Two Hearts: The Hunt [Slowly Editing]

Chapter Thirty-Six

A/N- Yes, I know it's short but I've had zero time to write. Senior year isn't even hard - there's just a lot going on in my life at the moment. ANYWAY I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

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Adrianna's POV

"This is it?" I asked in surprise as Caleb's let the car crawl to a stop in front of... well, nothing. Before us, the same road we had spent past ten minutes on stretched out infinitesimally into the hazy, mountainous distance, the same stretches of deep green forest framing it on either side. The only things that could have hinted at the fact that we were entering foreign territory was that the road seemed to flatten from where we were, the hills that defined Fairview Hills reducing from high waves riddled with steep rises and sharp falls to nothing but subtly raised ridges on the road, spread great distances apart so that encounters with such landforms were hardly even occasional. A wooden sign with white lettering was rooted into the grass beside the forest at the side of the road, reading: Thank you for visiting Fairview Hills.

There were those things and the smell. Wet, dirty-putrid. I fought very hard not to scrunch up my nose, more for Caleb's sake than my own. "This is the infamous wolf border keeping us apart?"

Caleb gave me a look. "Yes. What were you expecting? Literally a line of wolves sitting side by side, marking the boundary line? A yellow line spray painted into the grass?"

Now it was my turn to give him a sour look. "No. I just... Marandici Kingdom's border entrance is a lot more... private. And it has flagpoles. Although only we can see them."

"Well, your border is in a totally different dimension," Caleb pointed out. "And we don't even have a legit entrance into the wolf lands. We just walk through. Of course, we have to be careful that no humans are watching us because it'd be kind of weird to see someone walking disappear into thin air. And meanwhile, our border patrollers usually keep watch of anything suspicious-including any smell," he finished in emphasis.

"Oh."

"Flagpoles," Caleb scoffed in a low mutter. "Leave it to you royal vampires to hint at your own aestheticism from even the outside of your domains."

"Hey," I spoke up defensively, "the flagpoles mark the name of our Kingdom for other vampires from other Kingdoms to see. It gives us an identity. Besides," I added, "It's not even that nice-looking anymore. Not after what King Alexandru did to it." I felt my eyes darken, but I couldn't help it. The hate that I had always harbored for my uncle had managed to increase in both extent and magnitude now that I knew of what he did to my father. His brother.

I clenched my fists, staring out into the endless stream of concrete road that cut through the forests bordering it.

Caleb said nothing. Just put his hot hand over my curled, tightened one. I could feel his eyes on me, a question mark of whether or not I was okay. But I wasn't okay. I missed my Kingdom. I had missed it for a long time, even while I was living there under King Alexandru's rule. It seemed that when my father died, Marandici Kingdom died along with it.

And although I couldn't bring one back, at least I could try to revive the other.

My mother, I already knew, would completely blow off my revelation about her husband's death. She would ask for proof, and I didn't have that. Besides, I had this horrible feeling that even if she did believe me, she wouldn't dare act on it because that would lead to conflict, and my mother hated any sort of trouble that involved her. And I definitely couldn't waltz into Marandici Kingdom and confront King Alexandru about how I knew he killed my father. He would threaten me with unveiling my secret just as he always had, and I couldn't find the courage to let him.