Louisa's POV
I kneeled on the shore and cried my heart out.
I couldn't deal with the sudden departure of anyone in my life.
Mana and Mata walked around me anxiously. They wanted to say something, but they didn't know what to say. They wanted to hug me, but they didn't know if it was appropriate.
Eventually, they gave up and sat next to me, pressing their bodies against mine.
"Miss, well, you know... When a whale falls to the bottom of the sea after it dies, its body becomes the food of millions of creatures in the sea..."
I cried even harder.
"Well, what dickhead wants to say is that... It's a life cycle, Miss. There's nothing sad about it. It's a solemn thing and it's worth celebrating."
"Look at those fish in the lake. They are all his legacies."
"Fish have a short memory, miss. But they never forget about their parents."
I nodded and wept, holding both of them in my arms.
Alex wiped off the water and tears from his cheeks and said, "Come one, Louisa. We have to go now. Darren and Colt need us."
I bit my lips and wiped the tears from my cheeks. Then, I stood up, took a deep bow towards the lake, and walked off.
At that time, I still knew very little thing about life or death, love or hatred.
But one thing I knew for sure was that I had to look for my father.
Lucian said he was still alive and he needed my help. I had to look for him.
But before that, I had to look for Darren and Colt.
The moment I stepped into the garden outside of Vincent's castle, I knew things were out of control.
The garden, which used to be well-maintained and trimmed, was all destroyed or burnt.
I could see dead bodies everywhere. Some of them were druids. Some of them were werewolves.
It seemed that there was a fierce battle that had taken place in this area.
When I pushed the main door open and got into the castle, I saw Colt being tied up in a chair, stepping in a pool of blood.
I rushed towards him and said, "Colt! Can you hear me?!"
He lifted his head and I saw that his face was covered by blood and dirt. There were bruises everywhere.
It seemed that he had been through a violent beating.
"Zowie guacamole..." he whispered in a hoarse voice. "Louisa... You're here... I know you would come..."
"Colt, what happened?" I was trying to untie him, but he was chained and locked with iron chains.
"I took Darren back to this place, but angry werewolves from Ivory City followed me here... Then I didn' t know what happened, some traveling druids came and started to fight against the werewolves. They all wanted Darren... All of a sudden, everyone was fighting with everyone... And the druids won the fight by throwing some burning stones at the werewolves, and I was captured by..." Then, Colt looked like he was recalling something.
"Louisa, listen to me... You have to go away now..." he said anxiously.
"What are you talking about? I came here to rescue you. Where is the key? Do you know where the key is, Colt?" I looked around, trying to look for the key.
"No... Louisa, listen... This is a trap... They took Vincent and Will... Now they're going to take you... You have to go now..." Colt said in a panic.
"Colt, I'm not going to leave without you. Mana and Mata will drag you out of the castle. Look, Alex is here as well. We're going to look for Darren. Where is Darren, Colt?" I asked.
Colt took a glance at Alex and shook his head.
"No, Louisa, you're not listening to me. Take everyone and go away right now!" Colt's voice was almost metallic. "They are coming..."
Before he could finish his words, the door of the castle was automatically shut.
The loud bang made me terrified. We were swallowed in darkness.
Vincent had covered every window with heavy velvet curtains, so no sunlight would be able to penetrate the castle during the daytime.
With the door closed, the last stray of daylight was gone.
Then, all the lights inside the castle were suddenly lit on.
I heard music coming from the deepest part of the castle.
It sounded like an organ. The gruesome tone of the music was spine-chilling.
Mana and Mata were screaming and they held each other tightly, hiding behind my back.
Alex stepped forward, trying to block me and Alex with his body.
I heard the sound of steps echoing along with the music.
Then, the music stopped.
"Well, well, well." I heard a menacing voice coming from the darkness inside the corridor. "What do we have here? The daughter of the late Lycan King Duko and Princess Tallulah. The rare mixed breeding freak show of a werewolf, a witch, and a vampire."
As the sound of steps got closer, I saw a young man slowly walking out of the shadow, like a silhouette torn off from the darkness.
He had got a pale face, a pair of rare hazelnut-colored eyes, and brown hair.
"Darren?!" I shouted.
But then, almost immediately, I realized that it wasn't Darren.
He was limping, like a broken wind-up toy. He looked extremely weak. The long-sleeve shirt on his upper torso was moving like it was hanging on a skeleton. But at the same time, I couldn't help but notice that his eyes were filled with sinister hatred and evil cruelty.
Darren would never have that kind of look in his eyes.
"Ah, Miss Louisa Reeds!" The young man exclaimed in a dramatic tone and covered his forehead. "Stop pretending that you care about my poor younger brother. I know nothing about women, but one thing that I know for sure is that a person can never love two people at the same time," the young man said.
Then, he narrowed his eyes and added, "My younger brother has a bad taste in men and even worse taste in women. He has done everything for you. He even disobeyed my order because of you, and that's why our whole plan was jeopardized. However, as soon as your precious Lucas gave you a dark look, you would turn into a bitch and run all the way back to his arms with a wagging tail."
I ignored his provoking speech and said, "Derek... You're Darren's elder brother Derek!"
"Ha, now you recognize me. So you've spared me the awkwardness of making a self-introduction." Derek bowed slightly at me and looked at the blood on the tips of his fingers.
"You were supposed to be dead... Darren told me that you were killed many years ago!" I said. "He found your body!"