A Bastard's Allure-Chapter 102: Twisted Fate!

Gabriel had seen people die, most of them in his hands. And though he was driven by instinct or the primal desire to survive, there was no joy in doing it. Normally, the guilt would follow when one did it for the first time. You could see a person’s tormented face whenever you closed your eyes or took a nap. Sleep would be a luxury for a couple of days.

But then you’d get used to it. Like one who had slaughtered a chicken for dinner, you’d sleep soundly and have the greatest of dreams. But the death of a loved one, that was something he hadn’t experienced.

He had seen it the day Elena held Andrian’s hand as the life seeped out of him, fading into the wind. It was the saddest day he’d ever experienced in his life, yet.

Seeing Elena cry by Andrian’s side was one thing, but holding her unmoving body in his hands was another. The horror in his eyes as he lifted her hands to only fall softly on the floor was something you wouldn’t see occasionally.

Strangest of all, he couldn’t catch trace of her heartbeat. Even her scent seemed to have faded away with the wind, replaced by a stench of death that clung heavily in the throne hall.

His hands shakily moved all over her body, shaking her for the nth time. How could he have been the very thing to end what he had been so ardently fighting for? A life, a bleak one at that! It couldn’t be true, right?

"A kiss," he said, his breath coming out shallow and labored. "You wanted a kiss," he added, holding Elena’s pale cheeks. His claws had left marks on her neck as if to remind him of the consequences of his doing.

Still, she didn’t respond. He crawled closer to her face, his lips slightly brushing her lips into a soft kiss. When she didn’t reciprocate, the world came crumbling right in front of his eyes.

Still, there was a part of him that refused to acknowledge this tragic reality. It had happened so fast. One moment he was leaning on the corner of this hall and now this? How could life be so cruel? Screw death too!

He looked lifted her by the neck, his eyes looking at hers in the hope of a flutter. Still, nothing. She just lay there, a statue that was turning pale with each passing second.

"Tell me this is a dream," Gabriel said. His eyes looked up to search for a person in the room who would affirm his words. The boy was standing in front of him unmoving, his horror now doubled. He’d seen this very same man try to kill once, and he fulfilled his desire in the second time. He was nothing but a cruel monster in the little one’s eyes.

"She’s dead!" Someone said from the back. The weight of the words weighed hard in Gabriel’s brain, completely refusing to take court in it.

"You killed her! You killed the princess," a court official added.

Gabriel closed his eyes tightly, the tears stinging the brim of his eyes. He forced them open and stared at his hands. With them, he’d killed the person he cherished the most, his reason to live and fight for Eldoria. The guilt was a burden he had to live with his whole life!

His eyes shifted back to Elena. Her lips were dry now, the kind that invites you for a kiss. Her skin was pale, her eyes forced shut upon the world by his very hands. Could he ever forgive himself, live even?

"Seize him!" He heard someone command from the back. The sound of knights approaching reverberated on the floor but he was not ready to spend a night in a cellar. He deserved to be in hell at least. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

He looked at Elena’s body one last time, a tear rolling across his cheeks and onto her lips.

"I’m sorry," he said, shaking his head slightly.

Before the knights could catch him, Gabriel leapt out of the hall through the side doors. The knights swarmed out from all corners but none could match his speed. He heard the bells toll in the palace indicating that there was an intruder or someone who needed to be restrained inside.

The gates must be heavily guarded by now. An idea lit his mind.

"You?" Someone called from the far end of the hallway. On turning, Gabriel saw a group of knights. "Stop at once," one of them commanded.

Gabriel took to the run again, his speed a new profound trait he’d just discovered. He used to run like a human before, but now he could leap onto walls like a purebred!

He bursted into Elena’s room and closed the door behind him. Here, her scent was strong. He raised his nose in the air to sniff it.

There was a drawer in the room, one he’d failed to take notice of since he stepped in. He walked towards the end and pulled it open. Inside was a shell, white as snow. He picked it when someone banged on the door. Gabriel’s eyes shifted to that side when the bang came again, louder this time. A section of the wooden frame holding the door bursted and cracked into two. Just one more push!

Gabriel clutched the shell tightly in his grasp and stood by the open window. His eyes traveled the distance below, the spiky rocks seemingly inviting him to certain death. And death he deserved.

Another bang on the door and the frame was shattered into pieces. Gabriel stole a quick glance behind before he jumped, his eyes closed to face this uncertainty. The knights run towards the edge of the window to witness him succumb to his demise.

"No one can survive that fall," one of the knights said. "A vampire especially. Water’s their enemy!"

They watched for a while but there was no sign of Gabriel, not even a drop of blood in the clear waters.

"Tell Lord Atticus he’s dead!"