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Dedicated to all my wonderful readers. Thanks for all your wonderful comments and support. Mandee, storygirl, redsafyre, Husnalmau, FunMochi, Jennifer, Nansy123, m_small, B_6651, Emefaf, Betty_Carter, Jaey_peters, WENDY_DLAMINI, Anna_Rabij, pie_md423, and Fantasy Dreamer. Thank you 💜

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When Clarissa woke up, she felt light. The only reminder she had of the injury was the painless throb in her hand.

She moaned as she opened her eyes only to be blinded by the rays of the sun. She closed them back and wished it would disappear.

Dante who was right next to her had heard her groan and seen the flutter of her lashes when she had opened them. He informed the others and soon, Raphael and Leonard were right next to her.

When she opened her eyes again, she was shocked to see them. But at least they were of use to her by blocking the rays of the sun.

" How are you feeling? " Raphael asked, checking her eyes.

She shifted her head, annoyed and confused. She couldn't remember what had happened. " I'm fine. What are you doing?! " she snapped at him.

" Checking to see if the cure worked. "

She squinted, her eyes confused. " Cure? What cure? " then it all came back to her.

The bloodflower, the attack by the witches and the man who had saved her. Although his features had not been too clear.

She forced herself up with the help of Leonard and Raphael. She looked around searching for him but all she saw were four other men and a woman. They were slightly pale looking. She studied them closely and was quite sure it was none of them.

" The man who helped me, where is he? " she asked, looking around one more time as if expecting him to pop out of somewhere.

Raphael's expression became guided and he looked away to avoid suspicion.

Leonard pointed to one of the vampires who had come to his rescue. " He was the one who brought you back. "

She gave him a glance over wondering if she had been wrong. " I see. " she put it out of her mind and looked at Dante who looked down sheepishly. His expression was sad and regretful as he held his cat to him.

" I'm sorry. " he apologized when he noticed her gaze on him.

" Did you wish I would die? " Clarissa asked, sounding bored.

His eyes widened as he looked up. " No, your highness. Never. "

" Then, why are you apologizing? " she asked, raising a brow.

" I should have stayed away from the flower and tried to protect you," he said meekly.

" Protect me? " she rolled her eyes. " Stop dreaming about the impossible and wipe those tears. I feel like it's my burial. " she twisted her neck from side to side and stretched like a cat. " Now help me up. "

Dante dropped Zeek and assisted Leonard in helping Clarissa up.

She made sure not to put any weight on him. She had only asked him to help her so he would feel slightly useful.

" Who are these people? " Clarissa asked barely sparing them a glance.

" His majesty sent them to ensure our safety. " Raphael replied.

" he should have thought of that before now. For a vampire king, he's quite incompetent. "

The cat narrowed its eyes at the princess as did the vampires sent by the vampire Lord.

But she ignored them like they were of little importance to her.

Clarissa freshened up and had some food before they continued on their journey. The arm that had been quietly throbbing was now aching but there was nothing she could do about it. She had to bear the pain.

They passed by one more village before passing by some more forests. They passed by the border of Winterbourne and finally, they arrived at the small boundary that divided the two kingdoms.

When they passed the actual border of Shadow's Kiss, Clarissa felt something hum within her, almost like a shock and the hand that had been aching was back to quietly throbbing with the pain gone.

" Did you feel that? " she asked the company at large.

" Feel what? " Raphael asked from the horse he rode next to the carriage.

" That spot we just passed, I felt a shock there," she said, confused.

Raphael wondered if it was the block Kieran placed on the border to deter unwanted visitors Clarissa had felt. But that could not be possible. She had no magic and even as he had magic, he hadn't felt anything. " I felt nothing. But who knows maybe Leonard felt it as well. "

But Leonard denied feeling anything of that sort.

Kieran looked at her and wondered how she could be the one person whom he couldn't see into her dreams but she could feel the presence of his magic, unlike other people.

There was something odd about her and he was going to figure it out.

They moved past that point and came to see busy villages. Clarissa saw that Shadow's Kiss was a mixture of different races just like Winterbourne. Although it had the normal elves, faes, vampires and the sort, there were lots of halflings here. As expected, of course, the land was populated by vampires.

But the more she looked at them, the more she noticed that there seemed to be different vampires. Some had dark red eyes with extremely pale skin, while some had dark red eyes with skin tones like that of humans. There were some as well whose red eyes were not as dark as that of the others but they also had pale skin although not as pale as the others. She wondered which of the vampires the vampire king would look like.

At last, they passed by a thick forest and came to a place sealed up by vines and thorns but before their very eyes, the vines and thorns moved apart to grant them access.

Finally, the palace gates were opened to allow them in.

The sight was glorious, there was no other word for it.

The garden and the maze took Clarissa's breath away. It looked even better than the garden at Haven's Peak. The grandeur of it, the beauty, it was nothing like she'd ever seen before and for a second she wondered if her mother would have loved it.

She composed herself trying not to act too excited, like a village bumpkin who got excited at the smallest things but there was no denying that even the richest and noblest of men would be awed by it all.

The palace itself was a piece of art. When the carriage came to stop, there were maids awaiting their arrival as well as guards.

Clarissa and Dante were both helped down from the carriage and in front of them stood a tall man with red eyes and slightly pale skin.

" Welcome your highness. " he greeted with his head slightly bowed.

A look at his clothing made Clarissa understand that he was the butler.

Clarissa nodded at his greeting and looked around for the king. But all she saw were servants and guards. " Where is your king? "

" He had more important matters to see to. "

Author's note

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