Chapter Four

She walked through the court yard of her family’s palace, her lithe gait was jittery with anticipation for what awaited her in her bed chambers this evening. The air was crisp, just a taste of the spring that was fading fast into summer. A bird sang his song in the distance, Kao enjoyed the sound he made enough to hum his tune as she walked. She nodded at the guardsmen who made their evening rounds, not a thing could hinder her great mood. Dijamant, her brilliant warrior, was waiting for her this evening. He came to her only once a week (when he was not away at war, that is), for her to feed and for them both to enjoy a lover’s embrace with one and other.
Kao Nasiou, the queen’s third daughter (only because she was born mere minutes after her sister that shared their mother‘s womb), was a petite woman of fair skin she had round pale blue eyes and contrasting raven hair that hung down to her waist. She was the epiphany of beauty during this time of ignorance and dark. Her people ruled not with force but with love and devotion. She was not human but a vampyre and at this time, they were not mere myth, but a race of beings brought to protect the human race. True, they fed on human blood, or any mammalian’s blood for that matter. Most chose to find a human partner for companionship and for their sustenance. They were ruled by the Nasiou, or first, family for many generations and although the family was very loving they created the laws that governed not only their kind but also to protect the humans they were delivered to protect by the goddess Maiesta.
. She reached the doors to her bedchambers and stopped. She had to compose herself, not let on a hint of the anticipation she was feeling seep out-that was just not the way royals allowed themselves to be seen.
A calming breath later, Kao opened up her bedchamber doors and walked in to find, not only her lover, but her twin sister tangled in the sheets together committing an act that only she was suppose to share with her warrior.
Shock, horror and rage filled Kao to the point of actually seeing red. She was at the bedside in an instant. She pulled her whore of a sister off of the man she loved and threw her across the room. It was then Dijamant saw Kao and realized that the woman he was just making love to was not Kao but Kerria. How he did not realize this sooner he’d never have a chance to understand because in that instant Kao ripped his heart out of his chest.
With his blood streaming out of his body Kao took no pity nor the time to ask why, she just wanted her vengeance for this abomination. She turned to her sister, Dijamant’s heart still warm from his body in her palm.
“Tell me, sister, was it worth it?”
She did not wait for a response, after squeezing the heart of the man she once thought loved her to a pulp she threw it to the ground in front of her sibling and then seconds after it hit the floor with a “plop” at Kierria, Kao was there in front of her. Kao’s hand wrapped around her sister’s throat, and just as quickly as everything else ripped the head from it’s body.
Kao snapped her fingers, two tigers appeared beside her in an instant as they had been standing guard near the bedchamber’s doors when they felt their master’s distress.
“My loves, the only one’s I can trust in this horrid world.” She turned to face her pets. Holding Kirria’s head by the hair in her left hand she put her right hand out so the tigers could each smell her. “Take this, I’ve things to do.” With that she tossed the head to her tigers and flew from her bed chambers.
The king and queen sat in the throne room. It was large and open, a skylight and many windows gave the appearance of an out door gazebo. The columns of marble had blue wisteria vines that climbed up to the top and to rope around each other over the ceiling, they gave the room a sweet smell despite the fact that the room was normally filled with humans. They were in a meeting with their council who sat at a table set up across from the thrones of silver and blue.
They all spoke in hushed murmurs about things Kao didn’t even care to hear about. Before anybody in the room noticed her arrival she slit the throat of the man in the middle of the table who happened to be the head of the council. With his gargling last breath he uttered, “Why?”
Kao looked into the faces of her parents. Her beautiful mother with skin as pale as her own and cold grey eyes stared at her blood soaked daughter. While her father couldn’t even bare to look at her, nor the sight of what she had done. He turned his head covering his face with his hand.
“What have you done?” The queen asked in a tone reserved for traitors to their empire.
“I’ve come for vengeance. I will kill all of those who’ve betrayed me. You all knew of Kerria and Dijamenta’s affair. I know it, and now I will take all of your lives for this wrong doing and take your throne mother.”
With that Kao flicked out her razor sharp thumb nail and sliced each member of the council within seconds just racing down the table, the blood poured out of their bodies and their heads slumped back blood gushing to the ceiling. The king tried to run but before he could even get to the door, Kao removed his head as well. She turned to face her mother who was simply standing in front of her throne with a stern look on her face like a mother who was chiding her toddler for stealing cookies instead of watching her slaughter innocents.
“Kao, you stop this this instant. We’ve done you no wrong and you’ve made quite a mess. We are suppose to protect these humans and instead you kill not only a whole counsel of them but also your father, who is half human. What are you thinking? We cannot live like this girl, come tell me what your problem is.” The Nasiou family was never known for their emotions, and the queen was no exception. She knew her race was sent to protect the humans but she could only be expected to do so much. She must first stop the irrationality her daughter was now facing.
“No, mother, you know, you all knew. You laughed behind my back. We should never fall in love with humans, you’ve always told me this, ‘we live much longer lives and eventually they will die’ you always tell me. Then you find me falling for a human so you send Kerria to his bed, you sent her to betray me, I know you must have. You tricked him and you will die.”
Kao was in front of her mother so fast the queen tumbled back into her throne, she had never seen anyone move so quickly and always thought her own father was the quickest of them all. She didn’t realize she was dead yet.