Chapter 17 ∣  Mav's 9th Birthday

-Maverick

"Get outta here you little sneak!" My eyes peer around the corner into the kitchen and hear Killian chuckle as he suddenly pulls Tamsin out of thin air, bringing her back onto this plane of existence. I widen my eyes as she laughs hysterically as Killian cradles her in his arms and tickles her until she is close to tears.

"Oh, let her breathe," it is Kenzie that smacks Killian upside the back of his head and he lets Tamsin go. She straightens her knee-length purple dress and smooths out her dirty blonde hair, coughing as she tries to stop laughing altogether.

My mother laughs lightly, "Tamsin, you know you're not supposed to be in here."

"I know," she sticks her tongue out and shrugs her shoulders, "guess I'm getting better at this assassin stuff, aren't I dad?"

He snickers, "Not good enough."

She grumbles, "It's not my fault other assassins can see each other, even if they aren't hidden within the shadows."

"Go find Lucette, Arlynn, and Rook," my mother smiles and pats her on the head gently, "as I can see my son has already decided to sneak around himself," her whitish-blue eyes shoot in my direction and I startle so quickly I almost fall over backward.

Tamsin comes running out the door and stops next to me, whispering, "It's red colored."

I smiled, as she was checking out the cake for my ninth birthday. Turning away from me, she runs down the hallway, myself in tow as we begin our search for my little sister, my best friend, and the lone commander in training.

"I hear them!" Tamsin announces as we near the door that leads to the training room, our footfalls slowing as we near the closed door. She reaches out and takes the handle in her hand, pulling it down and back gently, the sounds of weapons clashing immediately hit us when the door is opened. We look at each other and slip inside the room, shutting the door solidly behind us.

There is a small hallway down to the four-cornered training area, Lucette sitting on a bench as she plays with something in her hands. It is Rook and Arlynn who are training. Glancing around, no one else stands in the room, just the two of them. I guess as much considering all the adults are getting the mansion ready for the party. It is nice just having us all together.

They are using short dagger swords, one takes turns defending and the other attacking. Rook strikes with an overhand swing, but Arlynn brings her blade up, deflecting the steel and blocking herself from his blow. He presses down harder and they stand locked like that for a good fifteen seconds before Rook smirks and pulls the blade down and then up, knocking her hand with the hilt of his weapon.

Arlynn's blade clatters to the ground and she leans back and away from his next strike. Though Arlynn is trained better than him, he is a pureblood and will always have an advantage with his strength and speed compared to hers...let alone his healing and dark magic.

Lucette claps when Arlynn is on the defensive, stepping away from him and edging closer to the other side of the room. She's such a silly little girl...

Nearing a low hanging metal bar used for pull-ups, Arlynn jumps, grabbing the pole and kicking her legs out, her boots contacting Rook's face. He staggers back, letting the weapon fall to the ground as he holds his broken nose in his hands.

She jumps down and kicks him in the stomach, his hands pulling away from his bloody nose and wrapping around his body. Dropping to her feet, she swipes his legs out from underneath him, knocking him flat on his back. He gasps, hitting his head on the hard marble floor, coughing for a moment when she places her boot in between his chest and neck, pinning him to the ground.

"Strength has nothing to do with winning," she narrows her eyes.

He should have won...

...how was she able to overpower him?

"What a fluke," I sigh, Lucette looking at me with her sage green eyes with confusion, Arlynn's emerald ones turning her attention toward me.

"What was that?" Arlynn asks.

I shrug and state, "You got lucky."

"No," she lifts her boot away from Rook as he slowly sits up, his nose healing, "No, I didn't."

"He had you!" I glance from Rook and then back to Arlynn, "You got lucky."

She shakes her head and sighs, "No, I didn't. I know you can't understand because you believe that just because you are a pureblood, you are stronger, faster, and better than the normal vampire race. Well, you're not, sorry to disappoint you."

"Bitch," I mutter and my hands clenching into fists.

"Excuse me?!" She scoffs at me, Lucette covering her ears as Rook stands to his feet, walking closer to her and sitting on the bench. Tamsin is uneasy, her eyes shifting from the two of us, unsure of what to do.

"You heard me," I narrow my eyes at her.

"Maverick," Tamsin's voice is quiet, "don't do it. Please don't." Her hand touches my shoulder. I take her wrist into my hand and bring it away from me, tossing it to her side and continuing to stare Arlynn down.

Tamsin's quiet sob echoes down the hallway as she turns and runs away.

"What?" Arlynn asks, "Are you going to hurt me as you did with Tamsin? Are you going to lose control and try to kill me? Prove you're stronger? It'll prove nothing, only that you are like everyone says you are...a monster."

"Arlynn, stop!" Rook glares at her, holding Lucette in his arms as she buries her face into his chest, her body shaking in fear.

She turns to him and asks, "You're defending him?"

"Stop egging him on! You're just as bad as everyone else. Why can't you just leave well enough alone?!" He retorts, his eyes flickering for a moment to a black rose, his anger flaring and just as Arlynn turns back to face me, I see a purplish hue encircle him and my little sister. It is brief, and then in the next second, it disappears.

"Maverick," my mother's voice sounds behind me and I let go of the anger that had been building up within me, turning around to face her, "I'm glad you found everyone. Come on, we have cake and presents to open," she smiles at me.

"Bu-" Arlynn goes to open her mouth, but my mother clicks her tongue, silencing her immediately.

Breathing out, I walk past her, the touch of her delicate hand landing, on the top of my head, makes me look up. Her eyes say everything, and I am just relieved that she got here when she did, otherwise, I might have regretted possibly hurting Arlynn.

I can hear my mother talking to Rook and Lucette, Arlynn's footsteps echo off the walls behind me as we enter the main living area. For once, I am glad to be around the adults, then she won't open her mouth and continue where she left off. I watch as she walks straight up to Flynn, standing near the parlor doors. He leans down as she whispers something into his ear, but I can't tell what it is, because his face remains emotionless, not giving away anything.

It is crowded, the whole coven is here, along with Orion and Cristela, Erebus and Isabella, and a few coven leaders from the surrounding areas. I recognize a few but don't remember their names. I probably only saw them a total of once or twice in my lifetime, my father speaking with a woman and two men near the door.

There are just four people missing.

Zak, Rainier, Clover, and Ryker.

The hunters are nowhere to be found. Perhaps my father did take into consideration that some of the coven leaders still had some uneasiness around them and hinted for them to leave for the evening. Apparently, even after Zak 'saved' them, there will always have that lingering begrudge toward them. Well, at least I can agree on one thing with the other vampires who have come to celebrate my birthday.

Oh, joy for being a prince...

My mother starts the events, most of which are the young vampire children playing games in the backyard, while adults catch up with what is new in the world. It is about an hour into the party, that my mother announces, "Where's my birthday boy?"

We all come running in from the backyard, laughing and full of energy from running around and playing a normal game of tag. Not playing hide and seek again, not after the way I lost control with Tamsin. I never wanted to hurt her, but she completely forgave me, though Killian keeps a closer eye on me whenever we are alone.

"One, two, three," my mother chimes and every vampire in the room sings, "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Maverick, Happy Birthday to you!"

The five-layered cake makes my mouth water just looking at it as Kenzie and my grandmother bring it out on a cart, everyone awing at it. Tamsin was right, it is the color of blood and I'm sure my mother has added extra laced into it more than normal. The nine candles on top are flickering, the light illuminating the room softly as the lights turn off, leaving us to the darkness.

I wish...

I glance at Tamsin and she smiles at me, standing in front of her father and holding her mother's hand.

I wish everyone could see me, just like my mother does.

My mother smiles at me, my father's arm wrapped around her shoulder as the sides of their heads touched. In front of everyone, my father is acting like a completely different person, or maybe for just one moment, he is looking at me with kindness.

I take in a deep breath and blow the candles out, everyone clapping in response to my action.

The darkness takes complete hold of the room when the candlelight flickers out.

I never did get to know if my father really did have any kindness. No, because the very next day, I received the worse present I could ever think possible.

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The Rogue Pureblood Vampire by K. A. Young.

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