Gwen started wheeling away the empty trolley out silently before Zezi's voice stopped her."Hmm, Gwen?""Yes, my Lady," there was a determination in her eyes like she was ready to keep on her act even if it would kill her."I need a book and a pen or pencils, anyone. It is boring not doing anything in here all day.""That?" Excitement sparkled in Gwen's eyes. "I'll get it for you. Are you perhaps a writer or an artist?""Both, if stick figures are considered exquisite art and if short bedtime stories are considered powerful books.""Oh you are so funny, my Lady," Gwen chuckled uncontrollably. "I'll tell my kids and husband about this. They sure would love it.""They sure would.""Anything else?""No, that will be all."Gwen gave her another bright smile before wheeling the empty trolley out and closing the door. Immediately, Zezi saw the door closed, she sucked in a deep breath. She didn't even know that she was holding her breath all that while. The long marks she saw on Gwen's hand
Her hand tightened around the doorknob while the other tightened around her towel. He stood there by the door rigid, his eyes on her. Taking note of her wet hair and her very exposed neck. His eyes darted to the mark and once again, something ticked in his jaws."I thought you were Gwen," she managed to say but he said nothing, his eyes turning darker and darker with every lingering moment.She wanted to close the door. Fear rushed through her veins then as the image of what she saw in the hallway cross through her mind. She wanted to sink into herself and stay far away from him yet she couldn't even close the freaking door?! Why couldn't she just look away from his burning gaze? It was like as if her feelings were out of her reigns of control, compelling her and drawing her to him. Yet there was fear, a large tussling fear.She heard someone coming up the door at that moment and he did too. "Your Majesty, I was just wondering..." A male voice started to say but before the person cou
Zezi woke up to the smell of drugs and the sharp smell of antiseptics. She found herself on a bed that wasn't all too familiar and within four walls that she didn't know.Her sight was a little blurry, while she tried hard to take in everything she could see. There was a man by the window. She couldn't see him clearly, he had his back turned to her and the light from the window made it hard to be accurate. Joy spurred through her heart when the image came close to the one she had in her mind. A kind of fire laced her skin.Was all that happened to her a dream, a nightmare she had finally been able to get away from? Had she been knocked out during training, and now waking up in the hospital of her pack?She looked up at the person by the window side again. The fire that crossed through her fire, igniting the longer she stared at him. Strange. She did love George but never had her body reacted towards him. This was absolutely new feeling, she loved it. "George..." She croacked out f
The mark on her neck felt hot suddenly like fire on her skin, snapping her out of her thoughts making her growl in pain. The torturous moment lasted for only a split second but it had been so painful. When it was over, her chest was raising and falling while she blinked in confusion. Her burning gaze on the tiled floor.'That had never happened before,' she thought as she threw her hand over the mark. It felt unnaturally warm against her palm. It must have been her thoughts? That was why it must have happened.How lost in thoughts had she been? Maybe that wasn't the right question. How much of the bond had she allowed to consume her?"Stop thinking you can leave this place, I won't let it happen."She looked up at him immediately, his eyes were brewing with anger once again.She processed his words slowly while his hand left hers on the door lock and he backed away like it was a difficult thing for him to do. The distance between them made her think clearly now and her eyes widened
"How is it that you are here?" Zezi asked immediately they were left alone. She hugged her daughter once again. It was like she just couldn't get enough. "I can't believe this." "I didn't believe it too when Alpha Gery summoned me and said that the BloodSuckers' King had requested for us. We were brought here immediately. Blindfolded and all." "I missed you so much," she said and grabbed his hand tighter. "I missed you too." "When are you coming back home, Mummy?" Mira, who sat by Zezi's bedside, asked. "Hmmm... soon." "My friends said, their Mummy and Daddy said, they are not coming back." "Don't listen to them. They don't know what they are saying," George answered, seeing that Zezi was at a lose of what to say. "Mummy and Daddy wants to talk. How about you stay over there and play with Teddy while you wait for us." "Yes, Daddy." Mira hoped off the bed, leaving them alone. "The Doctor said you got to a breaking point and crashed. Are they hurting you here, Zezi?" He asked
Zezi didn't need to pull any stunts to have George and Mira over. They were always brought to her twice in a week, like a drug prescription. It didn't take Zezi long to figure out that this must have been due to a mental health, something that the Doctor had prescribed and started how mandatory it was. During their visits, George would spend time with her, then leave her and Mira to disappear into Moon Goddess knows where. She knew he was trying to find a way for them to escape and many times she had been scared that he would get hurt, but the Moon Goddess must really be on their side, because he always returned safely to her. She hadn't seen the King after that day though. It was like as if he was deliberately avoiding her. Zezi had no problem with that anyway. After that forced closeness they had shared in a room, she was determined to stay far away from him. Not now when things were starting to look up for her. Not after she now had hope of finally leaving this dreaded place. D
Zezi shifted uncomfortably in her seat, clearing her throat awkwardly as Delice stood away from her, with her usual gentle smile on her face."I heard you were supposed to get married to him."At that question, Delice's grip tightened around her wrist slightly."Gwen sure loves to talk.""Ouch, you are hurting me."Delice quickly let go of Zezi's hand go with an apologetic smile."I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."Zezi nodded, rubbing her wrists, not because of the pain because that had now faded away, but she just felt the need to keep herself slightly distracted."Does it hurt?" Zezi asked, looking up at her."It doesn't matter."It was hard to read Delice's facial expression. It was ever gentle but the way her grip had tightened around Zezi's wrists earlier had given it all away.She certainly had feelings for the King. Whatever it was, he was important to her. She wondered if the King considered Delice to be important to him too. A not so pleasant feeling settled at the base of her s
Getting through the passage was easy... in fact it had been suspiciously too easy. Stepping out finally at the other side of the passage door, which was a small circular brick space on one of the sides of the high walls of the usually highly guarded Castle, Zezi was left stunned to see that George had been really accurate about the ritual that was going on. She hadn't expected this degree of accuracy. The streets were filled with vampires in different robes, mostly red, roaming about. George was quick to pull his family into the crowd and maneuver their way down to the cave with a speed of absolute urgency, which Zezi matched without a second thought. Her heart was racing, almost like it would burst out of her chest at any moment and explode on the floor. What if her absence had been noticed? What if the vampire doctor had come for his regular check up of her and realized that they had gone missing? What if he had told the King? What if the King was coming after her with his clou
Regret threatened to overcome her but this was not the time to think of her past actions and question herself as to why she had made those decisions without thinking properly. Every second was important and she would not waste of by dwelling on the past. If her assumption about the White Circle was right, Zezi knew she would need the help of everyone she could get, and to test Lord Rosil, she had asked her if she really didn't want her head for killing her son."I totally understand if you do. What kind of mother wouldn't want the head of her son's murderer?"Well, it seemed like she had hit a nerve because, after that, Lord Rosil had plenty to say. "The kind her son wanted to murder. That silly boy thought draining my blood would give him magic, then gave his sister a hard time because she had orchestrated my escape. Sometimes, it had felt like he was two vampires, stuck in one body. He has one that played the role of a Governor perfectly, and the other that displays just how much
"It is different." Zezi finally declared and Lord Rosil frowned, taking a step closer to her. "Are there any other bonds you know of that could be mistaken as a matebond?""No... This..."Zezi shook her head. This wasn't the time to get overwhelmed by sadness or Lord Rosil's stuttering answer. This was the time to get her head straight and think probably.Lord Rosil snapped her fingers like she had just gotten a groundbreaking idea."Well, of course, it is different! Both of you are different." Her green eyes glinted with excitement at her coming explanation and for that brief moment, Zezi remembered Gwen and missed her. "The King is a Soul Seizer and you, are his mate."Zezi nodded, waiting for more, there just had to be more. "And?""Your Majesty, the King had to make a really big sacrifice to kill his father." Everything somehow felt a little quieter to Zezi, and all her focus zeroed in on Lord Rosil as she approached her. "Only self-sacrifice could kill him and he made that. He s
Had Akeem also been taken by the Volakys?That was what Zezi started to worry about when she still hadn't gotten a message back or seen Akeem and it was already some minutes past midnight. She had also gone to the library to check on him, but as expected, his seat was empty. The library had looked untouched by the chaos going on the the castle, it felt peaceful and Zezi lingered around longer, hoping to walk into Valerick.He had said his mother loved the library, and she thought that he was probably here to find peace in that knowledge.But no, Valerick wasn't here either. With a long and heavy sigh, Zezi stood up. She should probably ask Delice if she had seen Akeem, it was good to confirm everything before jumping to conclusions. She wouldn't want to report anything and arouse suspicion regarding her relationship with the librarian, if things turn out differently. Zezi didn't want more walls thrown between her and Valerick, they already had so many problems to deal with at the m
Zezi's heart was pounding with regret as she ran up the stairs of the castle at an unfathomable speed.Why had she left to watch the execution in the first? She should have never left. She should have never convinced herself that she needed to be at the Execution for all the reasons she had thought it was important before. Right now, they all felt very useless.George and Aunt Alice had stayed behind to be with Mira. Not like they would have been allowed to watch the execution, not like they wanted to either. Gwen had stayed too.Oh, by the Moon, Zezi hoped they were all okay. She screeched to a stop right in front of her daughter's door, flinging it open as fast as she could. Her eyes combed the room and horror seeped through her veins at what she found... or rather what she didn't. Mira's bed was empty. George and Aunt Alice were nowhere to be found, along with Gwen who was...Wait!George and Aunt Alice were on the floor, unconscious. Zezi ran to them, accessing the situation
Valerick looked unmoved and it was hard for Zezi to figure out what he was feeling through the bond. His side of it was still blocked.This was frustrating!She was sitting right by his side but it seemed like a whole wall had been thrown between them. Her attention moved to the Princess, who sat upright, her gaze unmoving from Riza as she clocked her claws together. Zezi wondered if she had poison beneath them, and mentally noted to herself not to get too close to Laura no matter what. She couldn't be trusted right now. But then, when was she ever worthy of trust? They were all unworthy.From the other corner of Zezi's eyes, she watched Lady Delice's reaction. The Royal Advisor kept a calm demeanour but something about hers and Laura's aura were off.From what Zezi could deduce, they were scared that Riza was going to talk about the White Circle.That made Zezi curious. What about the oath she had made before joining the White Circle to keep their business secret? Everyone had
After that, Zezi had gone to see Delice. She didn't even have to share her suspicion, the Royal Advisor had beat her to it."Just be vigilant," Lady Delice had said, as they hurried away from the den, and up the stairs. "I think there is more to this than we know, I will ask Laura soon." Leaving Lady Delice, she had ran into Akeem, whose path she had blocked. His eyes which were originally filled with worry turned into those of attack but she refused to move. Instead, she pulled him aside into the Hall of Statues. So much was going on in the Castle lately, their presence here would most likely go unnoticed. "She turned you, didn't she?" Zezi said the moment the door was shut behind her. "But something had been different in the process. That is why you are different."Hope lit in Zezi's heart. Maybe she would be able to get what her daughter was before the tests would be conducted.Maybe her daughter was just like Akeem. Akeem's face shadowed with secrecy. "I don't know what you a
"I don't have it. I gave it away.""To whom?"Her eyes found his, it had only been for a moment before she looked back at the King, pleading."Please, he didn't do it. He didn't mean it--""Who did you give it to?""Oliver. I gave it to Oli, my mate.""It was a gift of trust." Oliver stood up from the chair, his eyes twinkling with the glint of the ever-present humor. "I didn't even use it. I didn't do this, I didn't do anything. Tell them, Laura!" He ended with a smile. Rage blazed in her eyes, seamlessly mixing with helplessness. It was such a sight. Beautiful."You did it."His smile dwindled."I know you did it and that is why things haven't been the same between us.""Things haven't been the same between us because I spent a night with Riza."Gasps filled the court at the implied reference to cheating. It was a scandalous thing and very distasteful thing to happen between mates, fated or chosen. It was an act deserving of punishment.How hypocritical these vampires were, Zez
"What gives you the audacity to put a royal Pureblood in these filthy chains?!" The Princess's voice rang through the hall, bouncing off the walls, her glare directed to the guard that had just dragged her in and pushed her into the Accused box.Raising her head, she accessed her surroundings, a formation that seemed so high, that it made her feel like she was in a pit, with iron railings camping her. On the high chairs on her left side, different Lords were seated, while on her right, the Governors along with her sweet Delice, Oli. Behind her were the people.Wait!Next to her brother was that fur bastard whose existence was an absolute irritation. This was the Royal Court of Lavida, what an absolute disgrace it was to be in this box. Laura felt repulsed by everything. "You stand in the presence of the King and Queen of Lavida, Royal Adviser, Governors, Lords, and the people, to speak in your defence against the accusations that you are the one behind the Volakys attack!" That br
Valerick was nowhere to be found and even though she didn't want to, Zezi started to panic.Until, she had met Nicholas who told her that the King had to attend to other pressing issues that had more priority than "chit-chatting" with her. When she asked about Mira's health, he tried his best to seem reassuring but Zezi could see straight through his lie.Dr. Nicholas didn't know if her daughter would ever wake up. It was strange. If she really was a vampire, then why was she at the risk of dying without the Volakys venom ever being in her veins in the first place?This just didn't make any sense. "She has been starved for too long. Years! I don't even know how she had survived this long. My guess is that she is some kind of hybrid and that other part has been the one keeping her alive, and the overworking has been killing that part of her. That is why she is always sick. It will be a medical breakthrough to get to the root of this."He had declared in absolute excitement."My daug