BloodStar

Nero meditated at the bottom of a shallow staircase leading up to an imposing throne deep within Bella Domina.

He had been there for nearly 12 hours honing his mental fortitude as he waited for Xenia to return. Suddenly, the moment he had been waiting for arrived.

A small flicker of electricity appeared and quickly turned into a black void from which Xenia stepped through and into her throne room at Bella Domina.

She smiled down at Nero from the steps above, “Sorry to keep you waiting Nero, darling. Constance and I had the time of our lives together. We only wish you could’ve joined.”

Nero grunted and went from his meditative position to a kneel, “I am glad you have returned alive; however, every time you leave this cathedral, you risk being seen. You risk death. You risk the future of your bloodline powers.”

Xenia flipped her hair over her shoulder, “Your concern for me is endearing, but I assure you Nero… I am far more powerful already than you realize.” She then began to walk down the stairs towards him, “You may rise, Nero.”

Nero stood from his kneeling position and continued to emphasize his point to her, “You may very well be more powerful already than I realize; however, I do not believe you are powerful enough to survive the combined threats of the world should you be discovered to live.”

Xenia walked past him largely ignoring his comment, “Do we still have the invitation to the Scorched Shadow Masquerade Ball this weekend? I would like to go. I must get out of this place and have more fun. Constance is a bad influence on me, isn’t she?”

Nero stared her down with a serious face, “I cannot leave Bella Domina without arousing suspicion as I have committed to remain here to St. Michael and the remainder of the Allied Forces leaders. Furthermore, the RSVP date for the Masquerade ball has expired. Lastly, it goes without saying, visiting such an event would create an unneeded risk towards you being discovered.”

Xenia assumed a serious expression of her own, “You are an emperor consort! Deadlines do not apply to individuals such as yourself! Flex your royal might, Nero. Flex it for me, and we will arrive unannounced.”

Nero couldn’t refute that he had inherited an enormous degree of power and respect from his BloodStar Immortal title. He also liked the sound of doing something purely for his empress. Xenia walked closer to him and took his hand with her own, “You’ll leave Bella Domina for me, won’t you?”

He paused for a moment weighing his directives of protecting Xenia and serving her. She smiled at his internal struggle, “I promise to be on my best behavior. I’ll be your little servant girl if you please. Following you around like a whipped pup all night at the party.”

Nero nodded his head, “If you promise to be on your best behavior. If you promise to suppress your impulses should an unexpected event, desire, or urge occur, I will take you.”

Xenia shrieked with excitement, “Thank you Nero!! Thank you!!” However, her excitement was interrupted.

Nero shouted over her gleeful exclamations, “But before I take you!...”

Xenia stopped celebrating and looked to him intently. He then continued, “Before I take you. You must prove to me you are more powerful than I realize.”

Xenia’s serious face slowly morphed into one of great amusement as a wide smirk formed on her face, “If I must, I will prove it to you, Nero. But just remember… you asked for it.”

She walked a circle around Nero running her hand along his back and then around to his chest. She then dropped her hand and turned as she walked off, “Meet you in thirty minutes downstairs to spar in the lower-level training arena. Don’t take me lightly Nero. You might just end up dead.”

Nero watched her disappear into the dark cathedral halls. Once she disappeared, he smiled to himself, “I hope I end up dead. I hope you have the power to defeat me. I crave to see Empress Xenia Victoria BloodStar rise to the top of this world through power, ultimate power.”

________________________________

Constance and Vega walked from the Khan Castle gym up to the seaside terrace overlooking a calm bay. Vega looked out over the ledge to admire the view, “Wow! This is beautiful. Such a stunning view might help me take my mind off of you kicking my ass all over the sparring mat. How the hell did you become so proficient in hand-to-hand combat with no ki anyways?”

While Vega leaned forward admiring the view, Constance leaned with her back to the view looking at Vega, “I am so good because for most of my life I trained with Xenia… and she was the real deal… She was a 10th degree black belt. With Empress Victoria and Xenia’s deaths, there are now only two 10th degree black belt grandmasters in the world. ”

Vega shook his head, “Incredible. Is there anything you can’t do Constance?”

She played with her ponytail smiling, “Well, I can’t dance. Remember? And I’m only a 9th degree black belt, so I’ll likely never reach the 10th degree designation now that Xenia is dead.”

Vega nodded, “Master Heraklinos is a 10th degree black belt. Why don’t I ask him to help us all train?”

She flipped her hair behind her and folded her arms underneath her big boobs and sports bra across her exposed abdomen, “You don’t know Master Heraklinos very well, do you? He hardly trains Jacek. And don’t forget, I recently broke into a high-security archive on palace grounds and stole from him.”

She made a humorous ‘whoops’ expression on her face, and Vega laughed, “Okay, fair points. Who is the other 10th degree black belt?”

Constance didn’t immediately answer him. Instead she removed her shoes and stood on the ledge of the terrace. “When I was much younger, I used to dive from here down into the bay.”

Vega had a worried look on his face, “Whoa, Constance, that’s extremely dangerous. Get down from there. You could drown, hit your head on a rock, get caught in a rip tide. Even the most powerful of ki users need oxygen to breathe.”

She turned to face him, “Meet me down there, and I’ll tell you who the other 10th degree black belt is!”

With expert form, she then dove off of the ledge performing no less than 5 flips before exiting into a dive which allowed her to slip into the water’s surface with hardly a splash.

She resurfaced above the water and yelled up at Vega, “Come on!! The water feels great!”

Vega hadn’t felt such anxiety over something in quite some time; however, he removed his shoes and shakily stood atop the ledge looking down over the bay. The serene view had suddenly turned dangerous.

He gulped and called out, “Okay, you win! Here I come!”

He jumped, just jumped, with no fancy diving or other techniques, and he landed clear of the rocks with a loud and messy splash. He resurfaced above the water to find Constance treading water 15 yards from him with a huge smile clapping for him, “Bravo! Bravo General Magnus!”

Vega swam over to her with a huge smile, “You really know how to get people out of their comfort zones don’t you?”

She put her arms over his shoulders and loosely folded them around his neck, “Isn’t that where we find out who we really are? Am I helping you find out who you really are, General?”

“I like who I am when I’m with you, Mistress Khan.” Vega and Constance gazed into one another’s eyes until finally they each leaned in for a romantic kiss in the privacy of the Khan Island Bay.

After kissing, Constance smiled at him, “I like who we are together, Vega. Even if it has some problematic implications in the world.”

Vega swam with her to the shore of the beach, “When it’s just us, like right now, we don’t have to worry about those implications.”

Vega leaned back on his hands as he sat on the beach, and Constance laid her head in his lap as they watched and listened to the small waves break near their feet.

She looked up at him from his lap, “So, do you wanna know who the other grandmaster is? You did earn it with that cliff dive even if your form was… lacking.”

“Hey! Come on! I was scared to death! But yes… tell me.” Vega laughed with her.

“The other one is Ashrok of the Ru-Shai-Ra.” Constance let out a deep sigh, “He doesn’t like for people to know though. I wouldn’t mention it unless you want him showing up in the middle of the night.”

Vega was a little surprised, “Ashrok?! The Blood Wraith, Nightmare Ki, legendary and mysterious Ru-Shai-Ra leader?”

Constance nodded her head, “Yep.”

“Well, holy shit. Just another reason to be scared of that guy.” Vega was genuinely surprised but then said, “But aren’t you friends with him? Couldn’t he train you to the 10th degree level?”

Constance gave out a genuine laugh, “Friends? No, No, No. He’s more like a co-worker. He and I worked together when we were ordered to, or when our interests serving the BloodStar Empire aligned, but I don’t exactly go to the movies and have dinner with him. In fact, I’m pretty sure he would rather kill me than hangout together.”

Vega nodded his head, “That actually checks out. People even say the air around him is cold with a chill of death. Is that true?”

Constance had a chill run down her body, “I get chills just thinking about it, yes. He’s so creepy but also so talented.”

She then sat up from his lap, “Speaking of talent, or lack thereof, are you ready for a quick rematch in pool before dinner with Erika and Jacek?”

“Are you sure you want to wet your palate with the bitter taste of defeat before dinner?” Vega stood and outstretched his hand to help her up.

She smirked at him, “I do find confidence sexy Vega, but I think in this case yours may be misplaced!”

The two laughed together as they began their walk back up to the castle to have a much-anticipated rematch.

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