"So you've now accepted it?" He walked away from her, suddenly needing the space. He wanted to sniff the air and see if her scent had been altered by his, but his weakness from yesterday's attack was a great set back and made his wolf weak. "Your fate with that monstrous blood sucking Ki---""I don't have a choice." She said quietly. She wouldn't want to call their daughter's attention to this. The fact that she wouldn't be able to give her a proper goodbye because she was scared to risk the state of her child's health still hurt. Asides from that, they both hated for Mira to see anything go wrong in their little family.She had to be protected from all of that and she was theirs to protect."This is the only way to save my family, I have accepted it.""We shouldn't give up---""I will not risk us again." She frowned, her voice determined. But he wasn't going to give up that easily. He needed to do something to make her see reason, to make her see what she would be missing if she le
"Open up or I'll break this door down." A bittered low, feminine, voice broke them apart. A voice that Zezi knew all too well. She stood up, opening the door with a swing. "Ah, she is alive." Laura said with a smirk, her eyebrows cocked at her. Then suddenly her face scrunched up in a sinister grimace. "My brother's blood mixed with yours doesn't feel right.""I agree." Zezi said, still standing in the doorway, trying to give George time to fix himself up. She didn't need any of these vampires seeing him vulnerable like that. They were enemies and to them they must appear strong at all times.She scoffed. "Pathetic. Anyways, it's time."But Zezi wasn't done, she still remembered the condition that Gwen had said the plead had been hand over in. Gwen hadn't explicitly said that she suspected Lady Laura to have tossed it intentionally into the fire, but who else would it had been?"You almost burnt my plead." She said, folding her arms, giving Laura a slow belittling look as her gaze
The day had not passed as quickly had Zezi had wished it to, neither did the night that followed. She had to entertain Gwen's food visit and act normal, otherwise Gwen might suspect not only that she was planning to do something but what exactly she was planning to do. As loyal as Gwen had seemed to prove herself to be, Zezi was certain that she wouldn't approve of her taking her own life. Gwen was obsessed with the idea of having a Queen, she always had been from the very start. Whatever would stand in the way of that not happening would definitely not earn her support.So, Zezi acted as normally as she could, thanking her for her participation in saving her family's life over and over again, while she asked questions about the Castle and the customs of Lavida. Disregarding the thought that her Lady might be moving on too quickly from the abrupt loss of her family, Gwen was more than delighted to enlighten the future Queen about all she needed to know moving forward.In fact, sh
Trigger warning. Slight gore. Like, really slight.____Motionless, she laid on the floor.The curtain flapping from the wind that was blowing inside, the moonlight glittering down her slit open throat that had blood still sipping out of it, flowing down her neck and dissolving further into her white gown, an inky red stain down her waist line of her dress.Some blood had dripped to the floor too, causing the red sticky liquid to stand out sharply against the grey tikes beneath.Everything was quiet, like a honourable minute of silence for the dead. Seconds passed and nothing changed. Not the frozen smile on her face, nor the look of utmost satisfaction in those lifeless, opened dazed eyes.A perfect departure.Then...A twitch of a pinky.Abrupt halt.Slowly, under the light of the moon, dark blood rushed to the surface of the opened throat, then the flesh at either sides of the slit pulled together, like a careful needlework, only that there was no needle, nor thread. Only blood.
Whatever she had expected as the consequences of her refusal, wasn't what had happened. What had happened?Well, nothing. It was surprising but that had been it. Knowing that she had practically given the totality of herself away in the bloodoath, which, regarding to what Gwen had said, had only worked because she really wanted at heart to save her family, also being caught in between knowing that his blood in her would really keep her from harming herself for an undisclosed amount of time and the thought that killing herself would bring more harm than good, Zezi was left with no only option than to wait her dilemma out.She still had the silver dagger with her though, although her purpose for it had now changed. She planned to quickly exhausted the blood's power in her veins, by always marking herself with it.The day it stings and heal very slowly, she would know that had finally gotten rid of the vile.She really hoped that would happen sooner than thought it would. The amount
The knock came again.And again. Delice moved around the room quickly, searching for something... and hiding something."My Lady? Are you in there?"Finally the door swung open and Delice flashed the guard a warm smile."How may I help you?""My Lady." She bowed his head lightly in respect, before standing standing straight. "Princess Laura has sent me here to tell you that she has been released.""Oh." She said said flatly with a blink. "Of course, thank you. Anything else?""No, My Lady.""You may take your leave."She bowed again, then left. Delice shut the door, her hands a little shaky. She picked up the raincoat from where she had hidden it in a haste earlier, then matched to her wardrobe, tucking it away to the deepest part of it.That wasn't Laura had she had feared. What a relief, but she would still have to see her soon. She must freshen up quickly, it would be bad news for Laura to know about where she had been.In no time, she had taken her bath, changed her dress, and
The King's Summon was never a good news, especially not when the potentiality of a wrong made directly or indirectly laid in the past.Gwen had been summoned by the King, she knew the implication and her cold heart was heavy with an impending grief.Lost of herself most likely, she had every intention to give herself away to protect her family if it came to that. Too bad, her Mistress wouldn't know that she had died for her crimes. She thought she was protecting her but truly her Mistress had only just put her in harm's way.She understood her reaction though, for someone who had lost everything, she was questing for something else to protect and she had picked her. If only she knew that the 'protection' was no protection at all but a threat to her soul and the souls of her entire family. It had only been a day since her Mistress had matched into the dinning hall and drove a dgger through the King's heart and already the consequences were waiting for her. In fact, maybe it was good
The King arched an eyebrow at her. His mate bravesness was rubbing off on her maid. He should be angered but he wasn't, not because of the baseless threat she had made while she had drove a dagger through his heart in the dinning hall, he knew that his blood was still present in her veins, any attempt to hurt her, either by herself or anyone else would be furtile but he enjoyed how things were going. He found them, sought of, interesting."Oh! And the dinner?! The one before she was taken to see her family!"Gwen bit her tongue before her tongue had the chance to sabotage her further by adding 'in the dungeon that you threw them into, your Majesty.'He leaned further into his seat, repressing a smile, feeling his ego triple. Pride."That was me."She clapped. Her eyes misting with tears from how glad she was that had not been answered in the negative."You have the potential, your Majesty. We just need to sharpen it!"His frown deepened.Too far. Her gaze was fixed on the floor aga
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