April's POV Dorian stormed angrily to the door, but I beat him to it and flung it open. My jaw dropped to see Jacob standing there."Jacob?""April?"He looked from me to Dorian and back to me in confusion. I could tell he wanted to say something, but he didn't know how to start. “April, what is going on here? What happened to your face? Your eyes are puffy. What is going on?”I was trembling and tried my best to de-escalate the situation, but Dorian pushed me away, and I nearly fell to the floor."And what are you doing here?" asked Dorian to Jacob."I was sent with a message for April. My parents would like to invite her for dinner to help us to aid some of the casualties of the attack."Dorian chuckled and glanced at me with a dangerous smile."Well, as you can see, we are a bit busy here, so maybe you can tell your parents that April can check in tomorrow."Jacob's face looked stern and concerned, and he looked over Dorian's shoulder to me."April, I need you to tell me what is h
Dorian's POV "Now that we are back to being alone, I want answers to my questions. What have you and..." Ring! Ring! My phone buzzed in my pocket, cutting me off. I stared angrily at April and fished my phone from my pocket. I saw that it was Ivar that was calling. I wondered what he wanted. I raised the phone to my ear but never looked away from April. Not even once. "What's the matter, Ivar?" "Dorian, he's awake." I didn't waste any time. The captive that I had brought back from the forest after my solo attack has woken up. At least, one way or another, I would get some answers. "I'll be right there." The line went dead, and I turned back to April; her cat was still in my arms, meowing softly. "It seems our little discussion session is going to have to wait. But if you dare think that you can leave this house to hide from me, I will scout you out and treat you like the traitor that you are." I looked at how serious she looked and scoffed. "As for your little gift from yo
Chapter 76April's POVI was relieved as Dorian released Azura and left the room when his phone rang. Azura meowed at my feet, and I inspected her to ensure she was okay and not hurt. She seemed alright, and I cradled her in my arms. As my eyes fell on my clothes, I saw that they were covered in sweat, blood and grime. Being with the injured and Dorian hugging me had left imprints on my clothes.I looked at Azura's fur; she was slightly tainted with soot, and there were little blood smears here and there."When was the last time I gave you a bath? Your fluffiness hides your little stinky self."She meowed and rubbed her face on my cheek. I smiled."Yeah. I guess I stink, too. We should both probably get cleaned up."I gave Dorian's door one final glare and walked away. As soon as I got to my room, just as I was about to open the door, I saw him walk out of the front door, and he seemed to be in a hurry.I scoffed and ignored him. I wanted nothing to do with him. I hoped he didn't h
Chapter 77Dorian's POVI looked at him in shock and disbelief. Was he trying to save his skin at the last minute?"Are you sure of what you are telling me?"He nodded his head, and some of his blood fell on the floor."I am positive. I am really sure. I swear on my life."I raised myself up to my full height and glared at him. His disfigured face stared back at me, and I decided to believe him. What did I really have to lose? But if I found out that this was all a hoax, his head would roll beneath my feet."Fine, in that case, I guess you get to live for one more month. I need to verify what you told me, and you better pray it's the truth."I instructed the guards to take him to the dungeon, and we left the room. I was about to leave when Ivar stopped me.“I wanted to ask if you had the tax issue sorted out. Our financial advisor has been shivering like a leaf for a while."I sighed and rolled my eyes. I had nearly forgotten about it.“No, I haven't. I plan to give the taxes to the R
Dorian's POVThis couldn't be possible. No one was that careless to forget their own birthday. Even if it was possible, it couldn’t be Stacie. Birthdays were a big deal for her, and she always chose a theme for her birthday months ahead.What on earth was going on here? What was I reading? I looked at the diary over and over again, but the words were written in clear black ink on brilliant white paper. There were no mistakes. The handwriting was crystal clear.I grabbed the picture, diary, and tax documents and headed to my room as fast as I could. Something wasn't right, and I was going to get to the bottom of it, even if that was the last thing I did. I got to my room, slammed the door firmly behind me, and walked to my calendar that hung on the wall.Was it even her 16th birthday that this happened? I checked for everything that I could possibly think of, but there were no mistakes. In the diary, it was written that April bullied her on her 16th birthday and that she left her outsi
Chapter 79April's POV I woke up the next day and rubbed my eyes sleepily. I had had the weirdest dream about Dorian that he was holding me close and caressing my face as if he was my long lost lover. It felt so real. I could hear his soft voice whispering in my ears, and he told me how much he loved me and wanted me.I shook my head and cleared my mind of the thoughts. Dorian didn't love me. He was selfish and cruel. It was just a dream; none of it was real. I stroked my neck and found out that the stinging had disappeared, and I was feeling much better. What had happened last night? I looked around the room to find Azura and caught sight of her sleeping on the couch at the far end of the room. She seemed to be very comfy, and from the way she lay down, I could tell that she had barely stirred the entire time, which was odd because I could have sworn that I felt her licking my neck while I slept. It was the only logical explanation for why my neck was wet. Maybe she did lick my
Dorian's POV Despite giving them all the necessary instructions, I hadn’t been to the infirmary since the attack, and I was startled by the number of casualties that were there. The tent for the makeshift infirmary had been erected, and it was buzzing with activity. Nurses, doctors, and volunteers were rushing around, trying to give as much aid as possible to the sick and injured.The whole tent smelled strongly of disinfectants, and stretchers lined every wing, with dozens of people standing beside the beds of their loved ones as they received treatment. If this was what the tent looked like, then I could only imagine the situation inside the infirmary. I sighed deeply and shook my head. Ivar stood beside me, and we both continued to watch the buzz of activity."This is worse than we thought," Ivar said solemnly. "What's your next course of action going to be?"Before I could answer, I caught sight of April rushing around the infirmary, helping the nurses with stitching injuries a
April's POV I had dashed away and hid from Dorian and his glare. From my hiding spot, close to the door of the West Wing, I could see Ivar and Dorian talking.A shiver ran down my spine, and I began to panic. Maybe he was telling Ivar to find me and bring me to him so that he could do whatever despicable things he had in his mind to me.However, after the talk, Dorian walked away. I was stunned, and I slowly crept out of my hiding spot. What was going on? Why did he leave?Unconsciously, my hand went to my neck, and I felt the bruise. There was no way I could have healed so fast. Did Dorian do something about my neck? Was he the one that..?No.I shook my head and dismissed the thoughts. It wasn't even feasible. He hated me; why would he even care to do anything about my injury? He was the one who had caused it, and I could still remember the glaring anger in his eyes when he grabbed my neck."April?"Hearing my name startled me, and I jumped in fright, and my thoughts went down the