Romance: Angel-The Fire Princess: Vampire Werewolf Shifter Fantasy Romance (4 page)

“You know, this goes against everything my father taught me not to do, right?” Ryker said, his usual carefree attitude present. “That’s why I’m completely okay with all of this, I hope you know.”

“Well, Angel doesn’t really care about getting in trouble either, so I guess that’s one thing you both have in common.” Nolan stared bitterly out the window, and Angel huffed.

“Whatever. I don’t know why you care, Mr. Take the Girl to Fairbanks to Get Eaten by a Werewolf.” She rolled her eyes at him.

“Excuse me? But taking you out of the Gold Palace wasn’t against the rules. And the werewolves are typically very friendly creatures-”

“Oh, shut up! You’re just so worried about why I’m here and why Kelandra wanted me to stick around that you didn’t actually think about my safety for one moment-“

“Guys!” Ryker interrupted, halting the bickering. “Really? It’s come to this? You both need to calm down, I mean it. Now, we’re here, so both of you get your act together, and hurry. I’m only holding down the fort here for about 20 minutes, and then I’m out.” He saluted. “Now get out of here.”

Ryker stayed parked in front of Angel’s house so they could leave quickly, but as he said, he would only wait for so long before leaving.

However, before Nolan and Angel even made it to the front porch of her home, she knew something wasn’t right, seeing the front door wide open.

“Oh no,” she breathed, and Nolan stopped dead in his tracks.

“It can’t be,” she heard Nolan whisper, but she paid him no mind as she ran through the door.

“Wait, Angel! It might not be safe!”

She tripped around inside, screaming for her parents.

“Mom, Dad!” she cried, fear leaking into her screams.

“Angel!” Nolan called for her from the front door. “Stop, they could still be here!” Angel had no idea who “they” were, but she didn’t care at the moment.

Unfortunately, she soon spotted blood trailing down, or up, the stairs, and she followed it, taking the steps two at a time until she found her parents lying on the floor in their room.

“Mom, Dad!” Angel sputtered, tears now running freely down her face. She dropped next to her father, whose wounds looked too fatal. Sure enough, Angel felt no pulse when she put her fingers to his bloody neck. She crawled to her mother, sobbing, who looked almost as bad, but still appeared to be breathing.

“Mom, wake up! Please!” She heard footsteps behind her and assumed that Nolan had finally reached her, and he gasped when he reached her.

“Oh, God,” he whispered. He made no move to comfort Angel, however, he just sat down in the closest chair, trying to keep his breathing even.

“Mom, please!” Angel pleaded, and her mother’s eyes actually fluttered open.

“My darling Angel,” she said hoarsely, placing a bloody hand on Angel tear-stained cheek.

“Mom, what happened?” she sputtered some more, barely able to choke down enough air to breathe. Her mother, however, looked so peaceful and pain-free.

“Angel, I have something to tell you, but first, come here.” Angel leaned down into her mother’s arms for a weak embrace, and she cried into her hair. “I’m so so sorry, my dear.”

“What happened?” Angel insisted. Mrs. Berry shook her head.

“Listen to me, I can’t tell you everything,” she coughed, blood spurting out of her mouth. “We have a secret. Please, Angel, please find it in your heart to forgive your father and I. We did what we had to do to keep you safe, to keep you alive.”

“I don’t understand-“

“You won’t right now, my darling, but soon. They’ll come for you, and they’ll explain everything. We’re so, so sorry, Angel,” her mother cried, tears mixing with blood. “We love you so much, Angel. Please don’t hate us when you find out.” Angel gasped.

“I could never, ever hate you. I love you, Mom,” Angel cried, holding tightly to her mother’s hand. Kay Berry smiled, then took one last shuttering breath.

“I love you so much more.”

Angel gasped for air, drowning in her own tears. Nolan reached for her to comfort her, but she pulled away.

“Stay away from me!” she cried, and Nolan put his hands up in surrender.

“Angel, I’m sorry-“

“No, stop! Leave me alone, Nolan! You took me away from them, and now they’re dead! I could have been here! I could have done something, but you and your stupid queen took me from them!” A red glow began to issue from an unknown source, but Angel didn’t notice.

“Angel…” Nolan said, reaching for her slowly.

“Stop!” she screamed, flinging her hand away from him, only then noticing the glow seemed to come from the ring she was wearing. At this, she actually laughed. “It figures, doesn’t it? That my abilities decide to show up right after they die? I could have protected them, but no.” Angel’s face cleared, and instead of looking sad, she simply looked bitter. “This is my fault.”

“It isn’t, Angel-” Nolan tried to reassure her.

“Yes it is! This is all my fault!” With that, Angel screamed a guttural cry that rang throughout the entire city. Her hands were suddenly raised above her head, and from her hands shot out fire. Nolan stood by, amazed, unable to do anything except stare.

Finally, though, once the house started to burn around them, Nolan came to his senses.

“Stop, Angel, you’re going to burn us alive!” He grabbed for her, but her body was too hot, and he shrunk back, his arms burning. “Angel!”

However, before Angel knew it, she was lying on the grass outside, her body heaving, and she sat up quickly to see her house burning before her and Kelandra standing next to her.

“Where’s Nolan?” Angel demanded, but Kelandra just shook her head.

“I don’t know. I did, however, worry that this would happen. I’m so sorry, Angel,” she said, looking her in the eyes, genuine sorrow etching her features.

“You knew this would happen?” Angel stared at Kelandra in disbelief, but she ignored her question.

“I should have posted protection on this house, but I was only thinking of you. This happened because of my ill-thinking.” A single tear trickled down the queen’s cheek, and she looked at Angel, reaching for her hand. “Come. We have much to discuss.”

After Kelandra transformed into a werewolf at will, she carried Angel back to the Gold Palace at an alarming speed.

“How did we get back here so fast?” Angel asked, breathless, despite everything else that had happened that day. Kelandra shrugged.

“As a werewolf, this comes with wolf-like characteristics and fast movements. Most magical people have fast abilities, but Ryker’s ability, for instance, allows him to move faster than the average magical person, due to his focus on speed.” Kelandra’s hand reached for Angel’s. “Come with me. There isn’t much time. It’s possible he’s already on his way.”

“Who’s on his way?” Angel demanded.

“Akabar,” Kelandra whispered, her voice trembling.

“Akabar? Isn’t he the vamp-“

“Yes,” the queen hissed, shushing Angel. “I’m sorry. We just- we don’t speak of him. It’s forbidden.”

“But why-“

“Because he defected.” Kelandra sighed. “He was a high authority, but he wanted to trump my power. I couldn’t let him, and he let that fester in his brain and in his heart until it drove him mad. Akabar drummed up support within the rest of the vampire community, and they all left us. They

all defected.” She breathed deeply before continuing.

“Akabar is very powerful. He controls ice and snow, and he was able to defeat us in many of our battles. However, he realized that his biggest threats were from the magical people with fire abilities, so he had them killed. He slowly took them out, every warrior, every mother, even the children. My husband was one of these, and so when my child was born, I knew Akabar would come for her - even if her power wasn’t confirmed yet. He would take no chances.”

“No…” Angel breathed, realization dawning on her.

“I took my daughter and fled, and I hid her in the human world until the time when I could send for her, when she was 18, and her abilities would begin to reveal themselves.” Kelandra gave Angel a pointed look at this.

“You mean me,” Angel whispered, tears running down her face.

“According to Nolan, you’ve already had a one attack on your life, so I’m guessing they’re already suspicious of your identity.” At that moment, the lights in the palace all went dark. “And now I’m guessing they know that you’re here,” Kelandra whispered, her voice full of dread.

“He’s coming for me now?” Angel cried, her heart pounding in her chest.

“Listen to me, Angel, I will not let anything happen to you. He’s going to take you, but I will rescue you, I promise.” The queen took her daughter’s face in her hands. “Angel, you were always meant to fight him, to defeat him, but you aren’t ready. You still have much to learn. Just please remember that you will be saved.” At this, Kelandra hugged Angel tightly to her.

Angel wasn’t sure how to feel. On one hand, she had been united with her biological mother, which should thrill her. But she had been lying to her the entire time she was at the Gold Palace, heck, her entire life. And so had her parents. On top of everything, she was about to be taken to the man who had murdered hundreds of fire-wielders before her. Her chances did not look good.

They heard many footsteps coming from just down the hall, and Angel doubted that they were Kelandra’s soldiers. The queen attempted to shield Angel from the coming wave of enemy vampires.

As Angel took in their clothes and weapons, she realized these were the same men who had caused her wreck. The man in front halted when they were before her and Kelandra. He grinned.

“We finally meet, Princess,” he leered, and it took Angel a moment to realize he was talking about her. “Step aside, Kelandra. Our business is not with you.” Before the queen could make any move to transform into her wolf form, another man clubbed her on the side of the head. “There, much better.”

“Who are you?” Angel trembled, backing away; unable to summon fire in the moment she needed it most. The man smirked.

“Name’s Felix. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” He bowed in a playful manner, his sneer returning. “You’re coming with us, Princess.” The same man who knocked the queen unconscious swung his weapon again, and in a second, all went black.

XXX

When Angel opened her eyes, it was as if they were still closed. Wherever she was, it was so dark that she may as well be blindfolded.

She blinked multiple times to attempt to get used to the darkness. When she finally adjusted, Angel found herself locked behind bars. She tried to push them open, but the door wouldn’t budge.

“Why don’t you summon fire and break yourself out?” came an overly-sweet sounding voice. Angel looked around frantically to find the source of the voice. “Come on, now. If you can break yourself out of this cell, Princess, I’ll let you walk on out of here. Try it out.” The voice was taunting now, and it scared Angel.

“Who are you?” she asked, trying to find the fire inside of her. The voice chuckled.

“Who do you think I am? Come on, fire-wielder, I want to see you try.” This was all just a game to him, Angel realized, and that he was just playing with her. Even if she could summon fire and break out of her cell, he would never let her go.

“You’re Akabar, aren’t you?” Angel asked, her voice still small in the echoing dungeons.

“Ah, so you already know who I am from your short time in the magical world. My, how big my name has grown.” The voice chuckled again, and then the man revealed himself, his face appearing on the other side of the bars. Angel gasped.

Akabar was tall and thin, and the little amount of skin that he showed was pale. At least, the skin that wasn’t on his face. That bit of flesh was disfigured and looked almost as if it were melting off of his face, causing him to have no real features. The only thing distinct about him were his dark eyes, which looked familiar for some reason…

“Ah, yes, my scars. They’re alarming, I know. Do you know how rare it is for a vampire to have any other abilities? Being a vampire is enough, you know. Except I was granted with the ability of ice. That should have made me even more powerful, right?” He shook his head, gesturing to his own face. “Wrong. It gave me a fatal weakness.” Angel continued to stare, unable to move, unable to hardly breathe.

“Your father did this to me, you know. He was the most powerful of the fire-wielders, and he was the Queen’s husband, so I decided to take him down myself rather than send any of my assassins. That was regrettable, to say the least.”

“But you still killed him?” Angel questioned, her voice rising. Akabar shrugged.

“Sure, but at what cost? I was there to kill not only him, but his wife and his unborn child, and he would stop at nothing to protect them. I took him down, but not before he doused me in flames. I was able to flee, but I wasn’t able to get to my healers in time to prevent any scarring. So I’ve

been reminded of my mistake every day for the last 18 years.”

Akabar then fixed Angel with a piercing stare, his black eyes shining with hatred.

“I finally get to fix the mistake I made all those years ago.” His arms spread out before him, and ice slowly made it’s way across the dirt floor, covering the bars, toward Angel. “Today, we finally end this.” But then, his eyes blazed, a smile crossing his miss-shaped face. “But first, I want you

to meet someone.”

This ice came to Angel’s feet now, freezing her in place. She looked up to see a figure walking from out of the shadows, and she gasped when the stranger showed his face.

“This is my son,” Akabar smiled. “Nolan.” He looked utterly breathtaking, and he looked absolutely vicious. Angel gaped at him.

“You?!” Nolan smiled.

“I’ve been leaking my father information for years. I’ve trained under the queen’s fellow Hunters, and I’ve done everything to gain her faith and trust. My main goal was always to identify the lost Princess, and you revealed yourself today at your parent’s house. Sorry, Angel, it wasn’t personal.” He shrugged at this and pursed his lips in faux sorrow. Angel snorted.

“You’ve always been full of it, huh? And all this time, I thought you were my friend.” Nolan laughed outright at this.

“You thought wrong, Princess.” Akabar looked absolutely gleeful at the exchange between the two.

“Marvelous! Now that we’re through with the introductions, let’s proceed.” Akabar’s ice continued slowly up Angel’s legs. “Once the ice reaches your torso and freezes your heart, you’ll be dead, dear Angel.” His mouth lifted into an evil smile.

“Why are you doing this?” Angel asked, trembling, partly from cold and partly from fear.

“Because you are the only thing standing in the way of all-powerfulness, Princess.” Ice seared through her hips, and then-

Angel heard a crash from a floor above, and the screams of soldiers.

“They’re here,” Nolan muttered, and Akabar cursed.

“Of course they are.” Angel didn’t say anything, but since Akabar had been distracted, she could feel the ice melting back down to her shoes.

“Akabar!” came a booming, female voice, ringing throughout the dungeon, and then another crash. “Let her go!” Akabar chuckled at this.

“My queen, it isn’t so simple,” he argued, bringing his hands up in defense.

“This was always destined to happen. Just sit back and let it.”

“Never!” Kelandra screamed, and then she bounded toward him from out of the darkness in her wolf form. She attacked Akabar, teeth bore, but ice sprung from his hands at just the same moment, and the queen was only barely able to avoid it.

Meanwhile, Angel was struggling against her own icy bonds, trying to shift her weight to melt the ice faster so she could move. When finally her feet were no longer planted, she tried the metal doors again, and tried to open them as quietly as she could. Still they did not budge.

Angel startled when a figure suddenly appeared before her, but she scowled when she saw who it was.

“Nolan,” she sputtered, crossing her arms. “You going to ice me, too?” Nolan’s face, however, looked almost pained.

“Look, Angel, what I said early. About being friends. We are friends.” He tried to take her hand through the bars, but Angel snatched it away, snorting.

“You think I’m so stupid? That I’ll trust you now after you betrayed me?” The battle between Kelandra and her wolves and Akabar raged behind Nolan, and Angel tried to ignore it. Nolan shook his head.

“No, you’re not that stupid. I understand. But Angel, you need to understand this: no matter my feelings toward you, I’m still tied to my father. I’m not allowed to be your friend.” He took a key from his pocket at that moment. “I can do this, though.” Quickly, Nolan unlocked Angel’s cell, but when the door fell open, she simply stared at him, mouth gaping.

“You’re a strange one, Nolan,” she decided, shaking her head in awe. Nolan almost smiled at that.

“Things are going to be complicated from here on out, Angel. Just always know that no matter what I do by my father’s command, I’m still loyal to you.” Angel rolled her eyes at this.

“Secretly, though,” she amended, and he nodded.

“For now.” He took Angel’s hand for a moment, squeezed it, and then looked her in the eyes. “Now run. Get out of here.”

Angel bypassed the fight occurring between the wolves and the lone vampire, ascended the stone steps leading up to the rest of the palace, and she ran as fast as she could through the dark, empty halls of Akabar’s castle.

And when she made it outside, she continued to run, just as Nolan had instructed her.