General Sterling

I'm Not Apologizing

    His name is Adrian Sterling. He is the spitting image of Armad. The blue in his eyes, however, is closer to teal than blue. Closer to the color that my power turned into after our mating. They're beautiful. Lime green specks make his eyes stand out a little more against his dark hair. Unlike Armad, there is no rage in his eyes. He's soft. A kind boy with the body of a soldier and the responsibility of seven hundred Sterlings. 

    "Do you have any questions for me?" he asked. His voice is deep and annoying. I bet he sounds just like Armad when he's mad.

    "Not really," I admitted. "I just wanted to see you for myself," 

    "May I?" he asked motioning the armchair across from me. The closer he is the calmer I feel. "I'm mated and I understand how you feel. When I found my mate, she had been marked and she has two beautiful daughters. I wanted nothing more than to hurt her when I found out. To make her feel what I'm feeling but-" he paused. "Not having her would have been worse and I didn't learn the circumstances of what happened to her until much later," 

    "You're terrible at this," I laughed. He grinned and let out a heavy sigh. "He was too. He would make me feel a lot worse about something else so that I'd stop thinking about what hurt me at that moment. Did you ever interact with him?" 

    "As an infant and when I began training," he nodded. "He was around to help me with blood and then my transition. He explained to me why I had been born and that he wished that he could give me more but that fate had other plans," 

    "We're about the same age," I shrugged. He nodded. 

    "Yes, you're ten years older than I am," he smiled. 

    "You look just like him. You have the same scent. It's kind of weird," I cleared my throat. They're so similar but I'm no longer attracted to the scent of the calm he brings. "I was upset at first. Homicidal. It runs in my blood," we both laughed. "Now that I have you in front of me. I can't help but feel better about this. I was afraid that my son would only have half of his origin growing up. If you're okay with it, I'd like you to teach him about his Sterling heritage," 

    "I would love that. I've been taking care of the covens for about thirty years now. After the camps, I was able to really settle into the role my grandmother put in front of me. I've always wanted to have someone to share that with," 

    There it is. The softness that made me fall in love with Armad. The one thing he shared with me when no one was looking. This boy has it down to the point. I don't have that. Most days I smile because I'm making fun of someone or laughing at someone who is being made fun of by someone else. I want my son to have that small thing that comes with who his father was. I want him to have that purity that brought so many people together. 

    "Thank you for coming down here and accepting this weird request," 

    "Weird requests are kind of a Sterling specialty," he cleared his throat. How right you are, kid.

    "Did General Darius explain to you how we will be handling things?" 

    "Yes, my Queen. I've already given her two pints. It should be sufficient for the next two weeks. Once I feed and gain my strength, I'll come back. However, if you'd like I can just stay here," 

    "No, that won't be necessary. I know your mate wouldn't like you away from her too long and I know you wouldn't like that either. You are his son," 

    "Thank you. I am very grateful for your generosity," he bowed. 

    "You're the generous one, Adrain," his eyes flared with excitement. Something tells me this kid rarely ever gets complimented. It's another s**t Sterling tradition. Expectations. "What kind of abilities do you have?" 

    "Wind and electricity," he answered and then smirked. "Would you like to see?" 

    "Yes, please," I laughed. He held his hand out with his palm up. A gush of air surrounded me and turned into a small airball in the center of his hand before it turned green. I reached for it feeling the intense heat in it. "Throw it," 

    He released it. Not only did it demolish the wall to my parent's bedroom when the wind dispersed the electricity in the ball disintegrated everything in its path. I looked over at the boy and smiled. That is amazing. Impressive doesn't even begin to cover it.

    "That's it," he shrugged. 

    "Don't belittle it, Adrian. That is a formidable attack. Your father would be proud," his eyes sparkled before he looked away with a small smile tugging on his lips. "I'm really glad I met you," 

    "When my grandmother came home crying last night, I didn't think that would be the case," he admitted. I laughed. 

    "f**k your grandmother. f**k her for doing this. f**k her for putting such a big-ass burden on you and Armad. And definitely f**k her for being right all the f*****g time. None of this is your fault. I was mad and  I said some pretty messed up things to her and my mother. I'm just not ready to apologize to them just yet," 

    "We have incoming. Fish girl," Raj shouted from the staircase. I looked over at Adrian. 

    "You can go home. I've got it from here," I promised him. 

    "If you need anything and I mean anything from me, never hesitate to ask," he bowed.

    "Oh s**t," both Raj and Dom shouted as Adrian and I made our way down the stairs. He smiled at me before he rushed out. 

    "That..?" Dom shook her head. 

    "That's Adrian. Armad's son," I explained. 

    "He looks just like him," Raj whispered. 

    "He's a sweetheart. Where is Rayna?" 

    "Outside with her mom," Dom answered. "Which is why I'm here. I have seawater," she held the bottle up to show us. "Smells gross," 

    "They all do," Raj rolled her eyes. "Are you sure about moving the counsel closer to them? Atlantis is kind of-" 

    "I promised," I stopped her. "Rayna saved me. I owe her and her people for how far we've come. Be nice," 

    "Alright," she nodded. We walked outside. The fresh air feels good. Cold nights are coming in. They're my favorite. 

    "Eddie," Rayna rushed over to me and wrapped her long arms around me. I forget she's super tall. 

    "Ray, what are you doing all the way out here? Was there a problem with the construction of the new temple? I spoke to Ethious yesterday, he said everything was going according to plan," 

    "No, no, everything with the new temple is going perfect. The witches you and Daegon sent are incredible. Ethious is actually talking working contracts," she smiled. "They will be embursed handsomely,"

    "I'm pleased," I nodded. "I'd invite you inside, however, the castle is kept warm from my siblings and me. I know you don't like it too warm,"

    "I like it out here," she nodded. 

    "What's going on?" I asked. 

    "Okay, where do I begin," she laughed. "The spell we performed didn't just work on Atlantis," she pulled out her tablet and handed it to me. "These are news clips from all over the world. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Russia, England," 

    "Forgotten Cities," I looked over at her. She nodded. 

    "Oh, s**t," Raj came over to us. "This is a problem," 

    "Most were abandoned or maybe the people didn't survive the flood. There are three that are completely colonized. Two have made contact with us but there's one that we're having trouble getting into," 

    "Really?" I asked looking her over. 

    "Yes, I've lost three men to his gates already," she lowered her head. I reached for her making her look up at me. 

    "Where?" 

    "Russia," Raj answered. "It's King Leon Perun. The son of the Russian God of War. We called his father the Lion of Darkness. Mortals esteemed him a God,"

    "What?" I asked looking over at her. She smiled. 

    "He obviously wasn't a God. He was a vampire. The first male vampire of your kind. Banished and removed from history because he-" 

    "He what?" Dom asked. 

    "He had a son with the goddess Zuluna. My grandmother," she laughed. 

    "You're joking," I laughed. 

    "No, the people considered him a god because no one was able to stop him until the creator himself came down and unleashed his holy wrath to get my grandmother back. It was too late by then, the child had already been born and the kid took after his father. He was the greatest warlord known in Darkness until Armad came along. His people are just as insane as he is. They were sealed away by the goddess along with all the other cities that could pose a threat to humanity," 

    "And we just unleashed them all into the world?" I asked. She nodded excitedly.

    "This is my fault," Rayna sighed. 

    "Hey, it's fine. We'll take care of it," I promised. "Clear the area. Pull your men back. We keep this between us for now," 

    "I'm sorry, Eddie. I didn't mean-" 

    "Hey, you did what was right for your people. There's nothing wrong with that. I did the same for mine," 

    "I'll let you take lead since he's one of yours," 

    "Thank you," I nodded. She excused herself. 

    "Thank you for not raging," Azreal smiled at me. "My brother speaks very highly of you. I can see why now," 

    "She did what she had to and without her, I wouldn't have been able to pull us out of Purgatory. He's a vampire. I can handle him. Do we know anything about the other lost cities?" 

    "One of them is ours. In Jerusalem. The other belongs to the wolves in Mexico. We're going to have to keep an eye on the White fang. I know you've established a relationship with the wolves but they've betrayed us more than once, E. You're not the Queen but you are a champion and this implicates all of us. 

    "Wolves have the numbers to take on all of us. Those things breed insanely fast and with what Cass did with her soul abilities, she's made a few stronger and it won't be long before they start replicating the process in others when word gets out," 

    "I'll have my General look into it. Make contact with your side. I'll call Aren," 

    "Excuse my imprudence, but Aren Glass despite her place outside of Darkness, is not someone you should rely on for things like this. She's nothing but a glorified beta princess," 

    "She's the only one of them who is capable of handling any political subject. The white fang and her mates are damaged. You know what a damaged mind can do our patriarch. Until they decide who will take the Lycan seat in our counsel, Aren will be taking care of things," 

    "I don't like this," she shook her head. 

    "It's all I've got for now. I have people on Aren. We're tracking their every move. Everyone's not just the wolves," I assured her. She looked me over and smiled. 

    "My uncle did create a little monster," she smirked. "I'll leave it you then," 

    "She didn't even look at me," Raj sighed. "I hate her more than I hate Abaddon," 

    "Why her?" 

    "She firmly believes I deserved everything I got for being Lucifer's spawn," she shrugged. 

    "Alright, what do you have on the half-blood?" I asked. 

    "Half-blood? You too are a half-blood," she laughed. 

    "Fully born of Darkness. He's not. He's half us. Half celestial," I laughed. "It feels shitty to say that especially because I was hazed as a child," 

    "Same, but now the people have a common enemy and will leave us alone. Before you say anything, I should remind you that you are a hundred times stronger than you will ever be because you are with child. Now, I know I can't stop you from going but I will ask to come with to ensure the safety of your people who don't know you are in charge," 

    "You can come," 

    "Yes," she clapped her hands. "I am going to make a travel bag for your snacks and blood. Also, you're going to want to change into something formal. Leon is f*****g insane and if you're dressed like a slob, he will have a massive problem with it," 

    "Am I?" I asked looking down at my body. Rayna sent me flexible clothes since I'm pregnant. I'm quite comfortable. 

    "You are dressed in clothes that women of this era use to sweat in. I can see you abdomen," 

    "It's a sports bra. Rayna and her sister wear this all the time," 

    "Yeah, Rayna and her sister flop around in the ocean all day. You are a vampire. You need to learn the meaning of fashion,"     

    I rolled my eyes and began to make my way over to my parent's study. They're both working on all the paperwork I would be had I taken the throne. I don't want to but I'm going to have to after Damian is born. They both stopped and looked up at me. Dad stopped what he was doing and smiled, mom just went back to what she was doing.

    "Ask your daughter what she wants," my mom addressed my dad. He looked up at me with a grin. 

    "I'm going out. There's something I have to settle and there's no one else who can take care of it," I informed them.

    "Remind her that she is with child which means her abilities are doubled to what they usually are," my mom added. 

    "I'm not apologizing to you if that's what you want," I glared at her. 

    "I want you to apologize to Lady Sterling. You have no idea how much the poor woman has sacrificed for us," 

    "On your behest, mother. You expect me to go along with all lives you ruined just because you believed it was the right thing to do for me?" she looked down at the table. "Oh come on. Don't do that. You think I don't know about Ada or Lady Sterling? I understand what you did and why. Especially now. It doesn't mean that Damian is going to forgive everything I did simply because I am his mother. Be realistic. 

    "You and dad have done enough for our sake. We are grateful but now we have to fix things. We have to make all of your wrongs right and there are a lot. I'm not apologizing for being angry at you or at Lady Sterling. I've lost a lot to the choices you've made. Armad died because of the first law. I know you loved him more than I ever got the chance to, mother. He was your friend and now he's gone. Don't you feel any kind of remorse?" 

    "I don't have time for stupid things like that," she rolled her eyes. "Neither do you," 

    "Of course not. You're already dead inside. You're just waiting to see when it'll happen to the rest of us," 

    "Edwardian," my dad scolded. "Enough," 

    "Why? Does it hurt you?" I asked her. Her eyes met mine as I walked over to her. She tried to look away but I didn't let her. "Take a good look at me, mother. It should look familiar. I am exactly what you wanted me to be. I am like you in every way. The only thing I get from dad is my sentimentality. Everything else is you," 

    "Edwardian," Philip appeared at the doorway with Raj behind him. "That's enough. Go get dressed," 

    "When I come back, I'd like for everything you're attached to, to be packed away. It's not safe here anymore. Pick anywhere you like. I want Duke Manor demolished by the end of the week," I stepped away. 

    "What time do you plan on returning?" she asked. 

    "I don't know. It's a long flight there and I hear getting in will be difficult. If things go my way, it can be a few days. If they don't I'll blow the entire place to hell and be back by tomorrow," 

    "Where are you going, again?" my dad asked. 

    "I never said," I smiled at him.  "I'm taking Raj'Zeil with me," 

    "Oh, no," he complained. "Please, do not start a war anywhere. It's too soon," 

    "Our best behavior, former King. We promise," Raj saluted him.

    "I'm not making any promises. But we can't go to war with people who technically don't exist,"

    "Subtle," Raj laughed. "Come. I have lots of cute things for you to wear. He likes red and gold and you, princess were born for it,"