Prologue

The water began to fall quickly...steadily... then harsh. Distorted footsteps made a path to a woman clutching a newborn child. Her icy breath befell upon the baby, the body shaking against the bitter cold of its mothers caress. Theodora stood in the thundering rain with just a fur coat to cover her back and hide the child from the weather. There was a gentle weight up on her head where a gold crown sat with jewels dulled with time.
The clouds formed together and towering anvils carved the sky with lightning flickering just behind them. The rain did not stop. The storm had only begun.

A figure made its way to her. A man. His presence of darkness repelled all sorts of light that reached him. He uttered words to her just as the sound of thundering horses vibrated the ground beneath them. Theodora gave the man her child, and the babe screamed in protest of leaving the comfort of it's mothers arms.

"Protect my child, Praveen... The newborn knows nothing of what she is. She knows nothing of what her destiny is. Shield her from the evil of our kind," she said softly, as tears slipped down her cheeks.

"Now, run... Run!" she barked, and the man held the child close to him as he ran. He didn't know how long he was running, or how far he should run. With a turn of his head he caught fear in his Queen's eyes. He caught her fear... but he also caught her love. The horses were upon her, and the riders dismounted to wrap her in rope. A single blade was at her throat.

"Don't look back, Praveen. Run," she mouthed to him. Her tears had mixed into the rain, and her eyes begged him to keep going, but Praveen did not tear his eyes from her.
"I love you, Victoria..." she said with her last breath, and the man heard her last words before the sound of steel meeting flesh sounded through the air. The golden crown fell from her head and to the mud where blood, earth, and water met. The Queen fell limp with her regalia beside her.

Praveen clenched his teeth tightly at the death of the Queen, and he squeezed the child tighter to him. He made sure not to harm the baby with his strength. The men with the horses turned to see him with the princess, and they mounted their steeds. They were coming for him.

Praveen pivoted with his heel and continued to run. His footsteps shook the earth with the thunder crashing around them. Arrows flew for their target, and impaled the mans body. The pain did not affect him, nor did the wounds slow him down.

A horn suddenly sliced the air with its melody. An army revealed itself behind the men upon horses. Catapults towered behind them with fifteen men pushing each one.
The man could make out the city just a mile more. His legs pumped faster, and his speed doubled. Within moments he was there.

The twin doors creaked open to let him through with a few men in armor rushing to his aid. They scanned the area around them and gazed longingly at the army before the doors closed.

"They beheaded the Queen, John," he said softly, and lowered his head to place a gentle kiss to the newborn's forehead, "but I have saved the princess."

Emotion flickered quickly in the eyes of the men, and the man named John pursed his lips with a nod. The General led Praveen away into the warmth of the palace with the others following behind. All of them appeared to be fine to the outside eye, but Praveen knew better. He could see through their facade. Their Queen was dead. They were grieving.

Praveen and the men were within the walls of the palace. Soldiers ran about to their posts and the General barked out orders. He handed Praveen papers and a sword, all the while the man held the child. 

"John! The Queen asked me to protect her daughter, but if I'm busy working, she'll have no one to care for her! She's cold, hungry, and tired. If I do not act now, she won't make it throughout the night!"

John winced, and sighed. He produced an expression of one deep in thought before opening his lips to speak.

"Go keep our Princess safe..."

Praveen swallowed, and dropped the weapons along with the papers to bolt out of the room. What was he thinking!? John knew that the Princess was their highest priority, and yet he had the nerve to give him a blade!

The man reached Theodora's bedchambers to see a young maid cowering in the corner.
"You! Can you care for a child?" Praveen snapped, and the girl trembled with his voice. She nodded quickly with her bottom lip quivering.

"Y-yes, your grace..."
Praveen gave a curt nod, and rushed to the girl.

"Care for the Princess, I shall return soon," he murmured and reluctantly placed the babe in the arms of the maid. The man bit his lip before turning his neck and looking off to the side. The scent of the baby overwhelmed him and his body shivered. His eyes darkened slightly, but he took deep breaths and calmed his nerves.

"Please... make sure she is well..." he muttered, and was gone in the blink of an eye.

Praveen arrived in his bedchambers with the speed of lightning, and sought out for a glass bottle in the drawers of his armoire. When at last he found the bottle, it was emptied of its contents. He cursed under his breath. Shivers of need coursed through his body as his gums ached. Blood. He desperately needed it.

"Aya!" he boomed in a raspy voice, and clenched his drying throat. No one came. A growl escaped his lips. How could he forget? It was wartime. All women were hidden away in the tunnels beneath the palace.

Praveen left his room with a hiss as his gums burned. It was only a matter of seconds before he was at the start of the tunnels. He traveled through them with ease as he had done so many times before and nearly moaned in satisfaction as he caught the scent of his lovely Aya. She was found in a crowd of women and he pulled her aside with brute force. She cried out in surprise as his lips came crashing down atop of hers.

"Y-Your gra-ce!" she squeaked out before he pulled away and sank his canines into her flesh. She groaned in ecstasy with her blood spilling into the warm cavern of his mouth. Praveen held her body close as his desire to consume her radiated off of him in waves.
"Praveen..." she breathed and clawed his back with nails not long or hard enough to scratch him.

It seemed like a while before the man pulled back with the woman's blood dripping down his chin. His body eased with his consumption of her life fluids, but in price the woman was limp.

"Thank you, my love... I needed my fill..." he whispered in her ear before laying her to rest her body against the wall of the tunnel.

Praveen returned to his Princess. His hands reached up to clean his face of any traces of his meal before he entered the bedchambers. The little maid was replaced with another woman who fed the child from her breast. Praveen swallowed down a lump in his throat as he gazed at the babe. She was truly a gorgeous female, even as a baby.

Victoria had a head covered in lush ebony hair and violet eyes that fluttered in his direction. Praveen's breath hitched in his throat at the mere sight of them. They captivated him, bound him to them, and sent of wave of need through his body. The desire to feed returned and it was only then did he understand.

This little child would be what so many wanted, including him. His need to consume her everything was a desperation that built in his chest and clawed at his insides to be released. But he would not touch her. He would protect her from the evil that sought to claim her... even if it meant protecting her from himself.