Adam, to the outside world, was a strict man. A true warrior and a strong force to oppose. His look alone made people intimidated. The oppressive ruler facade was only a mask. His family knew him as a laughing drunk who played pranks and had the manners of a thug. Adam was a man who loved his family dearly. Even in front of a stranger, he couldn't control his emotions when his dead son was brought up, but he didn't feel like he lost face in front of Naralis. Still, he wiped away his tears and put his mask back on.

" I miss David every day and would do anything to bring him back, but it wasn't Edward's fault for his death. Please don't harbor ill will toward your brother and his friends."

The boys released their hugs and wiped away their tears before facing Adam again. All three of them could see the pain in his glassy bloodshot eyes. Amy maintained her elegance. Her shoulders were high with her legs crossed. Emily tried her best to mimic her stepmother's nobility, but the makeup running down her cheek gave it away. She missed David the most. All of Adam's children blamed Edward for David's death. Edward even blamed himself, but at this moment, they let go of some of that resentment.

" Once again Vulen, I apologize. And brother-" Maurice looked Edward in the eyes with sincerity and love for the first time in a while. " I apologize for blaming you for all this. If something happened to Amy, I wouldn't know what to do. All praise to Drac that she survived."

Edward hugged Maurice as hard as he could. Those few words were the most positive words Maurice had said to him in years. " I love you brother. Let's go back to how we were. I've missed you so much."

Maurice ruffled his younger brother's hair and the two shared a laugh that almost made Adam cry again. Adam slammed his palm on the armrest of his throne. " This is a cause for a celebration!" He rang a bell from his robe and female servants poured into the room." Prepare a feast and a boat load of alcohol!"

With that order, the servants hurried on to their jobs." Vulen, I hope you're planning on staying the night cause you're going to be too drunk to do anything tomorrow!" Edward laughed.

Amy smacked his arm with a frown. " God dammit Adam. What's the point of us practicing your damn etiquette if you are just going to fuck it off the next day!" The room turned quiet enough to hear a fly fart and everyone's eyes were on the woman with the potty mouth. Emily's jaw was on the floor. Though Amy wasn't her real mother, she looked up to Amy as if she was. Emily's real mother, Cassandra, wanted nothing to do with her because of her allegiance to her family. She didn't recognize Emily as her daughter and left her with her arranged husband. Emily admired how Amy carried herself. To her, Amy was the embodiment of a noble lady, until now.

"Mother!" Emily yelled with wide eyes.

" Cat's out the bag honey." Adam teased

" God damn it all! I'll be in the dining room." Amy stormed off mumbling curses under her breath. Emily looked at her father as if someone had killed her pet bunny.

" Amy is just like me. Maybe worse." Adam let out a sailors laugh." The whole noble lady thing is something her mother instilled in her. That's not her true face. That woman curses like a bandit!" Adam wiped tears from the corner of his eye. He laughed hard enough to cough uncontrollably.

" T-that.That can't be true. Mother is a lady of elegance!" She pointed at Adam with shaky arms." Take that back, you old piece of shit!!"

Naralis and the boys stifled laughs." Looks like the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!" Adam smacked his throne in laughter.

" Whatever. I don't have to take this shit." Emily gave them a piece of her mind and stormed out of the throne room.

" Ahh. This is what I envisioned my family like." Adam smiled."Let's go eat fellas. All of this emotional shit is making me hungry."

The trio made their way to the dining room. Along the way, Naralis couldn't help but admire the artwork depicting Adam's accomplishments on the wall. He asked as many questions as he could, which only fueled Adam's ego.

" Vulen hold back for a minute." Adam stopped him short of the dining room and the two brothers took their seats at the large table full of foods Naralis had never seen before." I don't know how to say this without sounding weird, but my wife is going to try to have sex with you."

Naralis' brow scrunched. Edward told him how possessive men are about their women. He hadn't experienced it himself, but he imagined it would be like someone taking his fries away from him.

' Is this some sort of test? I can't say that I'm not curious, but I could die over this. I'll turn it down.'

" I'll tur-"

" If you turn her down, you'll hurt her feelings. I don't mind Vulen. Amy is one of my favorite wives, but we don't love each other. Shit, I sleep with all the servants in my home. Why do you think they're all female?" Adam placed his hand on Naralis' shoulder." Amy is an old vampire."

" Even older than you?"

" Way older than me. She hits on all the younger guys to feel beautiful and fresh. I may contribute to her insecurities a bit because I haven't had sex with her since the day we conceived Maurice, but how much sex can a man have in one day." Adam chuckled.

" So you won't mind If I accept her offer?" Naralis tried to hide the excitement in his voice. Ever since his body was fixed, his feelings toward women had changed from innocent to horny and Amy looked like the crispiest fries ever in his eyes.

" Knock yourself out, kid. I think she needs it. Men don't accept her offers due to her status. They feel scared and emasculated, but I saw you eye sexing my wife the whole time in the throne room." Adam said with a smile.

Naralis lowered his head." My apologies sir. " Naralis said nervously.

" It's nothing. Now let's go eat. I see they brought out the seafood."

" Seafood?"

Naralis and Adam walked into the dining room. Maurice sat at the head of one side of the table and Adam made his way to the other head of the table. Maurice, Edward, and Emily shared one side of the table while Amy sat alone. Naralis almost sat beside Edward before Edward nudged him to sit beside Amy. Naralis sat down and  Amy filled his glass to the brim with wine. To everyone's surprise, Naralis gulped it down in one go.

" This juice tastes amazing! What is it? He asked Edward." That isn't juice you, big dummy." Edward said with a laugh." Drink too much and you won't be able to control yourself." Edward eyed Amy who tried her best to look innocent.

" Don't drink too much yet, Vulen. I have a test for you. You'll need your wits for it."

" A test? What will it be like?" Naralis asked.

" Don't worry. It's only a test of resolve." Adam continued to sip his wine.

" Oh, I forgot to announce. My full name is Naralis Vulen Zinrya." Naralis pulled out his gold ID.

Everyone's utensils dropped on their plates.

" You're royalty Vul- I meant Naralis? Maurice said with a hint of fear. Adam understood why. If Maurice harmed someone from a powerful house, it would mean war.

" Yes, but from what I know, my parents are dead and my siblings would kill me if they saw me. " Adam pondered if he ever heard of a Zinyra family, but he was happy there wouldn't be bloodshed behind his son's blunder.

Dinner went on nicely. Naralis filled his plate with fried shrimp and buttery crab while everyone told stories of battle and life. All of the etiquette Edward had taught him was thrown away. His food was all over his face and his fingers were greasy. Amy couldn't help but laugh at Naralis talking to Edward with a mouthful of shrimp. She cleaned a piece of food on his lips with her finger and sucked it seductively. Naralis froze in place and the fabric between his legs pitched up like a tent.

" Before you, two love birds defile each other, clean yourself up and everyone follow me." Moments later, Adam led them underground. A large door was guarded by two big armored men wielding spears the size of them. As soon as they saw Adam, they bowed and opened the door, The sounds of screaming men echoed through the underground prison. The stench of death and feces made it hard to breathe. Edward and Emily had to cover their noses.

" Father, what are we doing here?" Edward had been here before. When the Sullivan home was attacked, Adam caught one of the perpetrators and imprisoned him there. Adam gave Edward a choice. He could avenge his brother David by killing the chained man or let him live out his days in jail. Edward, to Adam's disappointment, didn't have it in him to kill, but Maurice sliced the intruder's throat with no hesitation.

" Quite Edward. This is Naralis' test. This will determine if I allow him to protect you.". The cells had no bars. They were more like doors, with cracks big enough just to allow air in the rooms. Adam was already impressed with Naralis. The sounds of men being decapitated and tortured hadn't fazed him a bit. His other three children looked as if they lost all the blood on their faces. Adam stopped in front of a cell and a nearby guard gave him a key. As the door opened, the metallic smell Naralis knew so well wafted in his nose. He gulped to suppress the urge to throw up.

' Endure! This is nothing! You are Edward's sword. This is nothing!' He confirmed his resolve and walked into the cell. A bald man was chained by his limbs from the ceiling and floor. Around him were tables full of tools meant for torture.

Naralis could feel the memories he tried so hard to suppress resurface.

Naralis stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn't take a step further. The cell around him started to spin as he fell to his knees. Edward tried to run to his side, but his father stopped him with just a raise of his hand.

" But father, he can't do this!" Maurice held back tears as best he could. He knew this was his fault.

" I noticed just from his eyes alone that he wasn't ok. I didn't expect him to be, but you can't protect someone while having so much inner turmoil. This is your test Naralis. Tortue this man."

The man laughed. " You finally came, you bastard. I was wondering when the big bad patriarch would come."

" Torture this man Naralis," Adam said sternly. His patience was running thin. He liked the Naralis more than any of his other friends, but it was visible that he wasn't sane. Until he got this under control, there was no way he was protecting his son.

" I-I-I can-"

" We found this man trailing Edward. The one you vowed to protect. You're going to let him get off?"

The switch flipped and Adam could see it. Naralis stood and stared daggers into the chained man.

"That's a scary fucker there." He grinned." You look like my kind! You're going to let this crazy fucker guard your kid!?" Naralis' sudden change scared everyone.

'My son chose well, but Knox isn't wrong. This is the look of a ravenous beast.'

Naralis slowly approached Knox. Knox tried his best to look tough, but he couldn't deny the eerie feeling Naralis gave off.

" You tried to kill Edward?" His voice lacked any emotion. Knox looked him in his eyes and tried to think of something witty, but he could see death floating around Naralis as if he was hallucinating.

" I've been tortured by the best kid. There is nothing you can do to break me. I'm Knox for god's sake!"

Naralis remained cold and expressionless." Who said I was going to torture you?" Naralis plunged his hand through Knox's throat. Everyone stood in shock. All of them had seen their fair share of bloodshed, but Naralis looked like he belonged in this underground jail. Naralis removed his and looked at Adam with eyes he'd only seen on demons. With his bloody hand still raised, Naralis asked," Did I pass?"

" With flying colors," Adam said with a grin.