A hesitant smile appeared on my face. Sariel seemed proud, but underneath his confident mask, I could sense anger, although I wasn't sure why he would be angry. I gently stroked his cheek, trying to brush off the shades of darkness from his face.
"Should I call you "Your Majesty" from now on?" I laughed faintly.
"Perhaps on some very formal occasions. You may bow down to me too," he chuckled cockily.
I nudged his shoulder, pouting. He laughed, then he embraced me tightly, kissing my forehead, my eyes, and my cheeks until he hungrily reached for my lips.
"I shall make you my Queen," he whispered while kissing me down my neck.
His words felt like a sword piercing my heart. I kept chasing the thought of what would happen to me after Sariel became the King, and now it was time to face reality.
"Queen…" I repeated, smiling bitterly, "I doubt that the nobles would let a human sit by your side."
"I will make them accept you," he said
I could understand why it was such a big thing to move into the Royal Palace. It was a place far beyond my imagination. A slightly modern interpretation of Bavarian Neuschwanstein combined with India's Amber Fortress, all surrounded by magnificent gardens; the romantic style of the nineteenth century sprinkled with the mystic aura of the southern Asian style."Wow…" was the only word that could slip through my lips.The palace had a remarkable main building, reserved for the King and those closest to him. The eastern part of the palace was supposed to be a harem. It was connected to the main building by several secret passages. Certainly, only the King was allowed to use them. The western part was the place for the important guests and their families. The servants and the military men lived in two separate grand buildings a bit further away from the castle. The area was huge. Only after seeing this did I realize the power of the vampire king.We arrived a
Sariel's words rang in my ears, agonizing the pain in my heart. The crowd cheered for the future king and queen as I stepped back against the wall, praying to miraculously escape this place. What was I even doing there? I became a humiliated mistress, tossed away by the Duke, who was now becoming the King. Sariel spared me no glance at me as he and Elora stood on the edge of the podium, surrounded by the hand-clapping sound. My sight became blurry. I didn't know I was crying until I felt the wetness filling the neckline of my dress. Pathetic. I felt I did it to myself. I lowered all of my defenses and let myself get stabbed right when I was the most vulnerable. "Are you all right?" I heard someone's warm whisper. I knew that kind voice, but the tears made my eyes too cloudy to see. I tore my eyelids, trying to regain sharpness in my sight. Only then did I realize my whole body was leaning against Patrick's arms. He must have prevented me from collapsing onto
Bewildered, I stared into Sariel's eyes, hoping that those three words weren't something I had imagined. I felt real, but the confusion that had taken over my mind before wasn't something I could easily chase away. He kept his eyes on me without even blinking. He seemed confident and strong-willed. No. My mind sent me a warning that I couldn't get fooled again. I couldn't be swayed so easily. I looked away, but he instantly grabbed my chin and turned my head to face him."I love you," he repeated calmly.The warm tone of his voice was like a balm put on my wounded heart. The sound felt like a blanket he wrapped over my shivering body. He placed his strong arms around my waist and pulled me close to him. I didn't want to resist him. My mind was perfectly ready to buy any story he wanted to sell. I just needed one semi-reasonable argument to stay with him."A-are you married now?" I asked, almost choking on my words."Yes." His reply felt like a kick in the
I froze, looking into his eyes. He pulled me close and stroked my hair, trying to coax me, but it hardly had any effect. My heart was pounding erratically from the moment I heard him say my father's name. I could ignore the presence of any other Alpha but him. Even though I was no longer defenseless, and I had someone equally powerful to protect me, I was horrified at the mere thought of looking Randall D'Apolito in the eye. Did it make me a coward? Perhaps. But I couldn't deny the fact that the mental advantage he had over me was turning me into the most fragile person I knew when facing him."W-why does he have to be there? He killed your mother, didn't he?" I shivered, trying to comprehend the reason for inviting someone like him."This is exactly why I want him to be there." Sariel painted a cold smirk on his face, "I want to look into his eyes and place fear in him. I want him to know that the day when he will pay for his sins will come soon."I could under
I was standing on the threshold of my chamber, motionless. I could hear Sophia's screams as she was being dragged by the guards through the corridor. When they were further away, I looked at my hand. My fist was clenched to the point where my nails were stabbed into the flesh of my palm. My whole body trembled. Was it because of the rush of adrenalin I felt? Or was it because I had done something ruthless for the first time in my life?The pondering over my state of mind was interrupted by the clapping sound of someone's hands. I turned, searching for the source of the sound, and saw a man coming my way. As he was closer, I realized I had seen him before. He was at the coronation, standing near the podium. I remembered him because he was the only one glaring at Elora. Now, he was coming my way, grinning beamingly and clapping his hands. His blue eyes were glowing and locked on me. I gazed at him, puzzled."Bravo!" he exclaimed, "you've only been at the palace for a day
Kanan seemed pleased that I agreed to join hands with him. I wasn't certain what he was truly able to do, but I felt hopeful and definitely not as depressed as I was when I woke up. He was right about one thing; I couldn't sit and do nothing. I had to strengthen my position in the vampire world, not only for the sake of being with Sariel but for my survival. For the last few weeks, I had grown completely dependent on Sariel's power, and I didn't like that at all. It wasn't because I didn't trust him, but I needed to feel that I was the one in control of my life.I didn't want to keep my alliance a secret from Sariel. I felt I should tell him about meeting Kanan and thought he should also be aware of everything that had happened between Sophia and me. I felt my chamber and decided to take a little stroll around the main castle building to look for Sariel. I went outside the east wing and walked to the main entrance. I passed the two guards standing on both sides of the door an
Soldiers surrounded me, glaring at me as if I was some kind of villain. They all decided to support Kylo, no questions asked. Only Patrick stood beside me, shielding me from whoever thought of attacking me, physically or verbally. I started to be seriously sick and tired of everyone purposely disregarding my authority and stripping me of a single ounce of respect."Your sister deserved what she got. She insulted me, she brought me rotten food intentionally, and in the end, she tried to attack me. She is the only one she can blame, as a maid who tried to step on the King's concubine," I said calmly, surprising myself that I was able to keep my composure."She did what?" Patrick gritted his teeth, his eyes widening at my words."She insulted me and attacked me. Now, her brother is trying to do the same," I stated, catching the gazes of those who surrounded me.Kylo stepped towards me, his teeth clenched angrily while his enraged eyes looked me up and down.
Leo wasn't lying about putting me through hell. After my first practice that lasted six hours straight, I felt as if I was going to vomit my guts out. Nonetheless, I was ecstatic! This strange change within me made me stronger than I could ever imagine. I also found super-Lilith faster and with sharper senses than ever before. Patrick stayed with me throughout my workout, watching me fight Leo with his mouth wide open. Well, he wasn't the only one surprised by my abilities. I surprised myself over and over again when I responded to whatever Leo threw at me, dodging, blocking, or counter-attacking. Finally, I was able to use every single combat technique that Ezra had taught me, which I could never execute perfectly. At that moment, I could do whatever I wanted, and it all came almost effortlessly."Lady Lilith… You could actually keep up with Master Gotha! You are incredible!" Patrick applauded my abilities, even though I was still miles away from being able to match L