Chapter 8. Emiri

5 Months Ago: February

Someone knocked on the door. “Master Emiri.” I didn’t answer.

“I apologize for the intrusion, I’m coming in.”

The wooden door swung open and there stood Isabelle with her lovely curly red hair, bouncing softly up and down as she walked gracefully to me. I ignored her and continued playing the piano, the soft rhythm calming my mind.

“Master, please get dressed. The Elders called for a meeting.”

“What’s wrong with my clothes now?”

“You’re in your negligee. Your brothers are attending the meeting as well. They can’t see you like that.” I met Isabelle’s piercing glare, her red-black eyes glinting in irritation. “I’ll dress you if I have to,” she said sharply.

“You know very well that I have no intention of becoming the next Dama, so why do I have to attend the boring meeting? They can all go to hell for all I care. Just pledge your alliance to one of my brothers so you can be free from me.” I continued playing the piano, pretending that Isabelle was not in the room with me and fuming mad by the second.

“Such language is not fitting for royalty Master!” she cried out, her nostril flaring in anguish.

“I’m not my sister Isabelle! I’m not fit to succeed her. I don’t want to!” My fingers trembled, prompting me to stop the music abruptly.

“Don’t you think I know that?! God Emiri, you’re such a child. If you can handle yourself, I’ll leave you alone. But do you think you’re off the hook just because you said you didn’t want to become our next ruler? Of course not! As long as you’re alive, one of your brothers may see you as a threat and kill you,” she hissed.

I matched her tone, “You also know that with my sister gone, I’m the most powerful vampire alive now. No one will dare harm me if they wish to live another day.”

“Your brothers are cunning Emiri. They will find a way to hurt you one way or another. One of them even managed to murder your own sister!” she said with a trembling voice.

“We don’t know that yet.”

“You know one of them did it to get the throne.”

My chest ached in agony knowing full well that she was right, but I pretended otherwise. “I don’t know where this conversation is going. You may leave now.” I turned my head toward the piano, clearly dismissing her.

She took a step forward, not done proving her point. “Mark my words. Soon you’ll find someone you’ll care deeply about that you’d be willing to die for her. When that time comes, your brothers will use that person to hurt you.”

“That will never happen,” I shrugged.

Sensing that there was no use arguing with me, Isabelle took a deep breath and regained her composure. “Do as you wish with your life, but before that, everyone expects you to attend this meeting. I’ll return after a few minutes so get dressed, or I will yank that thin fabric off you and dress you myself,” she threatened before leaving my room, her footsteps fading in the hall.

I continued playing, my thoughts straying automatically to my sister’s lovely face. You’re a fool for dying Catarina. You left me alone to carry the burden of our family name. But still, I promise to find your killer, even if it means the death of me or one of our brothers. What kind of F’cked up tradition is this anyway? If you don’t want your sister to be the ruler, you kill her?! Whoever invented this should go burn in hell, I thought in anguish.

“Lady Emiri?” someone said on the other side of the door, halting my thoughts of murder. “My Lady, Ms. Isabelle told me to remind you something about dressing up and attending the meeting.” I let out a sigh. That woman could be so irritating at times.

“I’ll be out in a second,” I called out. “Very well My Lady.”

I got up from the chair and quickly undressed. I grabbed one of my faded jeans from the walk-in closet, as well as a v-neck and my favorite boots and wore it hurriedly. I smiled to myself after seeing my reflection in the mirror. Perfect!

I reached the end of the hall in seconds. Outside the door of the gathering room stood two hulking male vampires, obviously guarding the place from intruders.

“My Lady,” both of them uttered in unison, bowing their heads low as I approached. I stared ahead, my sharp ears picking on the conversation inside. Well, well. It looked like my charming brothers were already there talking to the Elders. The two guards opened the doors, and I stepped in.

The gathering room looked immaculate as always. A long wooden table was positioned in the middle, along with matching chairs on each side. I noted that the head of the table was unoccupied, still waiting for another ruler to take its place.

My eldest brother Dimitri was the first one to greet me. “I’m glad you can finally join us,” he said sarcastically, his handsome face etched with a frown.

He was always the strict one. If Catarina was the saint of the family, 26 years old Dimitri was obviously Lucifer with his bad temper and harsh tongue. It was highly probable that he killed our sister. After all, he has always yearned for power. I tried to hide the murderous feeling seeping all over my body. Relax Emiri; you need proof before you act. Besides, they’re your brothers so you love them too, my mind reminded.

I walked to the end of the table and took a seat. My 23 year old brother, Viktor tried to catch my eye. I glanced in his direction and gave him a small smile. Next to Catarina, I could probably trust him most. He was always sweet to me, and it was obvious that he didn’t want the crown. He brushed his shoulder length black hair from his face before giving me one of his radiant smiles- the kind women would kill to see.

Seated beside him was 21 year old Stefan- Mr. Expressionless. His poker face never revealed his feeling. I decided that he was as dangerous as Dimitri, so I should be careful around him. I glanced from one brother to the next. All of them look like the very image of Adonis, with perfect features and sculpted bodies.

Growing up in the Tepes family was hard despite our unending wealth and power because you never know who would yearn for the crown when the time comes. We were never hostile, and in a way, we loved each other too, but there was a menacing undertone, as if we didn’t trust each other enough to be buddy-buddy.

The Elders were gathered there as well. There were 8 of them in total, each wearing brown robes over their almost translucent skin. There was a rumor that they have been around for thousands of years. Catarina once told me that they practiced the dark arts to attain everlasting life, but they paid a heavy price for it. No one knew where they lived, but you could summon them with a thought if you wished to speak to them, though they wouldn’t come if it wasn’t important.

I placed my hand calmly on the table. “What is the subject of this meeting?”

Dimitri looked irritated- nothing new there. “Just because you turned down the Dama position doesn’t mean that there won’t be a next ruler.”

I just shrugged. “It doesn’t concern me,” I said with nonchalance.

“It concerns all of us,” an Elder spoke up.

I stared at him. God, they all looked the same. They had an almost translucent skin. Their eyes were splashed with the strangest color of purple. They must have looked strange to humans. No wonder they hide in the mountains, cave, or wherever they go when they are not here, I thought.

“You know the vampire community will never be at rest until the next ruler is decided. One should be declared after a year,” Dimitri said with a low voice.

“How do we choose then?” asked Viktor.

All of us knew the answer- submission or death. If the next in line died or declined the position, the other siblings would have to fight for it. The others could submit to one brother alone, but if not, they would have to kill each other for the crown. Since I declined after Catarina died, my 3 brothers were left with no choice.

I knew my position in this game all too well. Since I could always grab the throne for myself before the coronation, I was still a threat to one of them even if I previously declined. Someone would try to kill me to attain his dreams. What a warm loving family we were. I let out a sigh.

“So no one will submit? All of you will fight for the crown?” I inquired with a clear and loud voice.

No one spoke. “Fine, kill each other all you want for the stupid throne. Just leave me out of it!” I stood up and hastily left the room before I blurt out about my plan to find Catarina’s killer and avenge her.

My feet carried me to the gazebo which was housed in the middle of a labyrinth. The Tepes property was so huge that you could get easily lost inside the grounds. This was one of my favorite hiding spots as a child. I’d go here when something was bothering me, or if I wanted to pretend that I was normal and not shackled by traditions. Ha! Get real Emiri. You could never be normal.

A few minutes after I arrived, I felt a calming presence in the surroundings. “What do the Elders want from me? I already told all of you that I don’t want to be Dama. For someone so old, you guys are a bit insensitive to your princess feelings.” I stared hard to my right, and surely, there stood two Elders, an eerie calm expression on their faces.

“Our apologies My Lady, but we need to speak with you.”

“We have nothing more to discuss. My mind is made up, please respect that.”

“The topic of our discussion is not regarding the crown. We went here bearing another news; one concerning you. The meeting earlier is just an excuse to speak with you. It’s time you know the truth.”

My blue-silver eyes flashed in irritation. “What? That I’m adopted or something?!”

“No Lady Emiri, though after you learn of your fate, you’ll wish you are,” the Elder to the right murmured softly.

“Then speak and get this over with.”

“It’s concerning your coming of age.”

What was he talking about? My 18th birthday was still weeks away, on the 3rd of April. They want to celebrate with me or something? The Elder on the left had a disturbed expression on his face, which was weird because they usually showed no signs of distress. What the heck was going on?

“Are you familiar with the name Ishtar My Lady?”

“Isn’t that the name of the vampire leader of the old who made a pact with a witch? What exactly are you telling me? I’m losing my patience Elders, get straight to the point,” I said haughtily. They inched closer, eerily dragging their feet underneath their cloaks, as if flying to me.

“You see My Lady; the witch was deeply in love with Ishtar. To get immunity from the sunlight, Ishtar promised to love the witch back and devote every waking moment with her. However, our vampire ancestor broke the pact and fell in love with a human.”

I took a step back. “What does this have to do with me?”

One Elder continued, “The witch wanted to reverse the spell of the sunlight immunity to get back at Ishtar, but since it was permanent, she couldn’t do a thing. Instead, she placed a heavy curse on Ishtar’s and her human lover’s descendants for revenge.”

“Every thousandth year, one vampire from Ishtar’s direct line will need the blood of the human descendant to live. The same goes for the human. If they don’t drink the blood of each other, they’ll both deteriorate and die.”

I gaped at the two Elder’s, not sure how to respond.

“Lady Emiri, based from the scriptures and the time aforementioned there, we discovered last year that you are the scion who will suffer from the curse in this generation. You have to feed on the human’s descendant to remain alive.”

“Are you freaking kidding me?!” I blurted out. “This is nonsense! I will have all of you tortured and fed to the crocodiles for your foolishness. Such jokes cannot be uttered in front of your princess! Take it back and I’ll forgive you.” My voice was shaking hard.

“We are not toying with you My Lady. The curse is absolute. It will start on your coming of age. We told your mother the Dama when she was still alive, and we tried to look for a solution but saw none. The only thing we gathered is the human descendant’s name, one who has the same birthday as you.”

My body trembled in fear. Surely this was a dream? “W-what is the descendant’s name?” I uttered with an almost inaudible voice.

“Her name is Clover Valentine.”

My hands closed in fists. “This Clover girl,” I spat. “We will both die if we don’t exchange blood right? Why can’t I just tell her so we can meet up monthly and get it over with?”

“The curse is more complex than you think Lady Emiri. You can never tell Ms. Valentine about it. It will prevent you from speaking the truth; you’ll die from it if you try to. She must offer her blood willingly to you.”

“I can’t die yet! I have something to accomplish first. What can I do? Please, I’m begging you!” I took a step forward, my mind on the brink of breaking down.

The Elder on the left held out a hand to stop me. “You have two options Lady Emiri; you must wait for her patiently to offer herself to you.”

“And?” I prompted with barely concealed impatience.

“The other option is to use your power of suggestion so she’ll give her blood to you. But you know doing that for a long time will break her mind, making her an empty shell. It’s like killing her too.”

“Your fate is one and the same. Which will you choose Lady Emiri; die along with her because of the curse? Or selfishly use your power to feed on her for hundreds of years, breaking her mind in the process? Please think it over before your coming of age. This is the only thing we can do to help you,” the Elder whispered and bowed.

In the blink of an eye, the two vanished from my sight without a trace. In their absence, my knees gave way and I sank to the ground, trembling and sweating in fear. This was a nightmare. Surely this was one. What should I do? I needed to find Catarina’s killer first. I couldn’t die before doing that. With shaking hands, I took out the phone in my pocket and dialed a number.

“Master,” Isabelle answered promptly.

“I want you to research someone for me. Her name is Clover Valentine.”