"I am Stanley Ruthven the rightful heir of Fork's land. My mother Amanda ( Princess of Forks) was in love with the prince of Missouri- Sir Paul Ruthven." He said proudly.My heart jumped at the name passed his lips."What? Amanda... Do you mean Queen Amanda? William's Mother Amanda?" I asked him with wide eyes. He gave me a small smile and his heavy body slumped back against the seat. I tilted my head curiously and gazed over at him. He suddenly seemed incredibly sad."Yes. She is my mother and William is my half-brother." My head snapped up from the table and I stared at him directly in the eyes, my body so tense from wondering frantically if I'd misheard him that it hurt. My eyes widened and my lips parted and my face paled to a sickly colour. I looked absolutely horrified."You and William are brothers?". Wow... I think you both forgot to mention that before." I remarked cynically as I rubbed my forehead in an effort to process this newfound truth."I am sorry. The timing was never right." His voice was hesitant, his eyes narrowed slightly as he watched me. His blue eyes locked with mine before a slow sad smile pulled across his lips which melted my heart.I enjoyed staring at Stanley's eyes, and he seemed to do the same with me all the time but now his eyes looked pained while talking about his past and it broke my heart to make him talk. I have to know the truth.He spoke a moment later, and I didn't miss the dark, unhappy tone in his voice."Both of my parents were Witches with great powers." He said while his eyes remained on his hands which sat comfortably on the table.His voice seemed heavy in his throat as I reached over the table to join our hands and cupped his much large one between them. His blue eyes flickered to mine briefly before he continued.My father was sent to live among humans to uphold human harmony and peace when he turned 20 and had mastered all of his powers. He had the ability to control not only human emotions but also the air, water, and land. While he was living among them, he was taking care of the people; it was his responsibility to put an end to human violence and to spread peace and love. He was a good man, and people referred to him as a god of love.Stanley chuckled lightly when he said the last part and it brought a smile to my face. He looked happy speaking about his father."When my mother and father first met, they fell in love at first sight in the human world. They lived among humans for a year before deciding to get married when they learned she was expecting. They were so in love with each other and they got married before going back to Fork's land. We all were happy and were unaware of the calmness before the storm." There was a beat of silence as his eyes held mine. He sighed and took my hand in his before walking to the balcony. The chilly night air made goosebumps erupt on my skin. Stanley was lost in thoughts and looked ahead at the dark forest."Edmond was my mother's secret admirer and loved her from afar. Vampires were prohibited from entering the human world because they posed a threat to people, so in order to survive, they acquired blood from blood banks all over the human world and transported it to the vampire's land with the help of witches." His displeased tone about the topic brought an unpleasant feeling inside my stomach but I brushed it off. I had a feeling that this story is not going well and I was right when he continued with the story."My mother thought of Edmond as her best friend and was not aware of his love. Since the vampires were forbidden from entering the Humans' territory, Edmond was unaware of her marriage with my father, he felt betrayed." His deep voice filled the night air."My mother was his mate. Vampires are creatures of the night, and they were given mates to retain their race. They cannot fall for another person when they have their mate. Edmond wanted my mother back because he felt he had been wronged. He waited for the right time and started plotting against witches as they were great in numbers and powers they cannot be defeated. He started turning humans into vampires and expanded his kingdom in secret. I was 5 when Edmond's father declared war." His voice came out as a low, dark growl that didn't hide how displeased he was. Curiosity got the best of me and I asked him what happened further. He let out a deep sigh beside me before reaching up to run his hand through his brown hair."Every Hybrid Eclipse causes the witches' magical abilities to weaken and reduces their ability to fight other supernatural creatures, so they spend that day hiding out and praying to the moon goddess.""Edmond gathered knowledge about that and planned an attack when the Eclipse was at its peak and left the people vulnerable. They killed our people mercilessly and slaughtered everyone who fought against them. Witches got outnumbered and retreated using the little power they had and my mother was taken hostage by Edmond's father.The elders, with the help of Queen Irna, sealed the territory with a powerful invisible magical spell and saved as many witches as they could because Fork's Land is a sacred field for the moon goddess.""I don't understand," I mumbled as he looked at me."Why didn't Queen Irna save her daughter first?" How did she let the vampires abduct her?""Vampires overpowered the witches, and the queen had to use a lot of energy to seal the land and save the people, she didn't know they started the war to abduct the princess." His answer only made my curiosity increase to know what happened next."What happened after that?" I asked in a curious tone. His frown pulled into a small smile."I'm afraid the story will not be pleasant." I could see the muscles in his neck move as he swallowed. My eyes shot to the sleep-deprived look passing over his handsome face. His hand slowly reached into the air, his soft fingers playing with the end of my hair as his bright blue eyes glowed in the moonlight."I just want to know the full story. I feel sorry for Queen Amanda. She is wronged by the vampires and for some reason, I feel connected to her." I said as I pulled out the pendant under my clothes and clutched it in my palm. Stanley frowned looking at the pendant."Where did you get this?" He asked eyeing the pendant with a known look. His voice sounded more gravelly than usual."William gave it to me," I said and showed the pendant to him. He took the pendant in his hand and observed it closely while stroking the carvings with his thumb. The ruby started to glow like it does when I use my magic. A sad look suddenly swamped his beautiful eyes."I can feel her energy inside it." He said and looked at it earnestly. His eyes flashed with so many different emotions that I couldn't pinpoint just one."Linda once told me there is dark magic inside it and before Queen Amanda passed away she used dark magic to fight the battle. I don't know what happened and why her magic is drawn to me but I feel like there is a connection. I said and glanced away from him to the forest. He sighed and continued."After my mother got abducted, Edmond tricked my mother into thinking it was his father's fault and that he wasn't aware of it. They killed my father during the battle. He kept her in prison for a while before plotting against his own father and killing him. He saved her from prison and told her that he wanted to do the right thing and he went against his father. My mother believed him and when she wanted to go back to the witch's land he stopped her and told her that the witch's race had almost been wiped out and that the war had claimed the lives of my father and the Queen. My mother was devastated to lose her love and her mother. He did everything to gain my mother's trust and kept her beside him for a year.Later he confessed his love for her and informed her about the mate bond. My mother didn't feel the mate bond because her magic was protecting her and wouldn't allow her to feel it. Edmond asked her to seal her magic to find out the truth. She did as per his request and felt the mate bond she then realized that Edmond was her soul mate. After that, they got married and my mother sealed her magic in this pendant and lived as a normal human."My eyes flickered down to the pendant. She sealed her magic inside this to live with her mate. There is nothing wrong with it. If Edmond was her true mate and if she loved him truly then what she did makes sense. I thought and I felt the pendant beginning to warm my skin. I felt sorry for her. I brought my gaze back to Stanley before giving him a small nod to continue."He intended to turn her because the vampires would never accept a witch as their queen, but my mother refused to become one.''"She was oblivious to his schemes and trusted him blindly. She faced near death while giving birth to William because of her mixed race. William was killing her from the inside, Edmond learned about this and fed her his blood. He turned her. William did not inherit her witch side and was born a vampire.""So, that means Queen Amanda has two sons one is a pure Witch and another is a pure Vampire?" I asked looking at him with a little smile to ease off the mood. His shoulders eased slightly looking at my smile and his hands reached out for mine which I gladly accepted. I took a step closer to him and placed my head on his chest. I knew he was hurting from the inside and there is nothing I could do but I just wanted to hug him to give him little comfort. His large hands wrapped me around, and his warm lips brushed my forehead in a gentle kiss."It must have been so hard for her, I can't imagine how she managed to raise you both by living beside that monster," I said. "She was a Queen, she had to be strong and she couldn't be there for us like a normal mother but she did her best to protect us." He said proudly."After a few years, I heard Queen Irna evade the vampire land when she learned that I am alive and she misunderstood that Edmond was keeping my mother against her will. She wanted to save us from the monster but Edmond convinced my mother that Queen Irna and other witches are coming to take revenge for what his father did and he told her that she is coming to kill Amanda as she got turned into a vampire and become a hybrid.Until then my mother was under the impression that Queen Irna lost her life in the battle but when she learned that she is alive she wanted to meet her mother and tell her the truth. Edmond did not like that idea and plotted behind her back to kill Queen Irna on sight and to keep her away from my mother.When my mother saw Queen Irna going after William, she felt rage and became fully immersed in her own powers, and there was no way to stop her or save her. My uncle and her cousin's brother Renoyld sacrificed himself trying to save her but he had no option but to kill her to stop the destruction she caused by the dark magic."I couldn't stop the gasp that tore from my lips as his blue eyes flashed in anger and his arms tightened around me."I will kill that bastard, Kristen. I will rip his dead heart apart for what he did to my mother and my grandmother. His selfishness and greed have no limits. He harmed people in the name of love for his wife but he couldn't even protect her." My heart pounded at his words. I never saw Stanley being this angry. For a fraction of a second, I saw William in him. The same expression when he gets angry. I stared at his blue eyes as they locked with mine. His expression softened when he looked into my fearful eyes. His arms gently left my body and walked past me to the other side of the railing."So, your mother was killed by her brother because her powers were uncontrollable. But how is that possible?" I gulped and stood shakily and I could feel my hands shake slightly. How can a powerful witch lose control over her powers? I trailed off, trying to get the words in my head together to create a coherent sentence.Stanley looked at my shaking figure and took long strides to reach me. Fear and confusion were evident in my eyes."Hey, are you okay?" He asked taking my hands in his and bringing his body closer to mine."I don't understand how a powerful witch like her could lose control over her powers. Does that mean it will happen to me too?" I voiced my thoughts."No, Kristen. The reason why my mother lost control over her powers was she was a half-vampire and her killing instincts overpowered her mind which caused the great destruction spell. My mother didn't realize that she was using dark magic before it was too late. It will not happen to you. I will not let those bloodsuckers come anywhere near you. I will protect you." He said sincerely. His words did make me feel better but still, I need to make sure what kind of magic is locked inside the pendant.There was a small smile pulling at his lips as my eyes flickered to mine. I didn't realize when the tears started falling from my eyes. It was so sad to know that he was captured by vampires and spent most of his life in prison and that his mother died in front of him, my heart ached for both of them. What I went through was nothing compared to him.His deep blue eyes softened as they gazed down at me. I couldn't even force my lips to smile."I am so sorry," I said in a broken voice. My heart ached painfully in my chest as tears once again threatened to fill my eyes."Kristen..." His voice stopped on his lips as I leaned up and pressed a soft kiss on his forehead and hugged him tightly. His blue eyes glistened and his mouth was slightly agape when I pulled away."I am sorry for what happened with you and your mother. Now I understand." I said as tears freefall from my eyes.He cupped my cheeks and pulled me to his chest and hugged me tightly like his life depend on it. We stayed like that for several moments before a question popped into my mind."So Queen Irna didn't get a chance to talk to her or save you?" I asked him even though I knew she couldn't save them I wanted to know what happened.He took a deep breath and continued the story."Yes, Queen Irna lost the battle and had no option but to flee and protect the others. She failed to save us.Soon after the battle Edmond lost his sanity after my mother's death and kept me in prison and tortured me for years until I had no strength left in me to will my powers. Years passed by without any hope of life. I believed in my grandmother and hoped that she will come to save me but after years of continuous torture, I couldn't take it anymore. My body started to weaken and my magic almost disappeared, I started to lose hope. One day I started to hear voices in my head, a voice of a girl whom I never knew. At first, I didn't understand and thought I was hallucinating but then day by day the voice started to turn into visions and that is when I saw you."He said as I gazed over him."You saw me in your visions?" I asked. My eyes widened at his words. When I looked back up. I felt my stomach flutter as I took him in. His high cheekbones, defined jaw, dark eyebrows, and full lips made him look so handsome in the moonlight. Realizing I was blindly admiring him while he did the same to me, I pulled my hand away from his arm, blushing. His blue eyes lingered on me with a beautiful smile which made my stomach flutter with desire."Yes, you were the light to my darkness. At first, your face appeared in flashes, but as time went on, I started to see you more clearly. It felt like you were reaching out for me or the other way around. I had no idea who you were and what is the connection between us but I couldn't ask for anything more than seeing your smile. Looking at you living your life happily. Grandmother saved me a year later and brought me here. After I regained my strength and powers I tried to reach out to you but then it was too late. I am sorry." He said and looked away. A bitterness entered his tone and his blue eyes glowed more violently.I gave him a soft reassuring smile. "I am here now. I will protect you." I said and hugged him tightly burying my face in his chest.He chucked. "I thought the man is supposed to do the protecting part." He said playfully."You did protect me from those vampires," I said and looked up from his chest. "You guided me and protected me and brought me to my home. Without you, none of this could have happened, and I cannot ask for anything more." My eyes welled with tears but I refused to let them fall.His eyes once again captured mine and made me melt into his beautiful eyes. His love towards me was shining brightly in his eyes. This was a feeling I had only dreamt about, one that sent warmth throughout my whole being—the feeling of being truly loved.