Chapter One-Kenna

Pain shot up from my elbow as I hit the floor. Turning around, I spat at the guard's feet a second before his shoe connected with my ribs.

"You better learn your place, hexblood. One more wrong move and I'll make sure you’re dealt with. Permanently."

I glared at him as the door slammed shut and the lock clicked. As soon as he and the group were out of earshot I let myself fall to the floor.

My sister Adelaide came rushing over. Her round cheeks were scarlet from the cold winter air and her chocolate brown eyes wide with worry. "Kenna! What happened? Are you alright?"

"Just fucking peachy." I said through clenched teeth. I counted to three and pushed myself up so that I was left slumped against the wooden door. I watched as Addy walked around the small living space until she found a knife. She quickly slit her palm open and pressed the open wound to my mouth, "Here, drink." She insisted.

After the third mouthful I pulled back and her skin stitched back together, taking on a sick reddish blue colour before returning to the perfect porcelain shade it was just moments ago.

I cursed as my body worked to repair itself, causing my ribs to snap back into place before leaving me sighing in relief. Standing up, I mumbled my thanks to Addy who stands there in her tattered blue dress and dirty apron, her arms folded across her chest, "What did you do this time?" she asked angrily.

I shrugged before grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and downing it in one gulp. "Some stupid jackass thought it'd be fun to grab my ass on the way home so I socked him in the nose." I grinned as I remembered the way he cried out in pain before blood started oozing down his face. "Too bad his buddy didn't like it very much."

Addy looked at me with her mouth wide open, her brow pinched in anger as she all but shouted, "Kenna, you need to stop looking for trouble. Don't you see? They're more powerful than we are. He said he'd have you dealt with! Do you even know what that means?" Her voice was rising with each sentence as her face got paler and paler.

I sighed and twisted my hair into a knot on top of my head before walking over to her. "He's all talk, Addy. Heck , most of them are! Don't worry, I know how to handle the guards. Nothing is going to happen to me. Besides, they breed us for a reason. The guards aren't allowed to just kill who they please." I pointed out.

An anxious sigh escaped her lips as she walked over to me, "I just worry about you. You're all I have. Can you at least try to stay out of trouble. For me?" She asked as she took my hand in both of hers.

My shoulders slumped in defeat as I looked up at my big sister. Her features were slightly different from mine, which was to be expected as our mother had been paired with two different vampires. Where my hair was a mass of thick, curly caramel locks, hers was silky, straight and the most elegant butter blonde.

Her skin was flawless whereas I had freckles dotted along my nose and onto my cheeks. Our skin tone was pretty much the only feature we shared. It was smooth and as pale as porcelain, like the other hexbloods. You see, there's always something visually peculiar about hexbloods; For Addy, it's a single streak of black hair to the right side of her fringe. For me, it's my eyes. Addy says they're beautiful, that it's better than having what looks like ink-stained hair but I've always found the difference unappealing. One of my eyes is the same colour as Addy's; a rich, chocolate brown with amber flecks, the other a deep sea-green. No other hexblood has this specific mutation, at least none that I've met, which only serves to make me feel even more out of place than I usually do.

"Great!" She said. "Now come, let's get changed. Our free-time begins in a few minutes and we are going to the Treetop tonight. The Queen is hosting a massive ball to welcome the first guests of the season." She all but gushed as she clapped her hands together and stared out into the distance.

I let out a dramatic groan, "Oh, Addy. Why do you feel the need to watch these people living such lavish lives while we're stuck here, with this?" I spun around, gesturing at the small hut which consisted of one bunk bed, a small wooden table with two crates to sit on, one large door and a small window next to the sink with the bucket we used to wash ourselves. "Doesn't it make you angry?"

She chewed on her lower lip before looking out the window towards the twinkling lights in the trees a few fields over. "I used to be angry, but you said it yourself, they breed us for a reason. Maybe there's a way to get there, to find a way into the Treetops and live as one of the Royals instead of some peasant." Her eyes sparkled at the idea.

The only way for that to happen would be for a royal to fall in love and marry her which we both knew would never happen, but still she believed that one of them wouldn't be that bad, that one of them would come along and shower her with love and attention in a way that only happens at the balls she observes from a distance.

The fae are horrid creatures. Their beauty is deceiving, their souls dark. They use humans for food, labour and breeding. That's it. Not once have I ever seen a fae genuinely do anything out of kindness. The supernaturals aren't as bad at heart, but then again they don't rank as highly as the fae. Depending on their form, their abilities make them excellent guards, so their kind is mostly used for protection and pleasure, doing all the dirty work and making up majority of the royals' harems. Then there's us, the hexbloods. Bred to do all the shitty jobs nobody wants to do. Everyone's the same in the village; all hybrids of some type. There were some whose dominant form was vampire, some witch and many with various shifter forms. Nobody cared enough to give us categorized names for each variation so we were just known as hexbloods, meaning blood of the cursed.

We've been slaves from before anyone I know can remember and kept alive for as long as we're deemed worthy. Once a hexblood gets too old or weak, they disappear. Nobody knows where they go or what happens to them but some say their blood is drained and added to the feasts held at the grand parties in the Treetop Towers. It was pointless to argue with her though, with me just having reached eighteen and her being the oldest at twenty-six, she always felt she understood more about the world. But she was naïve. I knew the truth. I saw the evil in the royals, the way they treated the hexbloods, humans and even some of the high ranking supes.

I peeled off my sweaty overalls that were covered in dirt and grime from working in the fields all day. I used a rag to wipe my face, arms and legs before slipping on a pair of thin, black leggings and a patched up long-sleeved shirt.

hexbloods always had to wear black so we were easy to spot amongst the humans who were forced to wear white. As the sun set, the lock to our door clicked and we both raced out into the evening air, nearly knocking the guard flat on his ass.

Addy grabbed my hand and started running across the field towards the Treetops. "Come, Kenna! We must not be late." She said as her hair blew wildly around her face.

We made it to the edge of the woods in five minutes. Well before many of the others had even ventured out of their homes in time to see where we were going. Most of the villagers would make their way down to the night market where they're permitted to exchange rotting fruit and vegetables discarded by the royals.

Often men would make their own alcohol or buy from Jack at the pineapple stall. I hadn't been given any goods worth exchanging that evening, so there was really no point in hanging around the market when there's nothing to gain and I'd never consider stealing again; that got me locked up in the cells for a week straight when I was nine.

Addy began climbing the tree. I followed her all the way up to the highest branch that would hold our weight. She usually chose that specific spot, It gave us the perfect birds eye view of the party below. I hate to admit it but the beauty was undeniable. I used to long for luxury like what we were witnessing below, but once I found out that the only way for us to get it was to give yourself up as a slave to a royal and hope he found you appealing enough to add to his collection of women, that was it for me.

I'd never be interested in love or romance of any kind. Luckily hexbloods were never forced to breed with each other but some have willingly had children in the village. Personally, I'd never wish a fate like ours on anybody, especially not a young, innocent child.

Addy sighed longingly beside me as she gazed down at the twinkling lights, chandeliers and glittery wallpaper. Well-dressed couples danced together closely, their bodies moving gracefully to the slow, classical tune being played on stage. Tables filled with foods I'd never seen before took up the entire left wall next to the dance floor, their delicious scents wafted up to us, making me sigh. My stomach protested at the thought of being able to try just one morsel of food that was not decaying and reeking of mould.

I can live on blood, which majority of my diet is supposed to consist of, but often I'd found myself fantasizing about what fresh food would actually taste like. We do get nutrients from fruit and vegetables as well, it never completely satisfies us but it does keep us from becoming blinded by hunger. Protein we can eat, I've heard meat is delicious, but it's not necessary for our survival and as such, is not included in our food supply from the royals.

The music faded and everyone's attention shifted towards the large entrance as hushed whispered stirred below. We watched Queen Mabeline enter, followed closely by her harem of nine, all of them dressed in brightly coloured suits like walking accessories. She swept her way through the adoring crowd, everyone smiled and greeted her enthusiastically as she passed by, never acknowledging someone for more than a couple of seconds. She walked slowly, her sleeveless, golden gown trailing behind her until she got to the other end of the ballroom and took a seat on a magnificent throne made of purple velvet and gold. Her harem each took a seat at the base of her throne, staring out at the crowd with blank expressions.

There was complete silence as she held up her hand and spoke in a loud voice, "My people, I am pleased to hold this celebration in honour of our fiftieth anniversary on the Isle of Sanctuary." And the crowd went wild, whooping and cheering. The queen gave a girlish giggle before raising her hand and silencing the crowd once more.

Once everyone settled down she continued, "Friends and family, thank you for joining us on such a special occasion. Fifty years ago we were betrayed, cast out and banished from the home we'd been a part of for millennia!" Her voice changed from light to dark in an instant, "Hear me when I say, Avalon will be ours. Avalloc will be defeated and I will take my rightful place as queen of Avalon. For now, enjoy a life of sanctuary, where nothing is denied to those who are worthy. Here we have money, power, sex and blood; more than what was ever on offer in Avalon!

There's no limit to what we can become, achieve and conquer. This is just the beginning, there is greatness in store for all of you, my people. Your loyalty will be rewarded, and vengeance will be ours, this I promise you. So tonight, celebrate, feast, drink and be merry. For tomorrow marks the first round of the competition!" Everyone cheered as the band began playing again and people turned to their groups while the Queen watched over them all with a smile on her face.

My blood was boiling by the time I climbed down. Addy insisted on staying to watch until the end but I'd had enough; she envied what I hated.

I couldn't stand to watch them any longer. Not for the first time, I found myself wondering if they even cared that there were people starving, kids living below ground and in the dirty village fed nothing more than scraps, their mothers forced to cross-breed before being executed?

As I walked back I found myself lost in thought as I wondered what it'd be like to live free, escape here and not need to follow the strict rules or live in fear of execution. But would it be different out there? What if the entire world was like this? Nobody dared to speak about the outside world so I assumed it was pretty much the same. Frustration gave way to a deep feeling of hopelessness as tears started trailing down my cheeks.

I walked along the quiet field in the dark, so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't hear the footsteps approach from behind me until it was too late. Before I had time to react a giant hand clamped over my mouth.

The smell of cigarettes on his fingers told me it was a guard, I kicked and screamed until eventually my head connected with bone. With a satisfying crunch, a scream of pain and fury filled the air around us as his grip loosened.

I dropped to the floor, crawling away when he yanked me back by the hair and spun me around. His other hand went to my throat and he started to squeeze. Thanks to the light of the full moon, I was able to see that he was the same guard I'd attacked earlier.

My heart started pounding as I watched the blood pour from his broken nose. He didn't seem to care as he gave me a sickening smile and moved his free hand to fumble with his belt.

Realizing what he was planning to do, I screamed in rage, using all of my strength to kick him between the legs as hard as I could. He crumpled, losing his breath as he clutched his manhood with both hands.

I scrambled to my feet and spat at his red face before turning and running to the village. As soon as I made it back, I collapsed onto the bottom bunk and started sobbing. I stayed like that until Addy came home singing to herself happily. Not wanting her to see my weakness I just turned over and closed my eyes, welcoming the sweet escape only sleep was able to offer.