"You know a lot about castles. You must have visited a lot of them to know such details." Vladimir said as he took a sip of his wine, his gaze fixed on the witch sitting on the other end of the table across from him. "I have not visited any Castle before but I have studied about them. I have read books on them. Castles and architectures fascinate me." Esmeray mumbled as her gaze wandered around the lavish dining room that made her squirm in her chair. She had never been to a place like this before. She felt like a giddy kid who was watching a fair for the first time. She could barely stop herself from admiring the ceiling of the dining room that was painted into a blue sky. It looked surreal. It was a known fact that Vampires couldn't go out in the sun without turning into ashes. Was this their way of enjoying something they will never experience? Did the Vampire King long for the sun? Her eyes momentarily flickered at the Vampire King before she looked at the floor that was covere
Vladimir watched the batshit crazy witch with an amused smile as she ate her eighth sandwich. The amount of food she consumed sometimes was astonishing even for an immortal. Her appetite can even put a Lycan to shame. Vladimir sat there on his office chair with a silly smile plastered on his face. He was liking living with this adorably wicked witch. There was never a dull moment when he was with her. She bought a spark in his life, a thrill. Every night he now looked forward to waking up. He looked forward to spending more time with the witch even though sometimes he wanted nothing more than smothering her with a pillow while she slept beside him. The witch was like a little box full of surprises. And above all, she wasn't a pushover. Every time Vladimir would say something inappropriate, instead of getting offended the witch would shake her head in disbelief before coming up with something even more inappropriate that would even make Vladimir blush. Vladimir liked the way she st
"It is hard to survive in this line of work that is dominated by men. People usually don't take you seriously. And by people, I mean the arrogant arseholes who call themselves healers. You are always doubted no matter how good you are at your job." Daisy said sighing heavily while pushing her thick glasses up on her nose. Esmeray's eyes flickered towards her curly wild red hair that appeared like Daisy hadn't bothered brushing them in ages. She was a mess but in an adorable way. Esmeray had come to the healer for a routine check-up. She had been wandering in the castle with nothing to do so she had come for a check-up and be done with it. She did not like the protocol, she did not like to trouble the curvy cute healer who was the nicest person Esmeray had met in a while once she become comfortable enough to come out of her shy persona. Vampires were meant to be sexy and charming yet Daisy was the complete opposite of that. She was an adorable awkward cookie you can't help but fall i
When Esmeray entered the chamber she was bought out of her thoughts by a low moan. The lights of the chamber were dim as usual, making it hard for her to see clearly. Reaching into her mystical pouch she took out her glasses and wore them. As her eyes fell on the bed, the scene playing in front of Esmeray took her breath away as her lungs threatened to collapse. 'What in the bloody hell was going on?' As the thought crossed her mind another throaty moan full of despair echoed in the silent room~ Vladimir was twisting on the bed sweating, panting for breath, clawing at his throat, leaving angry red lines behind. It was a miracle that he hadn't been able to break the skin. What the hell was he trying to do? Kill himself in his sleep? A wave of fear shot through her. Was the Vampire having a bad dream? Walking towards him she sat on her side of the bed. "Vlad?" She whispered while scooting at the edge of the bed when Vladimir thrashed a little violently. Esmeray was worried for hi
Esmeray woke from her dreamless slumber and almost passed out as her senses got bombarded with countless unfamiliar scents. Distant and close scents that she was finding hard to pinpoint, scents that were making her head spin. Some of the scents that she could identify were Vampires, blood, different perfumes along with faint scents of herbs. Squeezing her eyes shut when she tried to focus on one scent her senses got overwhelmed by one scent in particular. The scent of fresh roses mashed with a strong addictive scent of tobacco dipped in honey. A gust of breath left her lungs. . . She had never smelled a tobacco dipped in honey yet that was the only way she could describe the scent. The scent was so strong that it almost made her eyes roll back in her head. Suddenly an unfamiliar sinister voice echoed in her mind startling her."MINE TO HOLD~""MINE TO HURT~""MINE TO CLAIM~""MATE~" An involuntary low growl escaped from her lips as her eyes fell on the source of the scent tha
"Fuck!!!" Esmeray screamed at the top of her lungs as she pulled at her hair to stop the voice inside her head that was seething at her to mark their mate. Brand their name on the Vampire King. What she did out there with Vladimir had barely taken off the edge of her need. And the sinister voice hissing inside her mind wasn't making things easy for her along with Vladimir's scent that she was currently covered in. Esmeray groaned as her head threatened to explode, the foreign voice was too much to handle. She had to figure out a way to mute it before it drove her crazy. Maybe she should start with getting rid of Vladimir's scent. . . Breathing through her mouth Esmeray walked towards the shower, after what seemed like an eternity she was finally able to relax a bit by the courtesy of the hot water. Stepping out of the steamy bathroom she stepped into the walk-in closet. Standing naked in front of the mirrored wall Esmeray stared at her treacherous reflection expressionlessly as s
Slowly nodding Esmeray stood up mumbling under her breath. "I should run and pretend I never met Vladimir." As the words left her lips, a chill came from the bottom of her heart and spread all over her body. The temperature of the room dropped to an alarming point~ Her eyes abruptly scanned her surroundings until they fell on a slim woman standing in the far corner under the shadows. Esmeray stared into her black hazy eyes that were regarding Esmeray as if they sought help. All of a sudden the shadows dancing around the woman engulfed Esmeray like a sand storm. She cried out in pain, her spine arched like a bow as her surroundings blended out with visions of countless nameless faces. It was like someone was playing clips from numerous unknown movies in front of her eyes. Esmeray blinked rapidly to shake off the visions. Was she daydreaming or hallucinating? Were these all illusions or a nightmare? Esmeray couldn't breathe, her body trembled with the intensity of the visions, s
Vladimir was walking on a dicey path. One mistake was all it was going to take for him to lose everything. Vladimir was battling against a being who would foresee his every freaking move. Vladimir knew that the witch who abducted his bride was an Oracle but not any ordinary Oracle. Vladimir had encountered the bitch two times and in those times he had found very unnerving information about her. Oracle's were known for their insanity. Foresight was a blessing and a curse for them. The power to predict the future drove them towards the edge of madness. Oracles could barely focus on the present, their minds were always tangled with visions of past and future. But the Oracle who had abducted Vladimir's bride was a sane one. Which made her even more twisted than any other witch out there. If that fact wasn't enough to fuck him the bitch didn't have a shadow. Before that Oracle Vladimir had only read about the legend of the shadowless beings who were considered a myth in the supernatural
~Nothing Is Harder On A Soul Than The Smell Of Dreams While They Are Evaporating.~In her desperation, Esmeray looked at Amber. "Save me." Swallowing her pride the broken plea tumbled out of her lips.Amber gave Esmeray an uncertain look as if she wasn't sure how to react. The girl had a bruise forming on her cheek, there was a deep cut on her lower lip that was still bleeding, it was hard not to notice the streaks of drying blood that started from her upper lips and extended to her left cheek, a telltale of a nasty nosebleed. Even with a crown made of the finest gold on her head, the powerless trembling girl looked a world apart from the fierce woman the Vampire King had claimed as his bride and Queen on the altar. "What are you up to Almira?" Amber's voice was visibly startled when her flame-like gaze collided with the Vampire King who was on his knees. The side of his neck was bleeding while he held a sword at his own throat. 'Was the Vampire under an enchantment?' Ignoring the
'When Dreams Turn Into Nightmares.'An icy chill runs down Esmeray's spine. As she took a startled step back but before she could go any further she felt Lord Igor's harsh grip on her arm as he pushed her forward making her stumble into the room. "I kept my word. Here's the witch. Now it's time for you to keep your word and let my cousin go." Igor's words made Almira scoff. "You think I can't see the burning contempt in your soul for this abomination? You would have bought her to me even if I didn't hold the Vampire King hostage." "What do you want?" Esmeray sneered, hating the tremble in her voice. Even if Almira was talking to Igor her eyes were watching Esmeray with such intense curiosity that Esmeray felt like the old witch could see right inside her, see the chaos, the panicked beating of her heart. The fear~ All the sorcerers of the Sacred Land had one thing in common. The sorcerers had seen all the Elders except two. Vincent the Conqueror and Lady Almira. Lady Almira was re
Under the starry sky on the stage set in the middle of the Royal garden Raziel and Amell stared at Esmeray as she had her first dance with the King of Vampires who was now officially her husband. "Do you think we did the right thing?" Raziel asked his brother who was giving him company in the shadows, away from the preying ears and eyes. Raziel swallowed another sip of champagne from the crystal flute that threatened to break in his unforgiving grip, he had too much already but it still was not enough to endure the remaining hours of this ruse. "She is happy." Amell's statement was not enough to push the lingering doubts out of Raziel's mind. "The Vampire is going to admit his trade with Ascian. How do you think it will end up for everyone?" To calm his jittery intuition Raziel disclosed. "He is?" Amell smattered in shock. His eyes bounced between the newlywed couple and his brother. Clasping Raziel's arm in a warning grip Amell hissed under his breath. "Did you force the Vampire
The vast gardens were illuminated with beautiful, soft candlelight, the round tables were covered in white cloth. Arrangements of roses in the darkest shade of red decorate each one, their scent thick in the humid night. The Vampire Kingdom's most prestigious allys and subjects were seated around the long aisle. Standing at the entrance of the royal garden Esmeray could make out the familiar figures of the Queen and King of Wastelands along with the Fey King seated at the front, closest to the altar. Her grandfather Aric King was missing and given his history with Vladimir Esmeray wasn't surprised at his absence. Esmeray belonged to their bloodline but they were nothing more than numerous strangers surrounding her tonight. "I wish Daddy was here. I miss him." Esmeray's voice was barely above a whisper as she felt a pang of longing in her heart. "Who said he is not here? Maybe he is among the stars staring down at you with a smile. He must be proud to see how far his little food fa
"I can't feel my fingers." Esmeray's whining was accompanied by Amell's pained moan. "My back is killing me." After dealing with their end of the trade with the Dragon King the first thing they did was to transfer all the Dragon Gold from Esmeray’s old mansion to the Vampire Castle's secure Walt because it wasn't safe to leave the Gold out there after the Dragon King discovered that Esmeray had it in her possession. You can never trust a Dragon when it comes to Red Gold, they bloody protect it as their firstborn. Esmeray Raziel and Amell were sure once Aidan Draco was done dealing with his Mad Oracle he was going to come after Esmeray. "Did Aidan Draco find his bride?" Vladimir couldn't hold back his curiosity. "We don't know." Amell gave a careless shrug. "How could you not know? It was your trade to help the Dragon King find his bride." Vladimir asked instead of leaving the topic. And if there was anyone else in his place he would have done the same. Dragons were a specie th
Vladimir stared at the Royal attire he had never worn before with a slight curve of his lips. Two hours ago when Esmeray left with the two wizards it occurred to Vladimir that he couldn't just show up at his wedding in his typical formal black dress. So the first thing he did was to call the royal couturier to alter the royal attire that he had never worn in his life. The news of his marriage was made public just an hour ago. His subjects and Kingdom were in uproar at discovering that their King was finally seizing a Queen. Esmeray will be the first woman who will sit on the Vampire Queen's throne after Vladimir's mother's death. Vladimir had chosen the garden as a venue. The preparations outside the castle were on full swings. Vladimir could feel a mix of excitement and eagerness thrumming through his veins as everything started to fall into place on its own. "You are truly marrying her." The mocking sneer followed by the sound of throaty, gruff laughter filling the air pulled V
Esmeray stirred at the feel of the faint touch of cold fingers against her skin. Despite her mind being covered in the thick fog of sleep she moaned at the sparks going off on her skin at a familiar touch. The pointed tips of her ears twitched at the sound of muffled sobs coming from her left, bringing her out of her sleep-hazed state. Esmeray opened her eyes, blinking them rapidly to adjust to the room's low light. The moment her sight focused her eyes fell on Vladimir's face. She frowned at the tears rolling down his face as he stared at her legs. Despair settled at the pit of her stomach as she realized Vladimir was examining her scars. It almost felt like a dream seeing the Vampire King in a trance as his fingers gently traced over the thick scared tissues hidden beneath the ink on her legs. "Do they still hurt?" Esmeray’s heart twisted in knots at hearing the tremble in his voice. Somehow Esmeray knew he was not talking about physical pain. Her wounds had healed a long time
The Fey King was the only Monarch Esmeray hadn't managed to piss off or taunted probably because he was not hostile towards her. By blood, the Fey King was Amber’s grandfather but the man had long ago banished his daughter who was the Rightful Hier to his throne when she had abandoned the Fey Throne by marrying the King of Beasts. But Esmeray didn't know how much of that information was true. "If you know her origin why don't you share it with all of us?" Aric reasoned. The beast residing in his soul wanted to know if the pull it felt towards Esmeray was by blood or because of compulsion. Esmeray exhaled a tiny breath, her chest twisted as she waited for the Fey King to disclose her secret but his next words surprised her. "Knowledge and secret hold power and a wise King never reveals information of his allies." The Fey King offered Esmeray a mischievous smile. "And you are allied with her, darling grandfather." Amber couldn't help but mock the Fey King. She couldn't believe that
"If anyone has a problem with my appearance then they are welcome not to look my way. We are not here to fit in or seek any validation from anyone. So kindly refrain from telling me where I belong or not. The three of us are here just to keep an eye on my groom for protection purposes." Esmeray spoke unfazed by her mother's taunt. "Why do you think the Vampire King needs your protection?" Aric King asked with genuine confusion. It was hardly believable that a man of Vladimir's reputation would need someone's protection. The Vampire was a walking unhinged hazard. "What can I say? It's heartbreaking to admit it out loud that the Vampire won't sleep with me before our marriage so I am forced to protect his dee dee till our wedding night." Esmeray let out with a rueful shake of her head making Aric bit back a smile. "You are making it sound like you are marrying me for my body." Even though his tone was bored Vladimir's cheeks turned flaming red at his little brat's words who was dete