“As you wish.” The Seer bowed his head in acceptance.
“Toviah, the vines are gone.” Bastian touched his cousin on the arm.
The Prince opened his eyes with new clarity. He remained still, afraid the thorns were still embedded in his flesh.
“Toviah.” Bastian gripped his cousin’s arm and shook him..
“Boo.” Toviah snapped back and watched as Bastian landed on his rear end from fright.
“You bastard.” Bastian chuckled as he stood up and brushed the damp dirt off his clothes.
Toviah smiled, glad he was still himself. He reached up to touch his neck, no sign of the vines and thorns ever being there. His focus zeroed in on his hunger, it burned deep within and he took in a staggered breath. His eyes focused on the doorway.
“Are you hungry, my Prince?” The Seer crouched down just out of reach.
Toviah’s eyes snapped to the Seer. The urge to feed overwhelmed him and he escaped out the door within a split second, too afraid to stay.
. . .
In the void of darkness and moonlight, Toviah found himself on the Palace balcony, waiting and watching the canal below. He had his fill of masked revellers on his way to the Palace, his hunger satiated, for now. The Prince watched the Blood Moon with careful wonderment. It’s glow now a muted orange that basked the Kingdom of Venezia. The Kingdom he would never rule.
“Toviah?” The Queen’s voice uncertain.
Toviah gripped the railing and it crumbled beneath his strength.
“Is that you, my son?” The Queen was rooted to the spot. He could hear her rapid heartbeat.
The Prince turned to come face to face with the Queen and the shocked look on her face made him smile. “Hello mother.” His eyes gleamed with fury.
“How? How did you escape?” The Queen clutched at her chest.
“Does it matter?”
“Guards,” she shouted.
“Hush will you.” Toviah prowled toward the woman who locked him up, his every movement exquisite and laced with power.
“Guards!” She shrieked and turned to run.
Toviah was in front of her before she managed to take a single step. He snarled, his teeth bright in the moonlight and lunged for her and tore her throat out. The Queen’s eyes stayed open as she dropped to the floor, her lifeless hands still clutched her chest.
“That was for locking me up,” he spat.
“Toviah.” The King stood in the palatial room, shock registered on his features. “What have you done, my son?”
“Nothing she didn’t deserve.” Toviah stepped over the Queen.
“Stay there.” The King held up his hands in warning.
Toviah stopped a few strides short of the King. Their eyes locked.
“Don’t do anything stupid.” The King retreated.
“I thought to kill you too, but if you leave this Kingdom for good, I will spare you.” Toviah’s icy glare sized up the King.
“Who will rule if I go?” The King questioned, all authority lost in is voice.
“You bequeath the Kingdom of Venezia to Bastian.”
“You cannot. This is unfathomable,” the King argued.
“You either do as I say or I will tear your throat out.”
“You foolish boy.”
“Last chance.” Toviah mused.
“I will leave, but you will not be welcome in this Kingdom until the end of time. Do you understand? They will kill you if they find you.” The King strode to his writing desk.
“I know.” Toviah watched as his father wrote the letter to leave the Kingdom to his nephew. The loud thud of the royal stamp made it final. The splatter of wax speckled the desk as the King threw the stamp in frustration.
“If we happen upon one another again, pretend you do not know me,” the King huffed before leaving the Palace for the final time.
. . .
The first strands of sunlight danced across the canal. Toviah breathed it all in, for it would be a very long time before he could step foot in his Venezia again. He would need to wait until all memories and folktales about the Blood Prince were forgotten, when the people of Venezia only thought of him as myth and legend.
Toviah bowed his head as he stepped on to the gondola. “Thank you for everything my friend. I am forever indebted to you. If ever you need my help, please send for me.”
“You have my word, my Prince. I will watch over Bastian as if he were my own.”
“Please let no harm come to him.” Toviah pulled the curtain of the cabin aside and took one last glance at his Kingdom.
“Good bye, my Prince. Your time to reign will come again.” The Seer disappeared into the morning mist.
The Prince climbed into the gondola and closed the curtain to shield himself from the sun. The gondolier steered them down the Grand Canal as the sun rose over the buildings and basked the Kingdom in its buttery glow, ready for yet another day of Carnevale. Caught in a memory of another time, the Prince left his Venezia behind without another glance. Headed to a destination where there were other’s like his kind. For, he promised himself he would find the one that bestowed this upon him. After all, he had until the end of eternity.
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Blood Prince, I hope you enjoyed getting to know Toviah as much as I enjoyed writing his back story. If you need more Toviah, you can find him in my novel Bequeathed. If you did enjoy this novella, the best thing you can do is leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. A short and sweet review is fantastic. Reviews help other readers determine if a book is to their liking and authors, especially indie authors, rely on such word of mouth to get our books in front of new readers. You can also click the link to my website to discover my new releases and sign up to my mailing list.
-Melinda Terranova
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Author’s Note
Blood Prince (Heir of the Blood Curse) Page 7
