Episode 9

"I was looking for you earlier today and was informed that you had gone out with my father," Esmeralda stated.

"Yes, I had to run an errand for him. Did you need help with something?" Ezra replied.

"What kind of errand?" Esmeralda inquired, curious.

Ezra hesitated for a moment before answering, "That I cannot say."

"Why not? We're friends, aren't we? So why are you being secretive?" Esmeralda questioned, feeling a tinge of disappointment.

"Of course, we're friends, but I cannot reveal it. For your own safety, Esmeralda, please let it be," Ezra said softly, brushing her cheek with a gentle touch, his eyes locked with hers.

Suddenly, his hazel eyes gleamed brightly, and his canines started to lengthen. He was undergoing a transformation.

"What is it?" Esmeralda asked, concerned, as Ezra snarled in response.

He gazed out into the compound, and Esmeralda caught a whiff of a familiar scent—the stench of those who had taken her mother's life.

"Vampires. There are a couple of them," Ezra growled.

"Ezra?" Esmeralda called out, worry evident in her voice.

"Go inside, princess," Ezra instructed as he swiftly discarded his suit, his fingers morphing into claws. In this half-feral, half-human form, werewolves couldn't fully transform into wolves without the presence of a full moon, but they could unleash their feral side and exhibit certain wolf-like characteristics.

Suddenly, multiple darts pierced Ezra's skin, causing him to growl in pain and collapse to the ground. Three figures appeared on the balcony, blocking Esmeralda's escape. She attempted to flee but was seized by the nape of her neck. The assailant's grip tightened, displaying inhuman strength.

"Don't scream, or my friend will kill your boyfriend," the vampire holding her threatened.

Helplessly, Esmeralda watched as another vampire swiftly approached and lifted Ezra's unconscious body. Fear sent shivers down her spine. She glanced back at the hall, wondering why the other wolves hadn't detected the vampires' scent.

"What do you want?" Esmeralda managed to utter, her voice trembling.

"It's nothing personal, princess. I'm merely following orders," the vampire responded coldly.

"Make a sound, and you'll regret it," another vampire warned, binding Esmeralda's mouth and hands. Both she and Ezra were injected with a mysterious substance. One of the vampires hoisted Esmeralda onto his shoulder, and they leaped off the balcony. Esmeralda fought to stay conscious, battling against the effects of the injection.

As they raced through the compound, attempting to escape with Esmeralda, she heard her father's anguished cry from the balcony. He howled, alerting all the wolves within the vicinity. Suddenly, the vampires found themselves surrounded by approximately twenty wolves. The vampire carrying Esmeralda dropped her to the ground, and a fierce battle ensued. After twenty minutes of relentless fighting, the wolves overwhelmed the vampires, tearing two of them apart, while the third narrowly escaped with his life. Exhausted from the ordeal and the effects of the substance coursing through her body, Esmeralda succumbed to unconsciousness

***

Lily had just finished her last class of the day. It had been nearly a week since she arrived in Esteria, and she had a lot of assignments and catching up to do. Despite impressing her alchemy professor with her ability to transmute gold, she was falling behind in her other classes. In her light manipulation class, she had attempted to separate water from light, but instead ended up unintentionally drenching the beautiful flowers in the adjacent garden, ruining the experience for her classmates. To make matters worse, she hadn't seen Prince Aiden since her arrival, and the absence of his presence had been a constant distraction, leading her to be unfocused in her studies. She wondered if he had already forgotten about her.

"Ugh, concentrate, Lily," she scolded herself as she opened the door to her room. "You met a handsome prince, and that was cool, but it's time to return to reality. Whatever that is."

Her room was a chaotic mess, with textbooks strewn about and peculiar magical trinkets she used to refine her powers. Each day, her skills were improving, and she was gaining more knowledge about her Ramava and life force. She had developed a keen curiosity about Lysteria, the realm of her father's origin, and desired to visit and learn more about the witches. However, as she entered her room, her vision suddenly blurred, and the room began to spin. Overwhelmed, she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

When she came to, Lily found herself in a dimly lit room with seven men seated around a large circular table. The ambiance was eerie, with candles providing the only source of light. Terrified, she realized that no one seemed to notice her presence in the room.

"With the help of the king, we can free our people with the blue orb and shatter the magical forcefield that holds them captive in Vestería," one of the men proclaimed.

"Are you certain we can trust Nebaken? He betrayed his brother. What makes you think he will assist in freeing the vampires?" another man inquired skeptically.

"If he dares to betray us, I will personally put an end to him," a third man declared with conviction.

Lily observed in silence, realizing that these men were vampire aristocracy. In her history class, she had learned about how the vampires had become trapped in their realm, Vestería, during the great war by King Nebaken's brother, Ariton the Black. Only a few thousand vampires had managed to escape to the Earth realm.

Suddenly, the doors swung open, revealing a battered and bloodied vampire who stumbled into the room and collapsed on the floor.

"Forgive me, my king. We attempted to capture the wolf princess, but the wolves overwhelmed us. Sakar and Dom are dead," the injured vampire confessed.

"All of you, leave," King Antonio commanded.

The seated vampires rose from their seats and departed, each casting a disdainful glance at the wounded vampire. Lily covered her mouth in horror at the sight of his injuries.

Gradually, everything began to fade from her vision, and she found herself back in her own room, still disoriented and bewildered.

"What is happening to me?" she wondered aloud, trying to make sense of the vivid experience she had just undergone.

A knock at her door interrupted her thoughts, and she opened it to find herself face-to-face with Fabien.

"It is I, Fabien. Prince Aiden has requested your presence in his palace," he announced.

Lily's eyes widened in surprise, and she immediately stood up, attempting to regain her composure.

"Hello," she greeted him, opening the door wider.

"How are you adjusting to life in Esteria?" Fabien inquired.

"Um, it's going well," Lily replied, though her disoriented state was apparent to him.

"Are you alright, miss? You seem flushed," Fabien noted, concerned.

"Yeah, I just had the strangest dream," Lily confessed.

"Dream?" Fabien raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Forget it. It's probably just the stress from practicing magic too much. Prince Aiden sent you?" she asked, eager to shift the focus of the conversation.

"Oh, yes. He requests your presence for dinner," Fabien confirmed, holding a box with a letter placed on top, which he handed to Lily.

"The outfit you are to wear is inside the box, and the letter serves as proof of your invitation. Show it to the guards when you arrive at the palace gates. Your carriage will be waiting to take you to the palace to meet His Grace when the blue moon rises in the sky," Fabien explained, bowing before departing.

Lily closed the door behind him and dropped the box onto the floor, taking a seat as she tried to process the bewildering visions of the vampire gathering. She knew she had to make sense of what she had witnessed before she could move forward.