Ari Constantine POV
I inhale sharply and instantly feel the bruising pain in my neck.
Groaning, I also realize I'm tied up and still in the same spot I made camp at with the princess.
"Fucking great!" I mumble my complaints.
How do I always end up in these situations?
And why is it always my fucking neck!
"Ari, such a displeasure to see you awake." A male says with disgust.
My eyes zoom in on the man and with realization, it's the same guy who was chasing me earlier.
"What exactly do you know or remember?" He queries with a dangerous edge to his voice.
Not bothering to answer I look around trying to find the princess.
"There is no use looking for her. My mate is not here. I sent her away for punishment." He says with his upper lip curling into a snarl.
I gulp and nod at the explanation a bit saddened that she's mated.
"Honestly, I don't remember anything. I just get a vague feeling here and there and then it's gone. Anytime I get close to a solid memory, a syringe is put in my freaking neck. This is the longest I've gone without one."
I say opening up to him but remain cautious.
His eyes bore into me and I stare back at him unflinching.
I won't let this gothic freak intimidate me.
He looks away and chuckles with amusement dancing in his eyes.
"Seems like your parents really are keeping up with you staying clueless. I applaud them. If they hadn't, I'd have ended all of you before you even opened your eyes. But of course, Midnight will always have a soft spot for you and won't allow me the pleasure." He says licking his lips.
He's a vampire.
"So to make sure another incident doesn't happen, I will do what I should've said three years ago." He says ominously.
Wait! Three years ago?!
My eyes snap to attention and before his hand made its fatal blow with me, I was dragged backwards and a sickening feeling overtakes me.
I'm falling but there's no gravity and my insides feel like they're being torn and twisted.
Then everything stills and I turn and vomit what little I had in my stomach. In a moment, I also feel the ropes tied to me fall off.
"I finally found you! It took fucking forever but shit! I got to you before he did!" I hear a male exclaim.
I look up and see the same man fist pumping the air and full of energy.
I scramble up in fear and then I swing at him when he gets close but he easily catches my fist and squeezes while pushing me to my knees.
Ah fuck! This hurts.
"Ari! It's me, Shadow. Do you know how long I've been looking for you? We still have so much to do and we're running out of time. Get a grip and stop acting helpless and confused." He says face hardening.
"Bu, bu, but you were just trying to kill me not even two seconds ago!" I stammer out confused at how bipolar this man is being.
"Noooo. Fang was trying to kill you. I'm Shadow. His twin brother." He says talking to me slowly like I'm a dumb child.
I struggle to tear my arm free from him and he lets go at the exact moment I put enough force back causing me to fall backwards on my wings.
Agitated, I look up and glare at him baring my teeth at him.
"I'm getting really fucking tired of everyone leaving me in the dark! No one wants me to remember anything about the first nine years of my life and have gone to great lengths to make sure of it!" I growl out frustrated with this shit show.
"Well, there's honestly too much to explain but I have an idea that can help you if you're interested." He responds with relaxation.
This is my chance to know what's going on.
I should take this opportunity and run with it...but that other guy said he would kill my whole family if I found out or remembered.
I think of the man and woman who claim to be my parents and how much they've been doing to keep me in the dark. Thinking about all their efforts, I realize it's that vampires fault. That vampire is the reason I can't remember and why my parents are scared shitless.
All these years they've been keeping me from the palace and I can't remember the first nine years of my life.
Yet, somehow the princess of Slymethius, Midnight, knows who I am.
"Come on Ari! I don't have all day for your inner monologue or conflicts. I will literally push you back out there with my twin to kill you if you don't hurry up!"
Startled, I grab his hand and he smiles a wicked grin.
"Don't close your eyes." He whispers so fast I barely catch what he said.
"Huh?" I ask confused and that same feeling I had when I was dragged wherever we are overtook me again.
Then, he was dragging us out and he dragged me along at his max running speed as I chill embarrassed at the fact he threw me on his back mid run and ran even faster.
What the fuck is going on?
"Welcome back to Slymethius. Now then, to answer some basic questions. You, Ari Constantine, was the protector of the princess Midnight Luna Moonlight. You've been protecting her since you was two years old and have had extensive training to do so. She was seven when you were stripped of your role and cast out of the kingdom with your memories swiped. Now that thats covered, let's move on." He says so fast with nonchalance.
"Wait what? You can not just drop that on me and not expect me to have a dozen questions! Explain!" I shout feeling flabbergasted.
"As I mentioned before, there is too much to explain and not enough time. That's why I'm taking you to my hidden lair to show you everything." He states with boredom.
I huff irritably and next thing I know he's zooming in through the kingdom of Slymethius.
My eyes widen in horror at his brazenness.
"Hey! I don't think I'm allowed in the kingdom! They'll kill me!" I say freaking out.
"Which is why I didn't mention this part." He said stopping us at the front doors of the kingdom in front of the guards.
"Halt!" They shout out.
And darkness.
.
.
.
I awake to this strong aroma and it burns my nose so badly.
I kick around and roll all over rubbing vigorously at my poor nostrils.
"Yea, so, I needed to convince them that I am my twin. I've been doing this for years now and they still haven't caught on. I told them that your parents method wasn't effective anymore and I needed to do what I did three years ago again. They ate up that explanation." He rambles as soon as he sees me awake.
"What the ever living fuck is wrong with you!?" I roar out incredulous.
He stares at me for a split second and snaps his fingers in an excited exclamation.
"I know why you look so different! Your hair is brown instead of that bright blue. I suppose it's all that pent up rage from being kept in the dark. Don't worry it's all going to come together." He rambles as if it's a normal Saturday morning.
To put it lightly, I think I'd rather deal with this guy instead of his identical counterpart.
At least I know this one isn't trying to kill me, yet.
I get up and look around a bit and I notice we're in a closet. A really big closet that could pass for a whole separate bedroom.
"Uuuum..." I start confused as hell looking around at all the clothes and shoes and random accessories; also taking note of large gaps here and there with missing things.
"Yes. We're inside a closet. Not just any closet. Her closet." He says chipper.
I retake in my surroundings with a new perspective that this is Midnights closet.
"I've been secretly carving this whole baby out for the past three years. It's a midway point to the shadow realm and here. So whenever little Middy wants to come see me she can just go through the secret tunnel." He says with a stupid grin.
"Plus it really helps her get away when Fang is being an unbelievably uptight controlling bastard. Did you know that son of a bitch is grooming her and she's completely chill with it. You were the only one besides me who actually went off on her and has tried to reshape her brain. Her pair of ants on the other hand haven't been doing much except hope that she'll fall for you and leave that tyrant brother of mine. Can you believe that shit? All they really have to do is tell him to fuck off forever and to leave her alone but they entertain him." He babbles on; his energy chaotic and his topics everywhere.
He walks to the very back wall and moves stuff away so the purple wallpaper with golden flowers is visible.
"Pay attention because I'm only going to show you this one time. And when the time is right, you'll remember and you'll know what to do." He says becoming serious; his orange eyes boring into mine with an almost pleading quality.
"She's my mate as well and I want her. Unfortunately, I know things will never work out between us since my brother is constantly in the way. I was lucky to have gotten those three hours with her." Snapping back to reality with a sad smile, he places his hand flat over the wall just barely two feet up.
"When you place your hand over this spot right here, say the words: 'Don't wake up till Midnight comes. That is when the spells undone' is that clear." He asks and I nod my head confirming I understand.
"Now let's begin. Don't wake up till Midnight comes. That is when the spells undone."
The area where he touched starts to glow a faint orange color and the wall closes in a bit and takes the shape of a small door.
"Grow to accommodate me and take me away." He says devoid of emotion and I watch as the door grows to his height with some room to spare. He takes a backwards glance at me and says let's go with seriousness and advances inside the opening.
Curiosity taking hold I follow along and I bump into his back.
"I set up a powerful illusion so in order to make it through we have to go through this elevator. Of course magic words must be said for it to appear otherwise you'll just fall down and the illusion will take hold and it'll really fuck with you." He says with a proud grin.
"Middy however doesn't need to worry about any of this nonsense tho. I've set everything up so all she has to do is show up and everything activates. This place will be her safe haven." He says nodding his head.
"Quick question." I say interrupting him.
He holds his hand up in that universal not now and sharply hushes me.
"For the elevator, simply say Jack-o'-lantern." And with that he breaks out in fits of laughter.
My face falls flat and I exhale in disbelief.
Is this guy on crack?!
The elevator appears and it looks like one of those old fashioned pully elevators that the maids use to send stuff up or down when the royals don't want to be bothered. It's such a simple yet effective mechanism.
The elevator descends and we go down for what feels like many stories.
"There's many places in this area but I'm taking you down to the furthest point. Try not to be alarmed when you see the shades."
His eyes darken to a black color and he shivers with anticipation the further we get down.
Finally, we come to a stop with a booming thud that makes the whole thing shake and the doors open vertically in the middle. One goes up, the other goes down and we take our leave. I turn around so I can take another glance at it but it's simply gone.
Not bothering to question it, I turn to Shadow and catch him staring at me with mild interest.
" Follow me to my alter."