there. The cart goes past hundreds of workers in grey cloaks, digging into the mountain, walking around carrying bags of rocks, and once again I realise how lucky I am to be a blood slave to the king when I could have been this. The deities put me here at the king's side for a reason, and I hope I can do some good before I die.

The cart loops to the side and goes down a long tunnel that goes further and further into the ground. I feel like I can't breathe, like the air gets tighter the deeper we go until the cave branches out into a gigantic, wide cavern. In cages that must stretch for miles are creatures like I've never seen. They're huge, made completely of bone and rotting skin…with long wings that stretch out, crackling against the earth as they dig them in. Their mouths almost remind me of dogs, with a massive jaw of teeth that glitter blue, and their spike ears are long and stretched up. They don't have eyeballs, just black pits of nothing, with an eerily blue glow right in the centre.

The bones of these disgusting smelling creatures rattle as they move, and the one nearest makes a screeching noise that hurts my ears. I clamp my hands over them, but the king and the prince don't flinch. I glance at the prince as I cover my ears, and the awe on his face makes my stomach sink. The creatures seem to glow in their chests like dark blue stars.

The king pats his son's knee. "We have four thousand of them, including trained vampyre riders. I kept the biggest and the second largest dragon for you. My heir, my son, to ride next to mine." The nearest creature to us roars, and blue flames spit out of its mouth, pouring into the floor in the cage before it snarls and curls around. They are alive, whatever these beasts are. "We call them the Silkvir, and they are loyal to the vampyres. They will take out what is left of the dragons with ease."

"What about the magical barrier?" Prince Emyr leans back, a smugness in his voice that sends shivers down my spine. There is an emptiness to the prince and a cruelty that I've only ever seen in his father, but perhaps Emyr is worse. I've watched him drain women here, only feeding from red-haired fae and making them scream in pain for hours. It's a sport, death, for princes like him.

"The book will tell us." My head shoots to him. "I found it only a month ago. Almost like the lost dark deities I pray to have sent a blessing."

Dark deities? I don't get more than a second to wonder who he is talking about. There are two deities known to all fae, and as far as I've known, the vampyres do not have gods to worship. The prince smirks. "I'm glad to hear they answered your call. They rarely show they listen to mine."

"The dark deities have blessed us with immortal life and much more, son. We cannot be too greedy." I only remember last minute to lower my head when the king looks right at me before turning back to his son. "The book is here. I keep it buried deep down in this mountain with my greatest weapons. I want you to see it and speak to the dark deities with me. The book is a connection to them."

If this book is a connection to the dark deities, does the other twin book to it have a connection to our deities? My heart races as the cart goes past the creatures, past thousands of them that look at me, and I see nothing in the black, empty pits of their blue glowing eyes. I find it easier to focus on the light in their chests than their eyes. The prince looks pleased as we go past, but I look in horror, knowing these creatures will kill hundreds of thousands of fae and will just make the vampyres more powerful than they already are. Are the dragons even a threat to this many Silkvir?

When the cart takes a swift right, I hear it. Something whispers in the back of my mind…like a song.

"My previous wife was smart to hide them from me. Once I find the other book and hold them both once again, I will be able to rid the world of any dragons and fae who stand against us. I will use the dark magic to bend this world to my will, and you, my son, will live in the riches. I admire you."

"You do?" Prince Emyr looks as shocked as I feel.

"Yes. You claimed your love for that fae and did not break your word. You are a prince of honour and everything I dreamed you would become." He leans forward. "I am trusting you, my heir, to put the fate of the vampyres first. Our army is all that matters for now. When there is peace again, we will find that blood slave of yours, and you can turn her as you planned."

"I am yours to command, my king." Prince Emyr bows, but I get the impression he would do anything to get Story back. I hope she has run for the hills. My heart races as the song gets louder and louder until it feels like a drumming in my head. The cart stops by two doors that launch high into the thick mountain wall, and in front of them is a row of vampyre royal guards in black armour. They open the doors as the king grabs my chin and turns me to him. He leans in, pressing his cold lips against mine. "Stay here, Ava. We will be back."

I nod once, watching him as he climbs off with the prince and walks through the door, past the row of guards.

"Save me."

I spin around, looking for the childlike male voice but not seeing anyone close to the cart. The fae driver is a few feet away from the guards, and they are all silent. My eyes tug towards the door. "You must save me. Take me. I am your book to command. Take me to my twin, who has found the other child of Twilight in the trap. Take me, take me, take me."

The book. It's speaking to me somehow. The voice dies away when the doors slam shut behind the king and prince. I shiver in the mountain, looking back at the Silkvir. I feel the dark magic wash over me from the voice, like a nasty echo. Dark, horrid magic is all I felt from it. I thought the dragons coming back was hope, but I should have known better. In this world, hope can be as easily crushed as a fire can be extinguished.