The Half-Blood Princess by Mihaela Bogdan (best books to read for self improvement TXT) 📖

outside and teach these intruders that it is not excusable what they are trying to do! Dragomir, Cornelius lead the way!
  After father’s orders were given, the vampires rushed outside to fight those town people. Only three persons stood, the blond female vampire and the red-haired twins. Me and grandpa were all alone with them in the living room. I went in front of her and asked:
  -If you don’t mind, why didn’t you go with the others?
  -Someone has to protect Cornelius’s future wife; she said with a cold voice.
  -How do you know him?
  -I raised Cornelius when his father was too busy with half-bloods. He is like a son to me and I hate to see him suffer. I don’t like you because your kind made Dragomir to neglect his only child. If you pass your initiation, I may change my mind; her eyes were pointing at grandpa.
  -I will finish it later, now we have bigger problems. By the way, what’s your name?
  -Miranda, and these two are my daughters: Scarlet and Rose.
  I looked at the twins and saw a small difference between them: Scarlet had thinner lips and above them a birthmark shaped as a heart, while her sister had a rose shaped birthmark near her left eye.
  -What are you going to do? Miranda asked me.
  -First, I will take grandpa to my bedroom and then join father in battle.
  -And you’re going to get killed! She said sarcastically.
  The sound of battle from outside made Miranda change her mind quickly:
  -Scarlet, Rose protect the mortal. I will go with the princess.
  While grandpa was heading to my bedroom with his new guards, me and Miranda went to the hallway. Before leaving, I took a sword from an empty armor. Miranda saw it and asked:
  -What are you doing with it?
  -It is the only weapon I know how to use.
  -When you’ll be one of us, I must teach you how to fight bare handed.
  Outside was a real battlefield: vampires and mortals fighting to the death. The town people used burning torches and swords, while the vampires were relying on their supernatural powers. On the ground, bleeding human corpses were being drought by the injured vampires to heal their wounds and defeat the ones still living.
  The sight made me stand like a statue, watching them open mouthed, not noticing that Miranda left me to join her kind. I was searching for father when someone put an empty bag on my head and took me on his shoulders. While being carried this way, I dropped my sword. The air was getting thinner with every second that went by.
  I must do something before I run out of air. I refuse to go down without a fight, even though I don't have any important skills.
  -Who are you? Let me go! I screamed but no use. After tying my arms and legs, the mysterious kidnaper took the bag off. It was Amen and he brought me on the rooftop.
  -You! I said frightened and surprised at the same time. What are you doing?
  -Getting my revenge; he said looking angry towards me.
  -But what did I ever do to you?
  -You used your hypnotic spells on me, making me fall in love with you. I thought you were a rich girl, reason why I was planning to make you my wife and finally leave the middle class life behind for good. But then, I found out that you and your precious father are monsters, blood-sucking demons! Thanks to you, my dream of becoming a rich man is nothing but a dream. I plan to kill you and your kind and steal every valuable object from this castle. Maybe I will make it my own. Why not?!
  He was nervous and walked around me while he was talking. He began to brag about how he will transform this castle into his own heroic museum, how people from all over the world will see him as a hero and other stupid visionary things.
  -Thanks to you, my ticket to a wealthy life is gone for ever! He shouted pointing to me.
  Tears began to roll down my cheeks. I couldn’t believe my eyes and ears. The man standing in front of me was the same one I fall in love with for the first time in my life. I looked into his eyes and asked:
  -Did you ever love me? Or you just wanted me for what I had?
  -My dear, if loving you means loving your beautiful body and wealth, then yes, I loved you.
  He started giggling and put a silver pocket knife under my chin:
  -Say hello to Linda for me.
  -Linda?
  -Oh, of course! Excuse me for not telling you earlier that ...
  He told me with an evil satisfaction how my dearest Linda was tortured and killed like a witch, when she had no guilt at all. She was a good person, with a pure heart that never harmed a soul and yet her people turned against her. After Amen finished his horrible details, I screamed at him, releasing all the anger kept inside of me, during Amen’s cruel story:
  -HOW DARE YOU CALL THE VAMPIRES BLOOD-SUCKERS, WHEN YOU AND YOUR PEOPLE ARE WORSE. AT LEAST VAMPIRES KILL TO SURVIVE, LIKE A WOLF DOES TO HIS PRAY, YOU HUMANS KILL FOR FUN AND FOR YOUR OWN SELFISH GOALS!
  -ENOUGH, HYBRID!
  Amen raised his knife and wanted to strike, but Cornelius appeared out of nowhere and pushed him against the wall. The impact made Amen drop the knife and grabbed Cornelius by his wrists to get loose. But Cornelius was stronger than Amen.
  -I think you need this more, love; Cornelius said throwing the knife next to me.
  After I untied myself, I went near the two men:
  -Cornelius, as a punishment for his crime against Linda, Amen will take grandpa Daniel’s place. He will be my first victim! Do you have something against it?
  -Good choice! I hate to admit it, but that old butler doesn’t deserve to die like this, even if he’s a mortal. This blond idiot on the other hand ...
  Cornelius put Amen between us, so I can do what it had to be done. I knew he wanted to kill Amen with his own hands, but for an unknown reason he let me do it instead. It wasn’t a good moment, but I realized who truly loved me all this time, Cornelius. But I must focus on other important task for now. I raised my right hand with the knife in it and said with cold voice to Amen:
  -May Linda forgave you for the way you betrayed her.
  SLASH
  I hit Amen right in his heart. Warm blood began streaming from the knife, staining my hand. Before giving his last breath, Amen tried to say something, but the blood streaming from his mouth and nostrils didn’t aloud the words to be heard. After his body became a worthless corpse, Cornelius dropped it on the floor, with the knife in it. I looked at my hand, closed my eyes and licked the blood until my hand was clean.
  Seeing that I managed to do so, Cornelius asked concerned:
  -Are you fine now?!
  I wanted to answer but I got dizzy and fainted. When I opened my eyes, I saw everything in a pale shade of red and felt an easy toothache.
  -Look at you now, princess! I hate to say it but you look better with red eyes and fangs.
  I turned my head to see Miranda and her daughters standing near my bed. Cornelius was on the other side watching me as if I was some sort of a miracle.
  -What is it, Cornelius? Don’t I look good as a vampire? I asked him, noticing my invisible reflection in the mirror.
  -If you could see yourself through my eyes, love ... If I saw that you were beautiful when you were a half-blood, now you are even more beautiful.
  I got up and looked around for grandpa, at least he’s still alive.
  -Scarlet, Rose where’s grandpa Daniel?
  -Some mortals tried to climb into your balcony so me and my sister took care of them; Scarlet began.
  -But when we finished with them, the old man wasn’t with us anymore. I went to look for mom, thinking she maybe saw him; Rose ended.
  -Miranda?
  -I came with Cornelius in your bedroom and he sensed you on the rooftop. I stayed here until he returned with you unconscious.
  Without a moment to spare, all five of us run outside the castle to see if the battle was over. The sun was closely to rise and we had to get all the vampires inside before daylight.
  At the castle’s entrance, all the town people were laying dead and with their blood drought. Curious was that the vampires, a few feet apart from the pile of dead people, formed a circle and by their behaviors, something horrible happened.
  I made my way through the crowd and got in the center of the vampire circle. What my eyes saw, I will never forget as long as I live: Dragomir had his hands stained with blood and at his feet, were father and grandpa in a puddle of blood. I rushed near them and took father in my arms crying.
  -FATHER, NO! Why Dragomir? I thought you were father’s best friend!
  -Because in the vampire world, weaklings have no right to live. I told Vladimir that there are vampires who wanted his head. I was one of them. Now that you are a vampire, dear Valentina, you can prove to me if you deserve to rule over us in your father’s place.
  -Dad, what have you done? Cornelius asked when he saw my dead father in my arms.
  -What a strong vampire has to do, Cornelius. Valentina Dracula, I Dragomir Ivanov challenge you in a duel to see which one is more suitable to rule as the king of vampires. The duel will take place here, within a month, you will have enough time to practice your powers until then. Good luck, you will need it!
  With this being said, Dragomir flew off followed by a dozen faithful vampires, leaving me crying with pain on my father’s dead body. It wasn’t fair! I didn’t get to spend enough time with him, just when I thought I will live with my father forever.
  I had dreams and hopes that me, father, grandpa Daniel and aunt Linda will become a family and live happily ever after in the castle. But as Cornelius said that day in the living room: happy endings happen only in fairy tales to make brats go fast to sleep.
  And he was right, I hate to admit it. Now I was all alone once more: Linda got burned alive by her town folks, father and grandpa Daniel were murdered by Dragomir, whom I once considered as an ally, in other words ... my life is officially a nightmare.
  I had no other family member left alive and no friends. How could I manage to continue my life without someone to rely and trust from now on?