Several older vampires and Headmasters flew around, leaving no tent unchecked for anyone hiding inside them.
"The tents are clear!" one of the Headmasters announced his voice broadly.
As I finally clutched Vlad's garment to keep up with them, Kai followed closely alongside his grandfather, weaving through the tents until he abruptly stopped.
"Wait, Grandpa!" he hollered.
Whenever my ghostly fingers mistakenly slipped from the garment, Vlad slightly turned his head and noticed Kai leaning down toward an upside-down basket on the ground. As Kai lifted the body-sized basket, he unveiled a frightened little vampire hiding underneath it.
"Good insight of using your instincts," Vlad praised, picking up the four-year-old vampire who had lost his mother.
As they prepared to move forward, a sudden tremor jolted the ground beneath us, and an ominous roar reverberated through the campsite. Birds frantically shrill a chilling caw as they flew over the campsite as the thunderous rumbling increased. Behind the flock, a monstrous wall of water, towering like a vengeful behemoth, surged toward the campsite with a deafening force.
"Head to the cliffs!" Vlad's voice sliced through the escalating chaos.
As dozens of vampires were fleeing to either cliff, I retouched Vlad's garment and hitchhiked a ride with him to the left cliffside as Kai flew up with him. Below the cliffside, I stared down with Kai and his friends, who sat along the cliff's edge together.
Hundreds of horses galloped away below us as we watched them maintain some headway from the furious tsunami.
Beside me, Veronica stood in panic from behind Kai as she observed the tsunami closing in on the herd of horses. "Are they going to make it?"
As Kai stayed perched on the edge between Ivan and Rome, mostly everyone witnessed their campsite get swept away by the towering colossal wave of water.
Relatively enthralled to watch a herd of horses on the brink of death, "I don't think they're going to make it!" Ivan exclaimed. Inherently, his teenage excitement overshadowed the intensity of the perilous scene.
On the other hand, Veronica whimpers, shielding her eyes from the awful sight of the horses, "Oh, I can't watch!"
Rapid heartbeats drum away from my heart at the sight of those beautiful horses fleeing desperately for their lives. Whenever I thought most of them wouldn't evade being swept away and drowned by the giant tidal wave, the herd rampaged up a hill. In the nick of time, the last remaining portion of the herd proceeded on the higher slope as they narrowly avoided the crashing water barely below.
"They made it!" Glenn cheered, throwing his hands in the air.
From a young age, I finally discovered that he had a heart for animals. I always wondered when his passion started, and now I verified he loved animals since his teenage years.
"Those jerks ruined our home!" Jack hissed, sitting between Glenn and Ace on the cliffside.
As the water now streamed between the cliffs like a rapid, dirty brown river from all the mud and debris it carried along with it, Jack's sister chimed in beside Veronica, "What matters is that everyone made it out."
As the crowd slowly dispersed from the cliff, Jack held his retort because he couldn't argue or disagree with her remark.
Still observing the water, Kai and his friends remained seated on the cliffside as everyone sorted into their respective Covens.
Once Vlad reunited the toddler with his mother from Edgar's Coven, he returned to where his extensive Coven had gathered near the cliff's edges.
As Vlad assisted his oldest sons and grandsons in conducting a headcount, Rome randomly chimed in with a gleam of his daydream glistening in his eyes. "I hope one day I receive a gift that grants me the power to bend water!"
I suppressed a giggle from being heard by Kai. One day in the future, Rome will indeed receive that gift. More recently, I've learned he can even create substantial tsunamis.
"Wouldn't that be something?"Glenn commented towards the right, liking his hopeful wish. "Then you could've pushed the water back to them."
"Yeah, that would be awesome!" Rome cheerfully exclaimed, feeling along his body-length garment. Suddenly, panic crossed his face. "Oh no, I lost my pet rock!" he fretted.
As Rome frantically dug deeper into his pockets, Kai remarked, "You still carry that with you!"
"Hey, I've had it since I was eight. It's become my lucky rock! I can't believe I lost it!" Rome whined, realizing his pockets were empty.
His friends whimsically burst into laughter at him.
"Why are you guys laughing at my misfortune," he complained. "That rock got me my first kiss."
"With whom?" Ace teased. "Your mother!"
"Hey!" Rome exclaimed. "Leave my mom out of it! It was with Leah!"
Kai chuckled, giving him a playful pat on the back. "Never change, Rome."
Further from behind Kai and his friends, seated along the cliff's edge, Vlad softly uttered to his wife Serena while he brushed her cheek with his fingers, "You must take the vampiresses and the offspring East. The army is on its way here as we speak."
Worry darkened Serena's heart as she embraced his loving arms to hold him. "We'll leave with the other vampiresses," she promised as tears welled in her eyes. "Please promise me that you'll bring everyone back from this war. You better come back to me with our sons and grandsons too."
Vlad gently cradled Serena's face, his thumb tracing her cheek as he lovingly whispered, "I promise, my love, we will all return to you. I'll seek you out later. Keep heading East, and don't linger in one place for too long."
Beyond those words, their eyes locked, sharing in the unspoken weight of their promises, yet love would flourish through their hearts. To seal the vow between their silence, Vlad pressed a tender, lingering kiss on her lips that conveyed the depth of his love.
Emotions echo through their heartfelt goodbye as a testament to the love that Serena and Vlad would overcome in the trials of war.
Amidst the compassion filtering between them while the other vampires bid farewell to their families, they also embraced the implicit sorrow with a love that would endure the challenges ahead.
Echoes of the war's brutal symphony resonated in the hearts of every vampire and vampiress. Aside from the undeniable heartbreak I am witnessing, the trials they encountered forged an unbreakable bond that certainly reinforced the love between the destined mates. An indomitable spirit united them as a stronger family to endure the wrath of the first war. Their scars from these rising conflicts only served to amplify the strength within, transforming each challenge into stepping stones toward an unwavering solidarity they will win. Victorious in the midst of adversity, these vampires emerged not only as warriors, but as a formidable family to their loved ones. Destiny navigates the ebb and flow of these timely hardships together, which showcases the sacrifices these vampires endured not only for their Coven but for their offspring and wives.