River's edge
I still remember that day. It hadn't been one second that the memory left my mind. I was only 5 years old.
“Princess Isabella!”
Celeste’s voice snapped through the dim room just as I touched the glass case holding one of Father’s old blades.
“You are not allowed in here,” she scolded, sweeping toward me. Celeste had been my maid—and practically my nanny—since I was born. I gave her my most innocent smile. The door was always locked, and I’d been warned a thousand times not to enter.
Celeste gently, but firmly, took my hand and pulled me out before closing the heavy door behind us.
“I’m afraid His Majesty would not be pleased,” she murmured.
“I’m bored,” I complained. “I’m not allowed outside the borders. Yet even in the village.”
Celeste sighed. “Princess… you know why these rules exist. The Reapers are dangerous. Cold-blooded. Heartless. They prey on vampires whenever they get the chance.”
“I know,” I muttered, looking down.
Before she could say anything else, distant screams echoed through the halls. Shouting. Metal clashing. The sharp command of guards.
My heart jumped. “What’s going on?”
Celeste’s face drained of color. Without answering, she grabbed my wrist and pulled me into a hidden corridor—one meant only for emergencies.
“Celeste, where are we going?” I asked, frightened by how fast she was walking.
She didn’t respond. We reached a small crack in the stone wall where we could see the courtyard.
I shouldn’t have looked.
Mother was screaming, begging a Reaper to spare Father. And then—
The Reaper drove his sword through Father’s chest.
I gasped and lunged forward, but Celeste clamped a hand over my mouth. Tears streamed down both our faces as we watched my parents fall still.
“No…” I sobbed against her hand.
Below, the Reaper prince barked, “Search every room of this castle. Find the girl.”
Celeste knelt in front of me, gripping my shoulders.
“Listen to me, Isabella. Don’t look back. Run. Run as far as you can.”
“No! Where are you going?” I cried, clinging to her.
She hugged me tightly. “Remember what I said. Run.”
Instead of escaping with me, Celeste sprinted toward the front of the castle—toward the Reapers—to draw them away.
“CELESTE!” I screamed, but she was already gone.
I ran.
And ran.
And ran until my feet bled.
Through forests. Over jagged roots. Under freezing rain. I didn’t know how many days passed—only that I was hungry, weak, and alone.
Finally, I stumbled to a river and drank until my stomach stopped aching. Exhausted, I collapsed on the grass.
Snap.
A branch cracked.
I shot up.
A woman stood there, holding a basket of food. She looked about Mother’s age. I stepped back immediately and gripped the ends of my torn dress.
She was a Reaper.
One of them. The kind that killed my family.
We stared at each other—unsure.
When I turned to run, she slowly knelt by the water and placed the basket down.
“You can take it,” she said softly. “I have extra.”
If she knew I was a vampire, she would give a very different reaction. It was hard to tell unless I showed my fangs or bled.
My stomach growled. I hesitated, then rushed to the basket and devoured the food. The taste of just bread made me feel happy.
She watched me with a creased, worried expression. “Where is your family?”
“Killed by your kind,” I whispered. She didn’t catch it.
“I don’t have any,” I said as tears fell.
Her eyes softened. “I… don’t have a family either.”
Eleven Years Later
“Aunt Glenda, there’s no more meat in the pantry!” I called, tugging on my coat. “I’ll go get some.”
I stepped outside into the chilly morning air. The village was louder than usual—celebration banners hung from every rooftop, and people buzzed through the streets. They were celebrating King Cassian’s seventeenth birthday.
I wished it were his funeral instead.
The decorations spread across every inch of the Reaper kingdom. Pretending to be one of them wasn’t easy, but when Glenda—the woman who found me by the river—took me in and raised me like her own, blending in became second nature.
Still, my body would never rest until Cassian’s blood spilled for what he did to my family. The day he murdered them was the day he wrote his own end.
The market was packed and happy. Soon, I promised myself, I’d take that happiness from them.
I stopped at a small stall. “Can I have two potatoes, please?” The smell of fresh food made my mouth water.
“You’re missing a cent,” the woman behind the table said, pulling the bag back.
“It’s just one cent. Please—my aunt isn’t well.”
She scoffed. “Go beg somewhere else.”
I clenched my teeth and walked away empty-handed. Making ends meet was never easy. Glenda worked as a palace maid and barely earned enough for us to survive, though her job did give me information about the royal family.
King Cassian’s parents had died years ago, forcing him onto the throne young. He’d been betrothed to Elara since childhood—still was. Reapers aged slowly; even though Cassian was a hundred years old, he looked seventeen, still the same as the day he killed my parents.
Whenever Glenda got drunk, she’d ramble about palace secrets, and I’d listen carefully. Every detail mattered.
When I returned to the house, still empty-handed, Glenda sat at the table, pale and rubbing her hands together. I slipped off my coat and wrapped it around her shoulders before hugging her.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m just fine,” she said, waving a hand.
“You’re a terrible liar.” I sat next to her. “You need real food, Aunt Glenda.”
She gave an apologetic smile.
Despite raising me for eleven years, she never guessed my true nature. A vampire by blood. Her kindness was the only reason I survived. I would never betray her—but telling her the truth would break everything we’d built.
“I’ll be back shortly.”
“Where are you going?” she asked, brows furrowing.
“Hunting. Prices are too high at the market. I’ll bring back enough meat to last you a few months. And when I get back, I’ll make soup.”
Before she could reply, loud cheering erupted outside.
“What’s that noise?” Glenda asked, rising to her feet.
We stepped to the window. Guards dragged a vampire’s body into the center of the village.
“Looks like they found another one,” Glenda muttered.
I clenched my fists as the guards raised metal rods and struck the vampire’s body while the crowd cheered. Even after my parents died, not all vampires perished. Some still hid in the forests—my people, hunted and powerless.
I couldn’t watch anymore. I yanked the curtains closed.
“You should rest, Aunt Glenda. You’re not well.”
“You’re right,” she sighed, shuffling toward her room—but then she paused. Her face brightened.
“Oh! I forgot to tell you.” She clasped her hands together eagerly. “You received an acceptance letter into the elite Reaper Academy! The one you applied to so long ago.”
A spark lit inside me. Perfect.
Cassian also attended that academy.
I forced a smile and hugged her. “Really?”
“I’m so proud of you,” she said, cupping my face. “My little girl is grown now. And you leave tomorrow. I won’t see you until the semester ends.”
“That’s why I need to stock up the pantry before I go,” I said, grabbing my coat again. “Promise me you won’t work until you’re better.”
She nodded weakly, and I stepped out the door—my real hunt finally beginning.
