Never in her life, had Zezi feared the coming of the night, not once since she could remember, had she so much wished that the moon would never come up in the dark sky, never had she dreaded that white glowing, majestic ball of the night, as she did tonight."Milady." Gwen's voice called to her, as she put away the food on the table that her Mistress had refused to eat. She had also skipped lunch too and with the way things were going, she would skip dinner too."Are you sure that you are strong enough to hold me down, Gwen?"She nodded. In true honesty, Gwen didn't share the fear of her Mistress. In fact, she was only trying to hide her excitement out of respect and worry for her Mistress.Gwen was beyond glad that this was happening and the only reason why she would even be an obstacle to this was because her Mistress had asked her to be. If the 'Heat' she had read about was what would be happening tonight, then her efforts to stop her would definitely be rendered useless.Because
Gwen moved to her line of sight, blocking her view of the door. Zezi frowned, noticing the obstacle with narrowed eyes.She shouldn't have done that. With a desperate yank, Zezi pulled the chains she had been bonded with, and the bed collapsed underneath her. When Zezi stood up, her sight was increasingly blue, the chains were still around her wrists and ankles, dragging at their ends, the heavy woods that used to be the ends and tops of the bed. "Milady, you ordered me to--"Gwen didn't have a chance to complete that.Chains swung in the air, the woods hitting her from either sides, quickly twisting around her body, flinging her right across the road where she crashed into the dressing table, destroying it, wreaking it down to pieces. In a flash, Zezi was in front of her, then by her side, slowly raising Gwen with her hand interlocked into her hair that was before in a bun, now loose, forcing Gwen to look up at her. Gwen hissed, baring her fangs, her claws quickly digging into
Pleasure was the feeling of the mate bond. The good entirety of it. The sparks that flew at its friction, the tingles that consumed whoseover it possessed fully, the need for another till the point that it was absolutely wreaking not to pursue.The mate bond was filled with quest of boundless pleasures screaming to be attained. But if pleasure lingered for too long in one's veins without any satisfaction to quench it or at least lay it to a temporal rest, it became sour, bitter and morph into the other taste of pleasure...Pain.That unpleasant sensation pushed through her whole body, her head fogging with a desperate need for relief against the anguish, the tingles turned into ache, and it spread through her veins. That part of her neck where a mark should already be, burning.Her jaws clenched in agony and a groan pushed out through her gritted teeth, as she pushed forward again, with a cry that sounded like a plead, collapsing against him for the comfort she knew he only could p
Zezi blinked. Ah.The sunlight. Had she forgotten to drop the curtains again? Or was it Gwen?She moved a little in bed, but her body ached slightly from that.Then the scent that engulfed her nose the next second, made her eyes go wide open. She looked around, taking in the room she had found herself in, noticing how different it was from the designed prison she knew.Then slowly, her gaze moved to the floor, where all the dresses she had worn last night, were scattered all over, like they had been pulled off in haste.No.Her heart dropped with a thud.It mustn't be.Her heart was hammering loudly in her ears, her mind thinking fast, as she tried to remember what she had done last night.The door of what must be the bathroom creaked open, not giving her enough time to come up with an explanation for herself.Waking up in a strange room was no horror compared to looking at the person in front of her and realizing whose room this was. Her hands clamped right around her blanket, as
"How very kind." As much as she wanted to be snappy, her nude position under this sheet wasn't helping. Also, the mate bond hitting her right now was making her increasingly weak. Then she remembered that George's mark was gone and she was now in for a brutal fight with no advantage to her side anymore. Nothing to keep her sanity off wanting him. Her gaze fell upon his chest and how hickeys were littered across it."You should try to cover that up." She gritted."I don't know." He looked down at his chest then back up at her. "I think I want to flaunt them, but if you ask nicely..." He stopped, not going any further."This is not about me." She snapped."Of course, it is. You are the only that can do this to me and you know it," his voice dropped to a whisper that sent unwanted shivers down her spine, "the whole castle knows it."He was right, and accepting that was a turtore.____The minute Zezi had been able to get out of the King's room, she had ran right back to her room and l
"Goodnight, Oli Baby." Laura said, locking the door to her room as she slipped into the darkness that was a little by the lit furnace at the fireplace. "I want to lay with you tonight," Oliver said, his hand on the door while he looked up at Laura, ensuring that the door wouldn't come close just yet. "I wanna hear you scream my name at the top of your lungs.""You already did that this afternoon," she blushed, clicking her claws against the frame of the door. "Well," he looked up and down at her slowly, "I wanna do it again, my Raaa Queen.""Oh, Oli Baby." She moved a little, poking her head through the door, her lips grazing against his lips, while he quickly used the opportunity to deepen the kiss. "Some other time," she protested pulling away. "This Princess has some duties to attend to."Her hand snaked through the door and she twirled a finger around his braided beard. He smiled, that goofy smile that never really left his face, those eyes twinkling and full of humour.Her sun
'MY HIGH PILLAR CONSIDERS YOU WORTHY. TWELFTH HOUR. LIBRARY.'It was the same handwriting. Big and jagged. Although it had no scent that she could sniff and catch, as usual, the thing different about this one was what the words were written in. It wasn't blood. Instead they were written with black ink that looked like carved abyss against the white surface. It must have been made out of something special.Zezi had found that out this evening when Gwen had talked about finding empty pieces of paper a couple of times while cleaning."Do you plan to draw on this too, Milady?" Gwen had asked, glancing at her framed stick figures drawing of her family, that rested on the new dressing table."Should I help with the framing this time too?" She added with a smile on her face, but Zezi had looked back, trying to hide how shocked she was to be staring at one of Akeem's message.That was when it had hit her. The words on the paper were invisible to Gwen!How many more people couldn't see the
Lady Delice had always seemed like one to hold her own, her smile ever present and the little aura of life seeping from her at a noticeable rate, but tonight, Zezi couldn't help but notice that she looked different. Her smile was gone, non-existent, her eyes seemed a little dead than usual and have sensed a nervousness in her aura. Even without the King's blood running in her veins, Zezi could pick up on that. It made her wonder how much Oliver could pick up on, leading her to be even be more curious about her past with him. She could use this distraction till it was time for her to go down to the Library, after all, she still had hours left before that. "It's been tremendously long." Oliver beamed, grasping her hand in his before she had time to oppose of his unanticipated touch. "We should catch up. What do you say?"Delice looked up at him, feeling a bitter taste raise in her mouth as his scent poured into her lungs unrestrained, reminding her of days that she would like to for
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