Waltz of the Damned [Braxton & Nadia]

[Braxton Obscura]

She rose from the grave. He rose from the pit. Together, they’ll bring kingdoms to their knees.

The mortal realm was dreary in comparison; it lacked a certain spark and character that Valtheris mastered and in particular his inherited land of The Vulkan Vale. Many of his people questioned why, after so many years, Braxton continued to hold dealings with mortals and venture into the land of the mundane. He was always so blunt, matter of fact, that he had people to torture and kill, and the fact remained - they resided in the mortal realm as basic humans. Out of his men, Riordan was the loudest, perhaps due to their shared interest in drinking the ale pegs dry, in calling out Braxton for not killing his family and their associates already. The answer was clear, he enjoyed the thrill of the hunt, the lingering aroma of fear when he entered the family estate. Of course, he enjoyed the brutality, the slow, torturous art of killing, but prolonging their death even further gave him a kick.

Enyo, his twin sister, sat before the fireplace with a whiskey in hand; the flames dancing within her eyes. “I still don’t understand how you get to go on these trips, do the hunting and killing all the while I sit around playing princess”

Braxton smirked at the pout forming on her lips. “Because you would kill them too quickly and that is not the justice we deserve.” He raised his brows at his sister as the pout of hers grew. “Besides, don’t you have some poor souls to torment alongside The Painsingers?”

Enyo huffed and nodded. He knew her too well.

“Take care of The Vale for me. I won’t be long.” Braxton approached his sister and kissed her forehead in farewell before summing an infernal fire once he had finished conjuring up the ancient rites. A whirlwind of fire enclosed around Braxton, embracing him in a heated embrace and whilst loving, it was short lived and was quite happy to spit Braxton out again.

The demon Lord was welcomed by drizzle, a damp mist clinging upon him as he stood on the darkened streets. The streetlights blinked, struggling to maintain power; if there were any hunters or humans with a keen eye for the supernatural, those damned flickering lights would notify them of his presence. Braxton inhaled the air and turned on his heels as he walked in the direction of Crowthorne Manor; the residence of his Uncle who had somehow managed to profit from the sacrifice. The feeling of being back here did nothing for him, at first, it was a welcoming relief; time away from the fiery lands of The Vulkan Vale and his newfound responsibilities as High Lord. Equally, however, it was a place of huge importance to him; he had lived and flourished as a mortal, but his family robbed him of a rewarding mortal life. But he supposed, through their sacrificial traditions, they gave him something far greater.

The town hall clock tower chimed, indicating midnight and the start of the next day; but for others of the darker species, it was just the beginning of the night. Braxton walked past many bars, many drunken women attempting to cat call him; he was here for one thing only - the torment of his uncle. To remove himself from the eyes of mortals, he turned down a back alley which would soon enough lead him to the outskirts of town.

His form took up the width of the alleyway, menacing and dominating in one; and if one looked close enough, they would have sworn they saw the shadows of his wings against the brick wall. Braxton was pulled from his hunters thoughts as the sound of sharp, high heeled shoes running on concrete echoed around him. He came to a pause, his eyes narrowing as the sound got louder still, indicating they were heading right towards him.

[Nadia Delphi]

The sun had finally set and it’s shackles had finally broken the hold on her being. On many a day, Nadine craved the sun. She missed how her skin would sting mildly when she basked in it too long. How it would make her pretty brown skin glow like a sheet of gold. But now, she was a slave of the night. Forced to watch everyone enjoy beach days and picnics at the park while she only could thrive now in the dark of night. It was truly the only down fall to this. Other than that, Nadia enjoyed being a vampire. Especially in the current episode of the world.

The princess had all the wealth that she could’ve possibly needed, due to her sailing back home to retrieve her family’s heirlooms and her expensive jewels, clothes and things. She wore expensive clothes, shoes, doused herself in gold jewelry to be one with her ancestors but also, terrified to burn the hell outta herself with silver. Diamonds came easy and so did the cash that came with it. Her life right now, couldn’t be any better…

that was until he… came around again.

It had been weeks when Nadine was notified of his arrival in the mortal realm. She heard that he’d been bouncing around from every realm to find her. Even in the blistering sands of Shattered Sands. But she got complacent really. Perhaps she thought he’d never find her. These places were too big and crossing Vales was no easy feat. But if anyone is determined, they’d do anything to get to what they need. But it’s been 20 years!

Nadine was on guard tonight especially. She could feel his presence near but with his powers to deceive, he’d simply hide in shadows. She could hear his voice. Begging her to come home and that he misses her. I know you miss me. No one in this realm could ever make you feel the way I do. You remember our sessions? Her ears burned was she did her best to tune out his pestering. ‘Shut up.’ She hissed through her teeth as his words began to overlap and overwhelm her. She was walking down the sidewalk until she noticed him standing in the crowd, with his uncanny expression written across his features.

Stricken with fear, Nadia’s feet seem to be glued to the ground. Or— no… he was forcing her not to move. Gritting her teeth, she finally broke her bloody, teary gaze and took a step back. Letting out a gentle sigh in relief and in slight shock, she turned away from him. Never have she been able to turn away from him when he played her like this. A devilish smile and charming eyes always brought her to her knees when it came to him. But finally, she had the will! Narrowing his eyes, Declan’s smile had fallen and his brows tugged into one. He was losing her. ‘Where are you going?’ He said softly. His voice traveling from where he stood, a couple of blocks down to her ears.

Not acknowledging him, Nadia took off as fast as she could. Not really thinking about breaking her red bottoms, her safety was more important than a dollar right at this moment. Luckily her dress was long enough to keep from rising as she ran. She held her LV clutch tightly in her fist before she cut down a dark alley. With her adrenaline pumping like nothing before, she didn’t take note of the sulfuric smell that filled the space around her. Looking back every once in a while to see if he’d rounded the corner yet, her body slammed right into something formidable. It knocked her on her ass! Which was quite a rare thing.

Looking up, she made out this individual’s frame in the darkness. The flickering lights only made his aura all the more darker. A demon. With her tears falling down the sides of her face, her brows tugged into one as his familiar features returned to a home in her mind. He looked just as he did when she saw him last. Just a lot more mature and… handsome? ‘Rad—‘ before she could speak his name, Declan shouted for her once more.

’Nadia… my love where have you ran off too?!’

She scrambled to her feet and looked at the dumpster. She lifted the lid to see it was half way full. With this stench disrupting her trail along with the smell of sulfur, Declan would have to simply move on. Placing her index finger over her full lips, she crawled into the dumpster and shut it. Finally, when Declan rounded the corner he stopped in his tracks for a moment. ‘I’m sorry sir, forgive me.’ He began to walk towards the male. ‘I’m looking for a woman, curly hair, short, brown skin, drop dead gorgeous? Like yae—‘ once he zeroed in on his face, ‘wait a minute, I know you.’ He rubbed his chin with his thumb, ‘You’re the Drake’s kid! Wow boy! Look at you! All grown up huh?!’ Declan gave Braxton a strong clap against his arm. ‘What are you doing out here in the mortal realm?! I heard you’re a Dark Lord now!?’

[Braxton Obscura]

Braxton went by one major rule when he was frequenting this realm - do not interfere with those who have no purpose to your end goal. Of course, Braxton wasn’t one to stick by rules all the time, there was no fun in that; and for the most part, in his eyes, rules are there to be broken - unless, they are his rules and they are broken by others. That. That is a whole different story. Yet, in the last few years, his meddling with others outside of his blood in this realm had become rare; occasionally, he would take a mortal to his bed and make mediocre notches in the bedpost and other times, someone might catch wind of who he was and wish to make a deal or worse… Participate in The Dalerin Games and try and survive The Mortis Pit. Those had become one of his more favoured interactions in this realm, otherwise, Braxton kept to himself.

Therefore, when the sound of clicking heels grew louder on approach, his closed his eyes and internally counted to ten; the likelihood of it being a drunken lass who wanted nothing more than to make his company was high. He couldn’t kill her, no, that was out of the question - why would he do that when there were other supernatural beings who do that for a living. Braxton might be the one they call the devil, but even the devil was once an angel. Braxton wasn’t quite morally grey but he wasn’t truly evil either, and he never delivered death unless he truly believed they deserved nothing more than the after death.

The sound of frantic clinking was soon replaced by small thud as they crashed into his back and then as they fell to the ground. Braxton peered over his shoulder at the woman and narrowed his eyes as he processed the word that had begun to form on the woman’s lips - he was more distracted by the fact that someone had potentially dug out his mortal name; a task that he personally took upon himself to eradicate from legal documentations and the like, to acknowledge who the woman was. Before he could take in her features, she was gone within a heartbeat and jumped into the bin without hesitancy of what might be inside. Braxton frowned and grimaced at the thought of what it smelt like in there, let alone what it might have felt like if there were any foods that had gone off. 

Braxton took a moment with curiosity and he stood there slightly dumbfounded at what had just occurred; possible verbalisation of his human name aside, he had never had a female throw herself into a bin at the sight of him. Braxton was a self-assured asshole so he knew it wasn’t him, it wasn’t his appearance that made a female do that, what a bizarre concept. No, it was definitely her. Did he want to go to the bin and ask her himself why the mere look of him sent her there? Absolutely. Would he go and ask? No. Probably not. Nothing good came out of someone throwing themselves into the trash and besides, he was on a tight schedule - his men knew to come find him if he did not return to The Vale within a certain timescale. 

The Demon Lord shrugged at the most random occurrence and began to continue his journey until a male voice echoed down the damp and rather dingy alleyway. Braxton decided to turn to face the man, and immediately sensed he was of the supernatural variety; and a look of boredom painted Braxton’s features as the man word vomited how he was looking for a women - and it truly did not take Braxton long to figure out who might be in bin and why. Yet, it was the next set of words and the over familiarity of the man placing his hand upon the top his arm. 

Braxton’s jaw ticked. The Drake’s kid. The inferno flame began to scorch beneath his skin at the phrase. Braxton remained silent as he let the ghost of his past ramble. It might not be his Uncle, but this man sure had it coming as well - in fact, Braxton had completely forgotten about this scumbag of a vampire. He had to decide how he was going to do this - the man obviously had to die; he knew his human name and that was punishable by death immediately. 

Braxton ensured he did not look towards the bin as he soon realised who it might have been that threw themselves in there. “Declan. It has been a while” Pleasantries it was then, for the time being. “Yes, death and flame have been most kind” The man did not need to know that to receive that kindness, Raden had to endure what felt like centuries of torture. “What brings you back to this neck of the woods? Other than a pretty female? Surely you know better than to be the chaser, why lesson yourself to their level? Don’t you want them grovelling at your feet?”

Of course, Braxton wouldn’t be surprised if the man before him also enjoyed the hunt and the scent of fear and he truly hoped that he did not register the allure of fear which danced within the soft fall of rain. 

[Nadia Delphi]

‘Indeed it has!’ Declan immediately sensed the uneasiness in the kid’s features when he mentioned his family’s name. He knew about demons and what their true names came with. And right now, he was not dead set on fighting with one. He only wanted his woman back. But if he was willing to get in the way, Declan would put him down… accordingly. He threw up his hand with a gentle smirk, ‘No need to worry boy. I won’t say your name.’ He put his hands behind his back. ‘It would be quite foolish to upset a Demon Lord, now wouldn’t it?’

Nadia kept still in the dumpster. But it smelt so damn foul, she knew she’d be scrubbing her skin for days. Without a doubt, she would thank him for not giving her away but right now, she was between a rock and a hard place.

When Braxton asked about what brought Declan here, a soft smile curled up on his lips. ‘Ooh, she isn’t just some pretty female…’ he paced back and forth for a moment, ‘My, Nadia. You remember her don’t you? I use to bring her with me when I came to see your folks? She was quite fond of you and your sister. I remember, I caught her sneaking you both money out of her purse and candy.’ He rolled his eyes and pressed his lips together, ‘She left me… I’d been gone on a job and upon my return, she’d taken all of her things and left rhe things I’d given to her… she broke my heart then… I want my woman back.’

She scowled and rolled her eyes as he rambled on and on about how her absence has brought him great agony and sadness. But he wasn’t telling him the whole story. Declan was a master manipulator at best and could fool anyone that had a conscious mind. His tongue was sharp and slick. It was no problem for him to lie. But when you spend centuries being such a menace to society, sure lying was the least of your crimes.

’I can have any woman I want, Obscura. But you don’t understand. It was way before your time when I saw her. It was love at first sight. In her homeland, they use to call her Child of Sol… the sun god. Because her smile would…’ they way Declan spoke about her was almost poetic. Spoken like a true man in love but the real reason was because he was her maker. And the bond that had been created between the two was inseverable unless one of them were killed or to die. He’d keep coming back, like a drunken man to his favorite whiskey. He didn’t realize he was going on and on about her. He looked like a lunatic. ‘Where am my manners…’ he placed his finger tips over his lips as he scoffed in embarrassment. ‘I understand you have more pressing matters than to hear about a desperate man searching for his lover so…’ Declan reached in his coat and pulled out his card and handed it to him. ‘If you do by chance bump into her, please don’t hesitate to call me.’

With that, Declan disappeared into the night in a blink of an eye.

Once Nadine was sure he was gone, she carefully and slowly pushed up the lid of the dumpster. She gagged and coughed at the smell. Whining cause she could feel thick juices dripping down her legs and stickiness on her arm. Not to mention, her hair! This would take forever to wash out. Her clothes were filthy and smelled worse. Her big gray eyes pooled with bloody tears and her bottom lip trembled as she tried to keep herself together. ‘This is so disgusting!’ She picked off a piece of old lettuce off her arm and carefully crawled out of the dumpster. After dusting food off of her, she looked up at him with her full lips parted. ‘I don’t know… what to call you now…’ she paused, ‘Is that really you?’ She reached up to grab his jaw and turn his head left to right. Then, she lifted his arms and finally leaned in to sniff him.

Well, he didn’t smell of a child anymore. But a man. And that kind of struck her. She couldn’t believe he was here! All grown up. She heard what happened to him and his sister. Such a tragedy. She should’ve been there to protect them. They were her friends… or at least she thought so. ‘Look at you…’ she pressed her hand over her cleavage. ‘You’ve gotten so big! You were a mere… pebble when i saw you last now… now you’re a boulder!’ She let out a small giggle. ‘I… heard what happened to you and your sister, Rad—‘ she paused for a moment. Remembering not to say his name. ‘What do they call you?’

[Braxton Obscura]

There was an element of relief when Declan confirmed that he wouldn’t use Braxton’s true name and he for sure was not going to let him see that relief had flooded through his veins. Whilst he had his word, from what Braxton could remember - his word meant very little. But he was right about one thing, it would be very foolish to upset Braxton by participating in such a thing and if Declan had heard about him, he would be aware that if he had utilised his human name and bound Braxton to do his bidding, the whole of The Vulkan Vale, the muscle behind House Noctharis would tear the world limb by limb to reclaim Braxton’s life, safety and freedom. The thought made the corner of Braxton’s lips twitch. “You are correct when saying that, as a man I am sure with enemies a plenty, you do not want to add my army to that list.” 

My Nadia. Those words brought back some memories of when the couple would visit The Drake’s estate and stay for periods of time, indulging in the debauchery his family thrived in, and feeding upon the mourning families that visiting the mortuary to pay their respects to their deceased loved ones. Braxton recalled never particularly liking Declan, and his sister Enyo mirrored that feeling after coming across particularly creepy towards her despite claiming Nadia as being the love of his life. It had never occurred to Braxton before as to why his family accepted vampires into their home and mentally shuddered at the possibilities as to why. “I could never forget Nadia” It was true, he hadn’t forgotten her but life had been busy and she wasn’t a ghost he needed to hunt down yet. “She was always kind to my sister and I, she brought warmth into the cold bones of our family estate” In honesty, he could understand why Declan was infatuated with her and why he decided to turn her, yet his obsession was unhealthy. Braxton rolled his eyes and felt a slight chuckle rumble within his chest. “A man with a broken heart begging for the woman who broke it to return to him. Pitiful” The demon Lord scoffed. Have some self respect was what he wanted to say but truthfully he got some enjoyment out of the fact the man had no spine. 

“Declan. I’m bored” Braxton sighed as he wasted moments of his life listening to this man swoon over a woman that he was not good enough for. “Your love life is quite frankly, none of my concern. And as you can see” He widened his arms, indicating the alley way they were in. “She is not here.” A curious brow rose as Declan handed over his business card which held his contact details; Braxton simply nodded and tucked away the card only to shred it into tiny bits when Declan disappeared into thin air. “He’s still fucking slimey.” 

Eventually, Braxton turned to the dumpster as Nadia slowly jumped out of it and it took every ounce of willpower not to laugh at the sight before him. However, seeing the blood stained cheeks indicating she was upset soon put a lid on any amusement he had and perhaps if they kept in contact, they could laugh at this memory one day. Braxton remained silent as he allowed her to examine him, to take him in and for her to believe that he was truly alive. He never once believed she had a hand in his death and by seeing her reaction to him only confirmed it. 

“Hello Nadia” He smirked, allowing her to hold his jaw to take in his appearance. “It’s really me, they couldn’t get rid of me that easily and hell decided to keep me” Braxton winked down at her and removed a rotton tomato from her hair with a look of disgust. “I was a teenage lad when you last saw me, so it’s been a few years” He mused and glanced over her, attempting to not allow his gaze to linger on her cleavage when her hand went there in shock. “I go by Braxton Obscura, or Brax for short” He confirmed and glanced over his shoulder. 

“Finally left our darling boy Declan, huh?” He teased gently before sighing, he would leave tormenting Uncle for another night for this one had become far more interesting. “We can’t keep you here, have you got somewhere we can go and clear you up?” Despite not seeing her for so many years, after seeing her in this state, Braxton felt an unbearable urge to keep her safe, especially from the likes of Declan. “You’re probably also in desperate need of a drink - I know I am” It was completely obvious he was stirring the conversation away from his untimely death.

[Nadia Delphi]

Hello Nadia.

if the sun refused to shine, baby would I still be your lover? Would you want me there? If the moon went dark tonight, and if it all ended tomorrow, would I be the one on your mind, your mind, your mind?

And if it all ended tomorrow, would you be the one on mine?

That was the beginning of the end for Nadia. Not that she knew right away, but there was some odd feeling that brewed within the depths of her. When he looked down into her eyes and she looked up into his, something flipped inside of her. It was as if his emerald green eyes had bewitched her and if she had something at least close to a soul, he would’ve stolen it easily.

Was his eyes always this green? And bright with pretty patterns and lines?

Nadia had easily forgotten that she had his bearded face in her palms. It’s really me. Hell decided to keep me. For some reason, she was hoping he wouldn’t have said anything like that. Though she heard the gruesome acts of what his family had done to him and his sister, she had hoped that maybe he wasn’t something so evil. As hypocritical as it was for her, her fate had been sealed hundreds of years ago. Nadia committed some of the most gruesome acts against humankind and she was paying for it in anyway she knew how. But they were good kids. And they deserved much better than what happened to them. But Declan had confirmed it and so did he. He’d become the one his family prayed often to. And she would assume that he’d want revenge. Any person in their right mind would if they had the second chance.

a small dimpled smile curled up on her full lips as she finally pulled her hands away from his face. Her head fallen to the side, ‘a few years? Definitely about a few decades. You don’t look like that sweet little innocent boy that I snuck sweets to.’ She had a gentle smile of pride. It felt good to know people as their human selves and reminisce. ‘Braxton. Obscura. Hmph!’ She placed her hands on her hips and nodded her head. ‘I suppose it fits you well.’

When he mentioned Declan, her smile faltered and she looked away from him. ‘If youre gonna call him then—‘ but when he quickly reassured her that he wouldn’t dream of doing something like that, a gentle sigh of relief escaped her lips. ‘Yeah.. I left Declan maybe a few years after we saw your folks last. We went back home to Washington and… I found him in bed with another broad— human… by the way. He was killing her. I know that may sound crazy but I had stopped drinking human blood… went cold turkey and he was suppose to do it with me. So, he cheated on his diet and he slept with someone else. I figured that would be the last time I deal with him… and I pretended that everything was well for a while. Until his next mercenary job… I took everything I owned and left…’ she folded her arms, ‘He’s been searching for me ever since.’

We can’t keep you here.

‘I —‘ she paused for a minute, ‘No. I caught his scent at my penthouse. I can’t go back there.’ She folded her arms below her breasts as she looked down in despair. ‘I can’t go back with him… Braxton, in the last 20 years… I feel free. I’m happy. I’m in love with life! I have peace.. I can’t—‘ her eyes welled up once again before he suggested them go have a drink. Blinking away the thick red tears, Nadia gave him a gentle nod. ‘I- I could use a drink. Whichever kind really.’ She giggled as she wiped her tears away. ‘Ugh! He ruined my make up!’ She whined out loud, stomping her $3,000 red bottom stiletto.

[Braxton Obscura]

Braxton snorted when she recalled the age he and Enyo were when Declan and Nadia were first introduced to the family and he recalled how sweet she was to them. “Hm, well. Time does that to people, innocence is now lost on me” He replied, and even when he was human, innocent wasn’t the word he would use to describe himself and Enyo - they were always plotting something, mainly because they knew the halls of their home had secrets and they knew they had to protect themselves from something; they just didn’t know it was from those who claimed to love them most. “Attempting to come up with your own name is quite the task, let me tell you.” He mused, recalling the back and forth he had with Enyo over the names - she was lucky, she found her name pretty quickly, but him? He was a fussy devil.

He was slightly taken back when Nadia quickly assumed that he would call Declan that she was here. “If I wanted him to find you, I’d have pointed to the dumpster and walked away, leaving you two to whatever argument that led you here tonight” He shrugged, and perhaps he would have walked away if she didn’t look like a deer in headlights running away from him. Braxton nodded as he listened to what brought the loving pair to a close and raised a brow. “Cheating on both accounts, I can sadly say I am not surprised by his actions. I’m sorry you’ve had to endure that” Braxton was empathetic to her - he has never felt love and never committed to a relationship, but he had witnessed first hand how some of his lovers had gotten jealous over the fact they shared him with others. 

“Why haven’t you just hired someone to kill him?” Braxton pressed. “Life on the run is no life at all. Why do you think I’ve kept my family alive for so long?” He mused before seemingly glancing over her shoulder as if he was in thought. No. He couldn’t take her there. His home was essentially a war camp, with soldiers, warriors, assassins and murderers free roaming. But his people respected him, and so they wouldn’t hurt her; he knew that at least, no harm would come to her from his people. Braxton sighed. “I can take you back to my realm, where you can lie low for however long you like. He might know you’re there eventually, but he would not breach the gates unless he wanted to die.” Braxton reassured her, before grinning with a roll of his eyes at her theatrics. “It’s a good thing you can take your makeup off and reapply it. Hell forbid, I might even somewhere, where you can wash your clothing too”

Braxton muttered the infamous line as he called upon the portal home; and just to the left of them, the fire-like eye waited for them. He could see her anxiety and stepped towards the portal without a care in the world. “It won’t burn you, daughter of the sun” He grinned, extending his arm towards her so that she could take his hand; and to his relief, she did and through the portal they went together. The portal spat them back out in the eastern wing of his home which he lived with Enyo but due to the pure size of the place, he essentially lived alone within the belly of an extinct volcano. 

“Welcome to The Vulkan Vale” Braxton proudly announced, his home warm - some would say uncomfortably warm but unfortunately, you can’t tell the volcanic landscape to turn it down a notch. “House Noctharis is at your service. I’ll go and have someone make up the guest chambers, and run you a warm bath.” 

[Nadia Delphi]

Nadia’s nose flared as she rolled her eyes, ‘Oh no, I’m such a fool. I allowed him to do this to me for so long… I don’t know why I attempted on trying to change a man who wasn’t willing to change.’ She shook her head and placed her hands on her hips. ‘I suppose I wanted to see the good in him.’

When things were good with Nadine and Declan, things were really good. It almost didn’t feel forced and like a facade. But when things got rough, like attempting to change their lifestyle in order to cohabitate with the humans, shit was actually in the toilet. And she couldn’t keep living her life like that. She had no idea how long she had left being that the immortal title in always in full effect but she wanted to make every day, happy and worth living. She couldn’t do that with him.

Why haven’t you just hired someone to kill him?

She blinked hard up at him at the shocking request. Truly it was something she never thought about. Truthfully, she couldn’t bring herself to see him hurt. She would surely fall apart if something happened to him like that. Or so she thought so. ‘I—Braxton, I don’t think you understand. He made me. He created me and he’s the reason why I’m here…’ she paused for a second, as nice as she wanted it to sound, the way it tasted on her tongue was bitter. It was all because of him. All the pain, all the suffering, all the sadness, all the ailment… all of that was because of him. Never had she thought about it this way. She spent the last 20 years running, she didn’t have time to think.

’I suppose it’s more easier said than done.’ Her sad gray eyes tore away from his gaze as she looked down at the ripped up piece of paper on the ground. His next comment about his family made her smile a little bit. She parted her lips to ask about them and what he planned on doing since he was back. But then he mentioned taking her back to her realm. ‘Oh, that won’t be necessary I’ll just—‘ but before she could decline any further, he’d easily uttered a chant and a roaring rage of flames in the shape of an eye appeared out of thin air.

Torment glossed over in her eyes as she feared the worst would happen if she were to step close to this thing. This wasn’t like any other portal she has seen before. Looking up at Braxton, her eyes watched him walk towards it. ‘Are you sure?’ She asked worrisome as she held her clutch in her hand tightly. But then his next words washed away all of her worries.

Daughter of the sun.

It had been ages since someone had called her that. She’d remembered the kids asked her who she was before she was transformed into a vampire. And Nadia did not spare the details. Sure, the kids had their reasons not to believe her especially since she was with the kind of man like Declan. But he remembered that minor detail. One of very few that she’d given them. A small smile curled up on her lips as she reached out and placed her cool hand into his much warmer palm. She held on to him tightly and closed her eyes as they walked into the portal together. And before she think, they were in his realm! Stumbling in her heels a little, Nadine had almost lost her balance from the intense shift.

Nadine was hit with an intense warmth. It wasn’t enough to burn her but to any average human, they’d for sure be scorched to ashes. It would definitely get some getting used to if she were going to stay here until she lost Declan forever. She looked around, taking in the details of the place. Surprisingly, it wasn’t enough very nice. Very chic and simple for “The Underworld” realm. She felt like she could find her spot here. When he welcomed her, she gave him a sweet smile, ‘Thank you for the warm welcome.’ She teased and swallowed hard, ‘Thank you.’

When he walked away, Nadia couldn’t help but admire him from a far. She was proud of him. He’d grown up into a fine man. And my, fine was quite the understatement. She hissed, shaking the thought out of her head before looking away as he spoke with his servants. 

[Braxton Obscura]

It was an unusual occurrence to have an outsider enter the gates of The Vale, let alone an outsider entering the territory through The High Lords portal. Whilst the territory was open to new people, they were often few and far between, which wasn’t something his people complained about - this was because they knew they could all trust each other; a newbie meant building that trust and remaining suspicious of them until proven otherwise. Braxton could see the curious look that took hold of Devia’s face as she looked onward towards Nadia and for a demon, she almost looked fearful. Braxton mused silently and broke the silence. “She won’t kill us, or do whatever vampire lore our ancestors have made up to spook us. Besides, she’s veggie” Braxton held some humour which relaxed Devia as she laughed and smiled back up at him. 

Braxton, to the outside world, was a cruel leader, a man of nightmares but the true reality was - he cared for his people, and they respected him back, albeit there was an element of fear as one wrong thing and he would not be afraid to serve justice. “Can you run a warm bath, and set out some fresh clothing for our guest.” Braxton requested and Devia simply nodded her head and dashed out of the room to find some more members of the household staff to assist her. Braxton stood there for a moment longer, deep in thought about how this is going to go before he heard his twin sisters footsteps prance up toward the door on the other side. 

“You’re back early!” She practically squealed and leapt into his arms, embracing him as if she hadn’t only seen him a few hours ago. Braxton felt Enyo pause and hesitate which was unlike her. “Brax… Someone is in our house” She whispered, the fire in her eyes beginning to ignite as she held her body like a predator. 

Braxton released his overbearing, and overprotective little sister - much to her dismay, being merely 2 minutes younger and grinned. “Enyo, calm. I granted her passage.” 

Enyo’s lips pulled back before regarding Braxton. “You granted passage to a stranger into our home” She all but whispered shrieked. “I don’t care about the women you bring back here for a quickie! But a vampire from the mortal realm. No. I smell trouble” Enyo hissed. 

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Nadia, please turn around and assure my dear sister you are not here to cause any bodily harm to myself, my family nor my people” He knew this would not be enough to prove to Enyo that they were safe from her - Enyo was almost as unforgiving as he was to the people of his past so he had a feeling that she would not let Nadia get away with it; despite not doing anything in the first place. But perhaps that was the point. Perhaps it was because Nadia and Declan did nothing to protect them that Enyo saw them as just as terrible as they. 

“Nadia?” Enyo taunted, almost in disbelief as she regarded her brother, then to the woman across the hallway from them.

[Nadia Delphi]

The young woman before her did in fact look fearful, and honestly that look haunted her. It reminded her of the looks the humans use to give her before she took their lives. Her brows tugged together as her face softened with worry. Her brows tugged into one, ‘I am not here to hurt anyone sweetheart. I promise to stay out of the way and I will do what ever I can to help if it is needed.’ Her voice was calm and gentle. Almost as if she actually had her shit together and not running from a psychopathic ex boyfriend. Nadine nodded with a small smile, ‘I do prefer animal blood before human now. Or demon or… anything else for that matter just— strictly animals.’ She waved her hand once before the girl dashed off to tend to what Braxton had asked of her.

But then, there was another issue… Enyo.

Enyo wasn’t exactly an issue and even though she had heard about Declan making passes at the child, she held no ill will towards her. It wasn’t her fault and Declan will soon enough pay for all the harm he’s done to everyone walking on this Earth and those who are long dead.

But a vampire from the mortal realm?! No, I smell trouble!

Sheesh, is this what all the demons thought of the vampires in the other realms? Animalistic, colonizing freaks who sought to— well? She bit into her bottom lip when Braxton had called her name. Honestly, the last thing she would’ve thought was that she’d run into the twins today. And in this get up?! Well, it was nice. Really sexy and chic but at what cost when she had to jump into a fucking dumpster?! She smelled and she was covered in filth. It made her want to peel her fucking skin off to be frank.

Turning on her heels, she inhaled deeply (as if she really needs it) and waved her hand before giving her a hesitant smile. Enyo looked displeased with her arrival. ‘Hi… uh, Enyo.’ She held her clutch in her chest and swallowed, ‘Look— listen, I know this looks fucking nuts ok?’ She slowly approached the pair, ‘I am not here to hurt anyone. I am simply seeking safety. Once I get out of these— clothes I can tell you all about it but fact of the matter is, your brother saved my life.’ Nadia looked up at Braxton with twinkling eyes, a soft smile curling up on her cute little face before looking back at his sister. ‘You don’t have to trust me. After what… history has taught all of us… vampires can’t be trusted. I may not be perfect and with my head screwed on right but that time of hurting others is over. And all I want to do is help.’

Honestly, she was sure Enyo wouldn’t give to shits about her case unless Nadia actually proved her loyalty to them. So all the talking didn’t mean shit. But, Nadia always did keep her word.—

After getting settled in her bedroom and having a bath, she got dressed in a black button down silk pajama set. Nadine then sat on her bed, kicking her little feet. Thinking about the question Braxton asked her in the alleyway.

why haven’t you just hired someone to kill him?

If only it were that easy. 

[Braxton Obscura]

Braxton watched the two women in silence; he could imagine that the words that sprung from Enyo’s mouth could have been quite hurtful to Nadia but he understood it. If it wasn’t Nadia, and Enyo brought back someone from another realm, he too would be pretty pissed off and likely a head would be rolling before Enyo or her guest had a chance to say anything to the contrary. Let alone bringing them into his home; it was a privilege to be granted access to The Obscura home, and invitations were not sent out lightly. So he got it, he understood Enyo’s behaviour and as long as the claws didn’t come out, which they hadn’t so far, it would likely to be okay; however, Enyo was unpredictable and not even Braxton could always predict her next move.

It was a welcoming relief that Enyo had allowed Nadia to speak her turn, even if it wouldn’t do much in the grand scheme of things; it was also a miracle that Enyo had stayed within their company in the first place and not pranced off to Hells know where to get away from her emotions. He caught his sisters gaze at the mention of how he saved Nadia’s life and Enyo raised her bow; he nodded in her direction, The High Lords expression slotting into place informing her that they would discuss it when Nadia was not present.

“Incorrect. No one can be trusted” Enyo responded and crossed her arms, leaning more so on her right hip. “You just happen to be a vampire who has relations with other, shitty vampires”

“Enyo” His tone was of a warning and she soon backed; respecting her brother more than words could ever truly say.

“I will catch up with you shortly, Nadia, to make sure that you have settled in” He gestured to Devia who had returned and felt confident that Devia would make sure Nadia felt at home. Once he was sure that Nadia was outside of hearing shot, he turned to his sister and sighed. 

“You have some explaining to do!” Enyo punched his chest, albeit there were undertones of playfulness to it - so he could just about assume he was slightly off the hook with her. “You saved her life, even after the fact she turned a blind eye to our family’s practice?!” She retaliated and bee lined to the alcohol cabinet and drank straight from the bottle; Braxton was one to use substances, that was no secret, but he was concerned about Enyo’s usage.

“I’m a monster, but not that kind of monster, En” He responded and leaned against the door frame. “You saw her, something doesn’t meet the eye with her relationship with Declan”

“Right. Well, lets hope that arsehole doesn’t come following her here” She growled, raised the bottle and shimmied her way past him to leave. “Don’t wait up” Enyo winked at Braxton and disappeared. 

Braxton found himself outside of the guest chambers and knocked; he was a man of his word, and wanted to ensure his staff had seen to her. 

[Nadia Delphi]

Incorrect. No one can be trusted.

Well, that much they both can agree on. The three of them, although not together, have been through their own trials in life and in death that proved that statement true. But truly, Nadine had nothing to lose here. All of her belongings, and weaponds remained in the mortal realm. Maybe she was a fool coming here unarmed. And because Enyo had shown Nadine that she didn’t trust her, perhaps— Nadine shouldn’t trust her either. But that wasn’t like her. She understood the importance of letting folks cross realms and vales. How those of different supernatural beings could be dangerous to others and while Nadine was clearly out numbered by Braxton and his many, many subjects and soldiers… she could have a detrimental impact on numbers if she were as evil as Enyo made her seem.

You just happen to be a vampire who has relations with other, shitty vampires.

Nadia’s eyes slightly grew and she could hear the sound of glass breaking in her ears. Or perhaps was that her feelings? Well, she could tell that she was no longer the nice sweet girl Nadine knew her to be. ‘I—‘ she wanted to speak. To say something to defend herself but she couldn’t. The fact of the matter was that it was true. Declan was a terrible individual and she got wrapped up in his shit on frequent occasions. But it wasn’t her fault. He made her that way. He made her irresponsible and mistrusting. Something’s she honed while being a princess in her human life, was ripped from her once she became… this.

Her gray eyes from from Enyo’s to look down at the floor beneath her feet when Braxton said her name in a warning tone. A big brother simply disciplining his little sister. She wished she had someone like that. To have her back no matter what. To talk to and to protect. But she was left in this world all alone… with no real idea on how to navigate it even after almost 400 years.

When he said he would catch up with her shortly, she nodded as Devia came to retrieve her and bring her to the quarters where she would be residing for as long as she wanted.

—

His words echoed in her head. Why haven’t you had someone kill him? Why? Kill? Declan? Why haven’t she? Probably because he was a mercenary on his own! He knew what people would look for. And how to find him. And he was a vampire. They are quite hard to capture, let alone kill. Timing and skill is everything and as of right now, that was hard to come by. Her small arms wrapped herself up in a gentle hug as she pondered the things that Enyo said as well. It was eating her up inside. To think about all the relationships she had molded by being nice and kind, they all probably thought of her that way because she was Declan’s partner. But it was time she made a name for herself. She wasn’t mean. She wasn’t evil and mistrusting. She was kind, giving, loving! The princess of Delphi and the daughter of the sun god! She wasn’t mean graceful and merciful! She will no longer allow people to associate her with him ever again.

Hearing his footsteps at the door, she quickly stood to her feet and opened the door before his knuckles could hit the wood a second time. A small pleasant smile curled up on her face when their eyes met. Her hair was wild with her curls and she now looked like somebody. ‘Hey… uh— would you like to come in?’ It was a harmless invitation really. And perhaps they’d take this time to really reminisce. 

But my… he was so beautiful. 

[Braxton Obscura]

Life of immortality never seemed to provide a dull moment; there always seemed to be something going on - some drama, some war and rivalry that shouted for his attention. Braxton supposed that if the mundane did trickle into immortality, then that would be a very long time to experience boredom; but perhaps, just once, a quiet day wouldn’t go amiss. As he walked down the winding corridor to the Guest Suite, he made a mental note to pencil a day or two where he could call upon his dragon and just fly. There would be no expectations, no council member whispering in his ear and no judgment calls. Yes, that sounded bliss and Braxton swore he could feel his dragon grumbling his approval deep within his chest. The sound of his knuckles echoed down the corridor which almost muffled her response and the polite invitation to enter her rooms. 

Braxton closed the door behind him and nodded his head in greeting. “It appears my staff have welcomed you warmly” He commented as he looked around; not that it needed it, but a fire crackled in the corner, he could smell the remnants of the bath and they had clearly gone to the kitchens to organise a platter of food for her. He indicated the balcony just left on the seating area. “You get a great view of the volcanic mountains from there too, and you’re far enough away from the centre that you won’t hear any of the hooligans when they get kicked out of the taverns.” He shook his head, even he could tell he was making pathetic small talk; but eventually, he exhaled and sat on the sofa opposite her; he gave her a once over to ensure she was well. 

“And now there is no physical evidence that anything like the like occurred only a few hours ago” Braxton grinned and leaned backward into the comfort of the sofa, and he could see that she was still trying to take everything in, as well as the new fact that both Braxton and Enyo live. Not only do they live, but they are the High Lord and Princess of a whole House of Demonic beings; it was clear they rule comfortably, and enjoy their new lifestyle - for humans that were looked over, and disregarded, they now held the attention of everyone. “I suppose, you in particular have many questions to ask me about how this has come to be” He grinned, although he wasn’t sure when it would be safe to take her down through the streets of The Vale; however, he supposed that her being here wasn’t a long term answer to this, and eventually she would need to go back to her home and figure it out. 

“But firstly, don’t take much mind from Enyo” Braxton began. “She has gone through a lot, and as you can imagine, trust is few and far between. You should have seen her when we first arrived here, warming up to any of the other residents of our territory was a mission and a half. The fights she started” He scoffed with amusement, shaking his head as he did so. “She is a firecracker, where she loves fiercely, she can also hate fiercely.” He attempted to word the next bit carefully. “She feels neither of these towards you…Yet. So how you decide to respond to us here, will influence her emotions towards you eventually”