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"She's using her ability! Stop her now!" Ferox ordered. Everyone turned their attention to Acacia who was still standing and starting at Marcos head. Only difference was she was shaking and her skin took on a blue tint. It was freaky. The thought didn't cross my mind that she had an ability, clearly she did and it was strong.

The guards charged her. Acacia didn't move until they were almost on her and then she attacked.

Long, jagged icicles sprang from her wrists. She back flipped and stabbed one into the eye of the first guard to close in and another into the heart of the second. The room was so cold now that her chains crumbled to pieces as soon as she yanked them.

"I WILL AVENGE MY LOVE!" Acacia roared viscously. The queen was nothing but pure rage now. A few vampires looked terrified and cautiously made their way to the door. Those were the smart ones because what happened next could have never been predicted..

More guards rushed in on Acacia but she looked absolutely fearless. Her red eyes burned with a fire ignited by grief. When they were in range of her, she opened her mouth in a high pitched scream. But the scream wasn't the worst part. White clouds filled with thousands of sharp icicles shot out from her open mouth piercing the guards all over. She spun her head around releasing her cold fury on everyone in the room. I expected with a room full of vampires they would all jump in and take her out, but instead they began to flee. Not taking the risk of getting killed by the hyped out queen.

"Go! Now!" Gwyn yelled at me.

This was it. This was the moment of opportunity to get out of here. But I stalled, not able to take my eyes away from the queen. Acacia had now turned her blind rage on her family. She spat and threw icicles in quick forcefulness. But the king simply held up his glowing red palm and they melted less than a foot away from them. Catalina continued to smirk and take pleasure in her mother's wrath. Cassius only watched with guilt.

"You'll pay Ferox! You are not the true king!" Acacia snapped throwing more ice. More guards came at her but she stabbed and slit throats like she'd been trained to do it her whole life.

"Since you can't behave, I'll just have to deal with you myself" Ferox stood with his own red eyes glowing. Just like he did with me a blast of red energy flew from his hand. Acacia was prepared because she met it with a blast of snow and ice.

They locked forces in a war. As the red heat and white coldness clashed together in a powerful collision. Pieces of ice and red flares shot out destroying the room and retreating vampires.

But Acacia was exerting herself way more than Ferox and I knew it would only be a matter of time before his powers overcame her.

I need to help her..

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Get out of here now!" this time Gwyn actually grabbed me and shoved me toward the exit.

Finally I obeyed her advice and ran from the horrid fight. Part of me wanted to help the queen. Another part of me knew it was useless. I went against Ferox already and he took me down easily. Trying to help Acacia now will only result in my death. I can't die today. I have to be smart. I have to protect my friends.

I zoomed through halls trying to make my way up the stairs and to Cassius room as instructed. But a scent hit me and halted my steps. The combined scents brought me so much pleasure and worry that I wanted to burst into tears.

I whipped my head back and forth searching through the fleeing vampires, but I didn't see them. I closed my eyes to focus on the scent and which direction it was the strongest.

It carried up the spiral staircase.

My legs moved so fast, I don't think my feet actually touched a step.

When I reached the hall I stopped. Listened. And waited...

The sound of two approaching heartbeats drowned out all the chaos down below.

And then they came rushing around the corner.

The two scents that I missed so much..

Seb and Jace..

They froze instantly when they saw me..

My mates stood only fifty feet away from me..

We all stopped and just took in the sight of each other.

It was a second that we shouldn't have wasted...

Seb and Jace must have come around the corner running from something and were distracted by my being in the hall. Because out of nowhere, four guards sprang in from behind, blades drawn and barreling down on my unsuspecting mates..

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Simon Pov

Seb and Jace had disappeared from sight with the red head vampire and one of her men a few minutes ago. The remaining vampires with her spread out throughout the beach leaving him, Marie, Bobby and Lily alone.

"Well, what do we do now?" Lily asked picking up a rock and tossing it into the dark waters.

"Get out of sight and wait" Marie responded walking away from the edge of the beach. Slowly the rest of them fell in step behind her.

"This sucks! Everyone is gone and I'm stuck here with the losers" Bobby complained

"You could always do us a favor and leave or go play in traffic" Lily responded dryly. They reached the parking lot and all plopped down on the cool pavement. It was now dark and the moon cast a soft light over the ocean. Simon glanced at Marie taking in all her soft delicate features. He longed to touch her silky brown hair but felt that she might not like that.

"You know what? I think you have a crush on me, don't you chubs?" Bobby said to Lily with an overly confident grin on his face. Lily jumped to her feet, moving faster than she did when she ran from the dwellers.

"Excuse me! First of all my name is Lily not chubs! And you're mistaking my wanting to crush you as having a crush on you moron!" Lily snapped. Bobby also jumped up and the two of them began arguing like children. Marie shook her head clearly annoyed by the antics of them. Simon felt like he could use this as an opportunity to get some alone time with Marie.

"Hey uh do you want to maybe go for a walk? You know to get away from this" Simon asked timidly while pointing over to the yelling pair. By this point Bobby had taken his shirt off to prove to Lily that he was "ripped" as he called it. Marie stared deeply into his eyes and a slow smile spread across her face.

"I would like that" she replied. Sy tried to keep the heat from rushing to his cheeks at the happiness he felt but that was a fail. Standing up he took her small warm hand in his and they walked back to the sandy beach. The walk was nice but Marie had a distant look in her eyes. Worry must be what she's feeling.

"They'll| be okay you know" Simon said breaking the silence with gentle encouragement. Marie stopped walking and gazed into the vast ocean before sighing.

"I know but I'd feel better if I could be in there with them" she whispered dropping her backpack to the ground as if it were weighing her down.

"I feel the same way but since I can't be there, I'm glad I'm here with you" the words slid off his lips before he had a chance to stop them.

Heart pounding and hands sweating, Simon waited patiently for Marie to say something; anything. But she didn't. For a full minute she only watched the ocean waves in silent thought. Simon felt foolish. How could a girl amazing as her like a guy like him? He fumbled for words to apologize or something to end this awkward moment. None were found.

Finally Marie turned and faced him. Her beautiful eyes shinned with unshed tears.

"Simon, you are the sweetest guy I've ever met. No one's ever said things like that to me or make me feel these tingles in my stomach the way you do." Marie said shyly. Simon beamed. The tingles she referred to are the same ones he feels around her which must mean she likes him too.

"Can I kiss you?" he blurted out. His heart pumping so fast now he wanted to burst.

"Yes" she said equally excited and nervous.

Shakily Simon leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. The heart in his chest exploded with love and he knew without a doubt she was the one. Neither of them had much experience in kissing but that didn't stop them as they greedily took in each other. All their combined fears and worries melted away as the kiss deepened. It was as if they were in a world all of their own...

"Well, well, well. I leave for a few weeks and I comeback find little Marie turning into a slut" a masculine voice spoke interrupting their moment. Marie's whole body paralyzed in his arms and her face drained of color. Simon didn't recognize the voice and when he turned to see who had spoken, the moon vanished behind a cloud. All he could see where two shadowy figures emerging from the ocean, getting closer and closer to them..

"Marie? Are you okay? Who is that?" Simon asked getting worried by her frozen state. His words snapped her out of it and she turned to face the intruders who were now steeping out of the water.

"It's Talon..." Marie sneered. The moon once again shared its light and Simon cursed when he saw the person standing behind the man.

"And Kim..." he added "Ah hell..."

Cassandra Pov

After they entered the blood castle, the two human boys scurried off to find their friend and a backup escape route. Friend? Yeah right. Cassandra could see the determination shinning in both the boys' eyes. Those humans weren't here for friendship, they were here for love. It didn't matter to her either way because she was here for a completely different reason; revenge.

Cassandra and her best skilled counterpart Kellan made their way toward the grand room. Just being in the blood castle again after all these years made her skin crawl. How she loathed this castle. Burning it to the ground seemed like the best solution for such a horrible place. They rounded the corner, almost there but something was wrong. Vampires left and right were walking in a quick pace in the opposite direction of the execution room. Strange? Back when she used to be the assistant to the king, Cassandra had attended many executions. And none of them ended with vampires fleeing in the opposite direction. If her intuition was correct, Acacia was more than likely the reason behind this. They had reached the huge wooden doors and wasn't surprised by all the commotion they heard coming from inside.

"You'll pay Ferox! You are not the true king" Cassandra hesitated at the sound of a voice she hadn't heard in centuries. Acacia. Her best friend. For a moment the hype slipped and the pain from all those years ago crept in..

"Are you sure you want to do this mistress?" Kellan asked. The vampire looked at her with so much love it was almost hard for her to meet his eyes. But she did. Cassandra placed a spiteful smirk on her face and squared her shoulders. Nothing was going to stop her today.

"Of course, I'm the hell raiser remember" She said with a hint of her seductive edge that makes her who she is now. Cassandra reached for the door but it swung open itself. A female vampire in a beautiful light purple gown dashed by them using immortal speed. Cassandra didn't recognize her and proceeded to stroll in with Kellan close behind.

The execution room looked as it always had. The kings panel up front, the execution floor in the middle and then the witness seats thereafter. Only now the chairs were scattered about, parts of the walls and floor were covered in ice and flames and most of the vampire witnesses had left. The part that really astounded Cassandra was the battle that was taking place a few feet ahead.

Acacia and Ferox.

They were locked in a power standstill. The queen was pushing her ice ability against Ferox inferno heat. When the white ice and red heat clashed together it created a fury of power unlike anything they'd ever seen before. Although Acacia was strong, it was not strong enough. In minutes the king will overcome her. Not if I have anything to do with it. Cassandra thought.

Beside the king was the reason Cassandra came here. Catalina; the evil princess. She knew she wouldn't be able to save Marcos and maybe not even Acacia but the one thing Cassandra was willing to risk her life to do was kill the b** princess that ruined her. Cassandra dug in the cup of her cleavage and pulled out her favorite weapons, platinum throwing stars. .

"Hope I'm not late to the party" Cassandra announced palming her weapons. She had to hold her composure at the sight of Marcos decapitated body. Goodbye old friend. She thought.

"I see you got my invitation. So glad you could make it but seems you missed the main event" Catalina sniped playfully while pointing a gloved finger at Marcos. Cassandra maintained her blank face because she had to act fast, the queen was now on one knee trying to hold Ferox off.

"No. Your death is the main event" and with that Cassandra gracefully launched six stars towards the panel. They shone as they zipped through the air magically. Catalina and Cassius were able to dodge the ones coming their way but Ferox was not. The king was too focused on killing his wife that he didn't see the sharp blade coming until it swiped across his left cheek. It was all the distraction they needed. His inferno instantly stopped and the queen sagged to the ground exhausted.

"Go Acacia! NOW!" Cassandra yelled yanking her old friend from the floor and all but throwing her out the room. They held eyes for a brief moment and it was long enough for Cassandra to see all the queens' pain and grief. She wished there was more she could do to help, too bad there wasn't.

Something registered in Acacia and she took the small advantage Cassandra provided, but before fleeing from the room she shot a fury of ice into the ceiling right above the king's head. The impact immediately caused it to crumbled and fall in a huge explosion that shook the room. All the added chaos alerted more guards who came rushing in as soon as Acacia rushed out. Kellan prepared for the coming fight by pulling two sharp knives from up his sleeves and quickly began killing guards before they even came near Cassandra.

Cassandra turned back to panel. The royal family were clearing themselves from the rubble. Cassius immediately looked around for his mother and took off after her once he realized she was missing. Cassandra only hoped that his conscious would kick in and he would save his mother this time.

"What a mess you have caused again my pet" Ferox sneered dusting debris from his expensive suit. Her skin crawled at the mention of the old nickname he had for her.

"What can I say? Old habits die hard" she snapped angrily.

"Go kill Acacia father, I'll handle the ginger" Catalina spoke up almost gleefully. Ferox nodded pulling out a radio to call more guards and send them after the queen. "It's just you and me now. I don't even think I'll need to take my gloves off for this" she added with a devious giggle. Cassandra looked around the destroyed room. Kellan was in the middle of fight with three guards and he'd just slit open the throat of one. He was holding his own well. No backup necessary.

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#Ah!!! #Tobecontinued...