Once Betrayed Never Forgotten

Chapter 13: Revelations

Before I can react, Aleksandr appears behind me, and my heart leaps into my throat. How does he do that? I almost jump out of my skin, and the book slips from my hands. He catches it with an eerie grace. The book simply disappears from his hand, like a magic trick.

“Seriously, Aleksandr?” I exclaim, trying to keep my voice steady. “You could’ve given me a heads-

up.”

His eyebrow quirks, and I’m hit with a wave of irritation at his infuriating smugness. It’s like he enjoys keeping me on my toes. I meet his gaze, trying to show a hint of defiance despite the nerves coursing through me.

“What, pray tell, do you think you’re doing?” He asks, his voice low and with an edge of

amusement.

“Um, just… looking for some reading material,” I mumble, feeling a little sheepish under his intense scrutiny. “Nothing major.”

He looks at me with that penetrating gaze that makes me feel like he’s unravelling my thoughts. “Sticking your nose into other people’s business, I see.”

My cheeks flush, and I can’t help but feel like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar. His words have an edge to them, a warning that I should tread carefully. I quickly weigh the options should I ask him about the history of the castle, his family, or the mysterious book? But the fear of angering him or raising suspicions holds me back. Playing it safe seems like the smarter choice.

“Right,” I reply, keeping my tone neutral. “I’m just wanting to find out more about your family. Our family, now, given that your brother just became my stepdad. It’s only natural that I’m

curious.”

He chuckles softly. “Yes, you are curious indeed.*

I’m about to retort when the conversation takes an unexpected turn. “When can I see my mother again?” The question bursts out of me before I can think twice. It’s a vulnerable inquiry, and I brace myself for his response.

“Soon,” he says, his tone softer now, less guarded.

“Is she even in this castle anymore, or has Konstantin whisked her off on a honeymoon in the Maldives?” 1–ask sarcastically, trying to hide the anxiety prickling at my nerves.

“She’s here,” he replies, his gaze unwavering. “But there are things you must understand, Arianna.

1/4

Things Chen she me et duy wes

I and my mind vng with

us estis ke the family business. All that stuff my mom and Konstantin sad about him being to devoted to the environment, saving the world, blah blah blah. I ward to believe it’s all true, but I’m having hard time wrapping my head around the idea of tree bugger no–friendly vampires. No offence

a

He doesn’t hesitate. “None taken. But really Arianno, just think about it. If you knew that the only thing preventing you from living for eternity was the imminent destruction of the world, wouldn’t you do everything in your power to stop that? Mortals with their limited lifespans struggle to truly grasp the urgency. They cannot comprehend the threat of something that will not happen within their lifetimes. But for my kind, the undying, it’s a very real threat. That’s why they care so deeply

“1

“They?” I raise an eyebrow, curious about his choice of words. “So, you don’t care about living

forever?

He shrugs, and there’s an unexpected undercurrent of sadness in his voice. I stopped caring a

long time ago.”

“Why?” I ask, my curiosity piqued.

He gives me a rueful smile. “You’re getting ahead of yourself, little girl.”

I bristle at the condescending term. “I’m eighteen, not a little girl.

He smirks, his eyes glinting with something unreadable. “In comparison to my seven hundred years of existence, you’re just a little girl. A naive young child.”

I huff a soft laugh, acknowledging the absurdity of the situation. “Alright, fine. How did you become a vampire?”

His gaze turns distant, lost in a sea of memories. “It was in the 12th century, here in Romania, in the South. As you already know, Anya was the one who turned me.”

“Why?” I ask, fascinated by the idea of someone willingly becoming a creature of the night.

Because she needed a warrior, a fighter,” he explains. “She already had Konstantin by then. He was turned three hundred years before me, her right–hand man, her advisor. Brilliant mind, a

visionary.

1 lean in, intrigued. “And what did she need you for?”

2/4

Chapter 13: Revelations

“A military strategist, he replies, his voice tinged with a hint of bitterness. “Her enemies were growing in strength, and she required a skilled warrior to lead her armies and defend against them.”

“Wait, I interrupt, my mind racing to process the information. “You mean she turned you because you were a warrior in your human life?”

He nods. “Yes, I was the bastard son of a local lord, born to a scullery maid. Unloved and overlooked, I had to prove myself twice as much. That’s how I became a skilled fighter. And when Anya needed someone to fight her battles, she chose me.”

The weight of his past hangs in the air, and I can’t help but feel sympathy for the young man he once was. The realisation sets in Anya is not his real mother, and Konstantin is not his brother, not really.

“But Anya said you’re all family by blood,” I say, recalling her words.

He chuckles darkly. “Yes, we became family by the drinking of blood. That’s our blood relation.”

A shiver runs down my spine, the implications of his statement sinking in. “So, were you ever married? Did you have a family before you were turned?”

A distant look enters his eyes, and he sighs softly. “I was always too busy fighting my father’s wars. Many lovers, yes. But there was one woman I almost married. I thought she loved me as much as I loved her. But I found her in my father’s bed, swayed by his wealth and power.”

My heart aches at the pain in his voice, the betrayal and heartbreak. “What did

you do?”

“I killed my father,” he says simply, the weight of the admission heavy in the air. “Slew him with his own dagger while the woman I loved was in his bed.”

I gasp, the horror of the scene vivid in my mind. “What happened after?”

“I left her alive, covered in my father’s blood, he continues, his gaze distant. “But she managed to stab me in the neck with the same dagger as I left his chambers. I was dying when Anya found me. She offered me a chance at life, at vengeance.

A heavy silence settles between us, the weight of his past hanging in the air. “I’m sorry, I finally say, not knowing what else to offer.

Aleksandr’s lips twitch into a wry smile. “That was a long time ago. Centuries have a way of dulling the pain.”

Chapter 13: Revelations

As the weight of our conversation lingers, my stomach lets out a growl. Seriously, of all the times for hunger to strike. My face heats up in embarrassment, and I offer an awkward smile.

“Guess I forgot to eat, I mutter, hoping to downplay the situation. He smirks, and I’m both

annoyed and relieved. Annoyed because his smirks are beyond aggravating, and relieved because it breaks the tension a bit.

“Of course, you haven’t eaten in ages,” he remarks, the smirk still playing at his lips. “I’ll have Seraphina escort you to the dining room.”

I’m about to protest or come up with some witty retort, but he moves to leave before I can say anything. I quickly grab his sleeve, my mind still buzzing with a million unanswered questions.

“Wait,” I blurt out, my voice a bit shaky. “About that screaming earlier in the corridor earlier–what was that? Who… or what was it?”

The memory of that spine–chilling scream haunts me, and the urgency in his eyes as he rushed out of the room is etched in my mind. He dismisses it with a wave of his hand, like it’s

insignificant.

“It’s nothing to worry

within these halls.”

about, Arianna,” he replies casually. “You are safe, no harm will come to you

I’m not entirely convinced, given the strange events that have unfolded so far. But before I can press further, he’s already looking up at the ceiling and saying something in Romanian. A black bat swoops down and transforms into Seraphina right before my eyes. One moment she’s a bat, the next, she’s a little dark haired girl in a lacy white dress and big black eyes as gloomy as starless night.

I bet she was up there in the rafters the whole time, watching me snoop through the library. “Let’s eat,” she says, her voice musical but tinged with an undercurrent of something unknown.

As she smiles, revealing gleaming canines, I can’t help the quick shiver of fear that runs down my spine.

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