The Divine and the Damned

I gritted my teeth, fighting back another wave of anger. "They corrupted the minds of all the others, poisoning their hearts against the humans! The world would be a better place without them in it" I said "And they wanted to kill Dawn. Wanted to attempt subduing me"

My brother shook his head "Oh, you idiot!" He snapped. "You have no idea what you have done. They were the ones keeping our community together. The vampires are nothing without the Dark Order, nothing!"

"You're wrong" I replied "We shall thrive without them"

"And all this... all this chaos because of her????" Azrael yelled hysterically.

"If it hadn't taken place now, it would've taken place sometime in the future"

I tore the rest of the T-shirt off and threw it to the ground.

"You're a lost cause," Azrael said.

"So are you" I replied.

Suddenly, I hurled the sharpened piece of wood at him and it landed deep in his shoulder.

Grunting in pain, he yanked the object from his flesh, but before it could reach the ground, I quickly lunged at him, tackling him to the ground, and unleashing a couple of attacks targeted at his face, with my claws.

"Concede"

"Never!"

I let out a hiss, but still, Azrael did not back down.

"She has bewitched you with her dark magic. Corrupted your dream by telling you what you wanted to hear. It is up to me to beat you out of it"

He shoved me angrily so that I flew back, but I chuckled and landed on my feet. "You and the dark order share the same delusion. I might have slept for long, but I didn't lose my fighting skills in my sleep"

Our mother suddenly swooped between us. "Stop this nonsense at once!"

I directed my anger toward her "You promised to protect her, Mum! Where were you when Azrael was attacking her?"

"Attacking her?" She turned sharply to face Azrael. "You disappoint me!" She scolded. "You promised me you would not harm her!"

Our mother stopped talking on noticing the burns at the sides of his mouth "What happened to you?"

"Dawn happened!" Azrael responded eagerly, fixing his jaw "That beastly creature..."

She turned to me, eyed my bare chest, and saw the bloody shirt I'd discarded some meters away.

"And you? What happened to you?"

I let out a guffaw "It's not what happened to me, Mother, it's what happened to them"

Her clueless expression made Azrael chip in. "He's massacred the Dark Order"

"You what?!"

"It was Dragavei's will"

"Dragavei's will that they die?!" My mother was enraged. "That Order was assigned by Dragavei himself! Petru said the dark lord came to him ..."

"Another one of their lies" I cut in, setting my hands on my waist "They assigned themselves that position, not Dragavei. Now, move, Mother, you're interrupting" I glared at my brother. "I'm about to beat some sense into him"

"No, you're not" she sounded with authority. "We are going to settle this right here, right now. Without violence. Understood?"

"No" we chorused.

"Stop acting like retarded infants! You're centuries old, must you be so quick to resort to violence?"

"Can you blame me, Mother? I seek to protect our kind" Azrael answered back.

"Oh, shut up. Dawn doesn't have to die, we can figure things out" I replied.

"There is no such thing as 'figure things out' you dolt, she was given powers that kill vampires, to kill vampires!"

"Silence!" Mother commanded, turning to face me "Let me hear what you have to say"

"I've said all there is to say, mother. There is another way"

Azrael scoffed "Sure. Everyone agrees with the fact that all of a sudden he starts seeing visions of our ancestor"

"Believe me or don't, I won't force you, but lay a hand on Dawn again, and you'll regret it" I warned, my gaze on Azrael. "I nearly killed you once. I can do it again.

He turned to our mother "You're going to take his side?"

"He is the Alesul. It's only right that I do. Besides, I believe in Dragavei and if he says there is another way, then there is another way"

"Unbelievable" Azrael forced a laugh. "Father would've sided with me!"

"No, Azrael, you're wrong" She replied softly. "Although your father was the Ravager, he still was a diplomat"

Azrael fell silent for a moment, and I witnessed him struggle with his emotions for a brief moment, before grunting in anger. Turning sharply, he vanished.

"You should've let me handle him, Mother" I muttered, running a hand through my hair.

"He's your older brother"

"He ceases to act like it" I snapped, drawing a frustrated breath. "He attacked Dawn. If I hadn't gotten there on time, I hate to think what would've happened"

"Dawn is stronger than she looks. She'll survive"

I sighed, turning to face her fully "I love her, Mother"

She assessed me quietly before speaking "Is it not too soon for you to come to this conclusion, Dragos? The girl has only spent a month here"

I shook my head "I haven't felt this way in hundreds of years. I know what I feel"

She sighed. "Alright. So, what is the next step now?"

Slowly, I lowered myself to a tree stump and answered, "Helping her discover her powers and learn them"

"And Azrael?"

"He'll be gone for a while, I know him,'' I said "In the meantime, we work on Dawn and hope Dragavei reveals himself to me once again. There's so much I need to ask him"

Rising from the tree stump, I turned, heading back to the mansion. "I'll be back to discuss plans, but first I need to talk to her"

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DAWN

I paced the room restlessly, tears streaming down my face. Rafael attempted to calm me, but I wouldn't listen to him. I was losing my mind, and his reluctance to speak about the situation nor answer my questions till Dragos arrived, only worsened my agitation.

Not long after, the door swung open, and Dragos entered. I stopped pacing, spinning around to face him.

"Can you explain to me what's going on 'cause he wouldn't say a damn thing to me and I'm freaking out!" I blurted, walking up to him hastily.

I looked up at Dragos "Why did Azrael bite me and-and his teeth were... why-how..." I fumbled "Dragos I watched you crash a tree, how did you... how did you crash a tree??!" I whirled to look at Rafael "And Rafael, how did he get here? You too... why was your shirt stained with blood…"

I held my head and started to walk away from him only to stop and turn back. "I need answers, and I need them now!"

Dragos sighed, his eyes warm with understanding. "Are you sure you're ready to hear it?

The question only terrified me more, but I silently swallowed a gulp of saliva, replying, "Yes"

He touched my arm "I will tell you, but first I need you to calm down okay?" he started to lead me to a chair "Take it easy, your heart's beating fast"

"What is going on in this house? I don't ... I don't understand. Start talking, Dragos"

He sighed and brushed some hair away from my face, then glanced at Rafael.

"Well, there's no sugar coating it now," he said, stepping closer to me, and taking my hand in his "We're vampires"

"What?" My face paled "Wh-what do you mean? I-I don't understand"

Of course, they were vampires. I'd seen Azrael's fangs grow out, yet, I believed my mind was playing tricks on me. I simply did not want to come to terms with the truth.

Dragos extended a hand in front of him as he spoke softly "Just calm down. I know it's a lot to take in, but it's true, and I'm going to show you"

He opened his mouth, causing his fangs to show, just like Azrael had done. The action frightened me and I lurched back in fear. Rafael moved to stand behind me but I fled from his side to stand in the middle of the room.

"But... I thought..." I paused to take a deep breath. "H-how is that even possible? I-I thought vampires were a myth. I-I thought they couldn't walk in the sun."

"My family is different," Dragos explained, his voice calm. "While most vampires are condemned to the darkness, unable to walk in the sun, our bloodline can withstand it. To some degree, at least, due to the curse. Except for me... I can stay in the sun as long as I want"

"Curse? What curse?"

"That story is for another time."

I shook my head vigorously, my hand rising to support my forehead. "Dragos, I..."

He touched my arm gently. "Hey, hey, hey... it's okay."

Then his eyes fell on my neck, his expression suddenly sharpening. "Dawn... your neck..."

I moved away from his side before he could finish, turning toward Rafael. "B-but Rafael, how can he..."

"My mother and I are the only ones in the family with the ability to sire," Dragos said, cutting in, "I turned Rafael." He gestured to him, who stood silently nearby. "That's why he can walk in the sun, too. My mother was already a vampire when she met my father, but after they bonded, she shared his special gifts. It's part of the sacred bond they formed when they married. Think of it like a sacred rite"

"Dragos saved me" Rafael chipped in, an expression of gratitude on his face. "When I was bleeding out on the streets, he rescued me. And for that, I am forever grateful"