Aphrodite

The gentle breeze caressed Rachel’s face, carrying the crisp, invigorating scent of fresh air. Gradually, the cold deepened, seeping through her body until it felt as though her very core had turned to ice. The black void that had engulfed her slowly gave way to a blurry vision of towering ice walls that seemed to stretch into infinity.

This was Inanis, and the merciless blizzard raging around her was unlike anything Rachel had ever experienced. Gale-force winds slashed at her skin like razor blades, and she struggled to open her eyes against the relentless barrage of icy particles. Hugging herself, she attempted to preserve what little warmth remained, her body shivering uncontrollably in the frigid air.

Battling through the storm, Rachel gritted her teeth and forced herself to focus. She glanced down at her wrist, where the mark had grown increasingly prominent—a sure sign that the Abaddon was aware of her presence.

Summoning all her strength, Rachel fought against the merciless elements, willing herself to move forward through the blinding snow. Guided by her intuition and driven by determination, she pressed on, her resolve fuelled by the knowledge that the Abaddon’s power was the only beacon she could follow.

Rachel knew she had reached him when the cold suddenly gave way to an intense surge of heat. The warmth radiating from his power made her break out in a cold sweat. Frustrated and nearly blinded by the relentless snow, she reached out into the white void. A shock of electricity surged through her hand and up her arm as her fingers brushed against him.

A deafening, piercing noise assaulted Rachel’s ears, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut. When the sound finally subsided, the howling wind and driving snow had vanished, replaced by an eerie stillness.

The searing heat emanating from her wrist drew her attention back to her hand, and her breath caught in her throat when she realised it rested on the Abaddon’s shoulder. Despite his lack of a physical body, she somehow managed to grasp onto his shadowy form, her fingers feeling an unexpected solidity where she expected none.

The Abaddon turned his head, giving Rachel a sidelong glance. Before them loomed a massive ice wall that stretched upward, disappearing into the clouds. Rachel’s gaze followed his, noting where his hand made contact with the ice. On the other side, she could see water flowing freely.

“What is that?” Rachel could barely make out his face, but she saw him smile widely, a pride etched on his features.

“It is the realm of the living, Aphrodite. Inanis is reforming. Tell me, Aphrodite, why did you call me here to Inanis? You know I am no longer a prisoner here. Nothing you do will change that now.”

“I didn’t,” she managed to whisper, her grip tightening on him in a desperate attempt to leverage whatever power she had to hold him back.

He turned, his long, shadowy fingers wrapping around her arm. “You cannot stop what is already done,” he stated coldly. Struggling against his iron grip, Rachel glanced at the mark on her hand that glowed a bright red. She focused on her power, on the light and essence she knew was buried deep within her. As she summoned it to the surface, a surge of power raced through her arm, causing her veins to bulge visibly under her skin. Crying out in pain, she looked up at him with eyes filled with tears.

He released his grip, and her body fell back onto the icy surface. She groaned as sharp pain radiated through her muscles, the cold biting into her skin. “Where are you?” he asked, his tone shifting as he placed his hand tenderly on her head. “Where is your body?”

Staring into his black eyes, she thought about the events leading up to that moment—the painting, the king, the demon, the leech.

“Humans,” she whispered, unsure of what had happened.

“Humans,” he repeated with a growl, his tone sharpening. “What have the humans done?”

She thought back to her apartment, to the argument she’d had with the leech. It had all unfolded so rapidly. “They found me, they captured me,” she confessed. “How do I escape? I don’t know what to do!”

His fist clenched, and a deep, angry grumble echoed through Inanis. His eyes flared with rage, radiating pure hatred that reverberated through their bond. Frightened by the intensity of his anger and the formidable power surging through him, Rachel trembled.

“The humans will pay for what they have done to all creatures!” he bellowed, his voice thundering across the frozen landscape. “I will rip their heads from their bodies! They will know who reigns in this world and the next. We have let them rule for too long, Aphrodite. We must make things right! We must restore the balance!”

As he spoke, the ferocious wind whipped around him once more, his form engulfed by swirling snowflakes and jagged shards of ice that flew in all directions. “Our bond is strong, Aphrodite. I will find you,” he promised with a voice that cut through the storm.

Rachel inhaled sharply, the world around her falling silent. Groaning from a sharp pain, she rolled onto her side and pushed herself up.

Leaning against a cold surface, she rubbed her eyes to clear the blurriness clouding her vision. Glancing at the concrete below, she crawled forward, feeling as though her limbs were weighed down. Her hand suddenly hit a glass wall, previously unseen. She realised then—she was a prisoner.

Glass walls and concrete floors encased Rachel, a chilling testament to the meticulous design aimed at preventing her escape. Her only comforts were a metal bed with a paper-thin mattress and a steel toilet. The humans despised her so much they hadn’t even bothered to place her on the bed.

Huddled in the corner, Rachel rubbed the mark on her arm, a brand signifying ownership. To the Abaddon, she was merely a possession. Yet, at this moment, he seemed the lesser of two evils. The tales of what humans did to creatures like her filled her with dread—Violet and many others had perished under similar circumstances. More than the underworld, Rachel feared losing her memories.

As she planned her escape, absorbing every detail of her surroundings, the hallway suddenly lit up. The electronic beep of a door unlocking sounded. A small, older woman in a white lab coat approached the glass wall of Rachel’s cell. Holding an electronic device, she appeared to be taking notes, her presence marking the beginning of an uncertain and unpromising interaction.

The woman was slightly round, her full cheeks softening her otherwise stern appearance. Her brown hair was pulled back into a pristine bun, not a strand out of place. Clearing her throat, she looked at Rachel through the glass and asked, “What type of creature are you?”

“I want my phone call. I have rights. I want to talk to my lawyer,” Rachel insisted.

The woman didn’t react to Rachel’s demand. Instead, she calmly noted something on her device before looking back at Rachel. “What type of creature are you?”

“I already told your officers. This is a mistake. I’m not a creature, and I’m entitled to a phone call,” Rachel repeated, her frustration mounting as she faced the unyielding demeanour of the woman in the lab coat.

The woman raised her eyebrows, the wrinkles on her forehead deepening. “We do not make mistakes.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You have made a mistake,” Rachel reiterated through gritted teeth. “My parents and my friends will be looking for me. My employer...”

“Fine,” the woman huffed, clearly unimpressed. “You’ll be recorded as a vampire and treated as such until you make yourself known. You and I both know you are something else, and it’s only a matter of time until you reveal yourself.”

Infuriated, Rachel advanced to the glass, slapping it hard. The woman’s expression remained stoic, unflinching at the impact. “I’m Rachel!” she shouted.

The woman held up her hand. “You aren’t human and will not be acknowledged by a name. You are a creature, and until you tell us what you are, you are a vampire.” Her words were cold, dismissive, underscoring the gravity of Rachel’s situation as she faced not only captivity but a denial of her very identity.

“I want my phone call!” Rachel screamed, pounding the glass again. Anger surged within her, fuelling a bright flare of light in her cell that intensified until it suddenly blew out. The hall was left bathed in the dim glow of emergency lighting, the only barrier against total darkness.

“Ah, okay. Not a creature, you say,” the woman remarked sarcastically as she observed the aftermath of the burst light. “Hmm, that’s not something I have seen a vampire do before, but we both know you’re something different.” She glanced up at the disabled light fixture and made a note on her device.

“This is kidnapping. Let me go!” Rachel persisted, but the woman showed no sign of response. Frustrated and desperate, Rachel pressed on, “You have made a mistake taking me.”

“Human laws only apply to humans. The more you cooperate, the easier things will be,” the woman replied. Without another word, she turned and disappeared back through the doorway.

Rachel turned to face the bland concrete walls of her cell, her heart sinking as the harsh reality settled in. She was trapped, mislabelled as a vampire, and confined within a cell. She had always believed in the rule of law and justice, yet here she was, at the mercy of a shadowy organisation that seemed to operate beyond any legal bounds.

The humans had developed methods to control creatures and suppress their powers. Despite this, Rachel refused to relinquish her hope. The bond with Vlad may have been broken, but their love was stronger than any bond.

With a determined spirit, Rachel held onto the hope that Vlad would come to her rescue. She knew that the road ahead would be difficult, but she was willing to fight for freedom.