I woke up with my face on Sariel's chest. Although his chest was a little too firm for me to use as a pillow, his cool skin had been extremely soothing for my tingling in excitement flesh. I only hoped that I didn't drool overnight…
I felt strangely comfortable, as if our relationship was completely natural. I felt happy… absolutely exhausted but happy. I smiled, looking at Sariel's face. His eyes were closed, and he looked like a sleeping angel, an amazing sculpture carved in alabaster and decorated with silver.
"Are you done staring?" he muttered, suddenly opening his eyes.
I gasped, surprised, then snorted. "No. I could stare at you all day, every day. I love looking at you…" I paused.
The word "love" slipped out of my lips so easily, like I had said it a million times. It was strange that it didn't bother me that much. I thought I could learn to use it.
Sariel smirked and tightened his embrace around me. "Just remember
I stared at my hand, petrified. A minute after sitting on the bed motionless, I got up and looked at myself in the mirror as if I wanted to check if there were no changes in my appearance. My human-like reflection didn't dissolve my restlessness entirely, but it was a start. I took a deep breath and made a strong resolution to ignore the problem for the time being, or at least until I talked to Will about it. Of course, it didn't change the fact that my mind was filled with restlessness, and even the logical argument that it might be a temporary side-effect didn't make my frantic heart calm down.I grabbed my purse and a coat and went outside. Mike was already there to drive me to the bank's headquarters. I realized that I hadn't been there since my kidnapping. So many things had happened in that short time. I had changed from a simple employee to Mistress of the House of Calvet… although I still wasn't certain what the hell my position meant. I was wondering if any of
After leaving Gabriel's office, all the bows and greetings I received felt slightly less uncomfortable. I still didn't know how I should respond to those people, but at least I took control of the state of panic it was causing before. When I got back to my workplace, I saw a familiar, tall, black-haired man standing in front of my door."Mr. Kim!" I shouted happily and then rushed to throw my arms around his neck."M-miss Calvet… P-please…" Patrick nervously looked around the corridor while awkwardly smiling."Sorry… I overreacted," I grinned, stepping away from him and opening the door to my office.I entered first and went straight to my desk to put away my purse."I'm just really glad that you are…" I turned around and saw Patrick kneeling on the floor, "…alive," I mumbled, finishing the sentence."I need to apologize." He bowed down. "I should have protected you. I should have sensed the dander while I
I was one step away from losing my sanity. I ran out of my chamber and ran straight to the south wing, where I knew I would find Martha. As soon as I saw her sitting in the corridor, right outside the kitchen, I sighed in relief. "Martha, please… Call Doctor William Duarte and ask him to come. Tell him it is urgent," I said while panting heavily. Martha jumped up from her seat and started frantically looking me up and down, searching for signs of any injury. "A-are you sick? Do you have a fever? Are you hurt anywhere?" she asked feverish questions while walking around me. "No," I said firmly, "Just do as I said. Quickly, Martha. This is important." She nodded and ran somewhere to make a call. I exhaled heavily and walked back to my room, hoping that Will would take my request seriously and show up as soon as possible. As soon as I closed my door, I started wondering if I should try testing my strength as well. I somehow managed to smash the gl
I felt as if my blood was becoming heavier and thicker, making my fragile heart nearly blow with every beat. I inhaled and exhaled erratically while locking my eyes on Will, begging him for a proper answer. "What am I turning to?" I muttered, shivering in anxiety. "Will, what am I about to become?!" I cried out. "Lilith, calm down!" He jumped up and placed his hands on my shoulders. "Look at me and breathe…" he said calmly. I nodded and took air into my lungs while looking into his eyes. "You don't have the wolf gene, but your DNA is special. Whereas some genes in your code stayed silent and now have been activated, I think you have assimilated something from vampire DNA as well," he explained. "What do you mean?" I asked, trying to quickly process his words. "There is a certain element in vampire blood called "nummularius" — a changer. It works quite much like a virus, injecting its DNA core into human cells and initiating the turn in
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