Aurora and Sebastian descended into the hidden flatlands, shawls over their heads to protect them from the night insects.Three figures stood in the distance, shrouded in the darkness."She is one of them," Sebastian said to Aurora, taking hold of her hand, "she is kind but has quite a temper. I reckon I am not supposed to be here after our last encounter.""You have daring nerves, Sebastian Deusdedit," Othelia spat once they got close enough."Told ya," Sebastian whispered and Aurora bit back a laugh."Madam Othelia," Sebastian bowed and Aurora followed suit, "madam Ceres and the young lady."Madam Othelia whacked his head with her walking stick just like the last time."Seems your stick has taken a particular liking to my head," Sebastian joked, wincing a bit. He straightened."And it seems the gods did not bless you with enough wisdom to rule your empire which is why you have ended up this way," madam Othelia shot back."Do not condescend to his level, Othelia," madam Ceres scolded
"Sebastian's mother," the aged woman croaked out, "I am your husband's mother."Aurora stared at her in disbelief."You lie," Aurora shook her head, "you lie. He told me his mother died when he was a little boy. How can you possibly claim to be his mother?""It shouldn't be such a surprise to you. After all, you also thought your mother was dead up until she found you in the woods.""You've been watching," Aurora murmured, "you've been watching us for a long time."The old lady lowered herself back onto her throne, letting out another long loud sigh."Then why have you been hurting us, destroying our cities? Why did you use the werewolves and then the vampires to do your bidding?" Aurora was very much curious and she tried to keep her anger out of her voice. If she was Sebastian's mother, why was she so evil?"I wished to get my son's attention.""That is outrageous!" Aurora exclaimed, "you killed the werewolves! You turned the vampires and made them go against their lord, your son! Y
Sebastian laid Aurora on the ground. He checked her pulse and heaved a sigh of relief."What have you done to her? Why does she sleep?""She was a bit hysterical. I had to put her to sleep.""Wake her up," he ordered."Not until we have our talk, son."She hovered over him, causing him to feel uneasy.He rose, standing protectively at Aurora's side. He stared at her."Tell me where you have been these years," he obliged.She eyed him up, her face squeezing up in distaste."Do not act so guarded, I mean you no harm." She clicked her tongue.Sebastian shot her a grim smile, "that would be believable under normal circumstances. What happened to you? We thought you were dead?""I was," she revealed, turning away from him, "sent to my death by your father.""What?" His eyes narrowed."Your father," she began with a snort, "loved women which is why he had so many concubines, even after I bore him a son, the heir to his throne. He wasn't satisfied, he wanted more sons but I strangely couldn'
Sebastian was horrified."Aurora, get away from that cursed place!" He shouted, making to rush to her but he discovered he couldn't move."Let me go this instant!" He barked at the old lady."I am not the one who holds you," she moved closer, now hovering before the altar, "the words you have spoken do. Only when you complete the sacrifice shall you be free.""I will never sacrifice my wife," he replied strongly."You have no choice now, son. You shall see that you don't need her when I am free and we are ruling the world together. You will have your empire back, you will conquer even more nations and all peoples shall fall prostrate before you. Do not be consumed by your emotions, son."He glared at her, his entire body shaking with fury."Aurora, dearest Aurora, you must listen to me," he begged, looking back at his wife with pleading eyes . She smiled."I will do anything for your mother, Sebastian, you should too," she said sweetly, "finish up the ritual."His eyes glazed over and
"I am not done with you two yet," she barked. Aurora sat up then stood, and Sebastian followed. "Rot in hades, you evil witch," Aurora spat in contempt and blasted her away with the air. "Quick," she turned to Sebastian in haste, "we must find our way out of here." "Not so fast." Aurora shut her eyes with a sigh. It was too good a wish. She turned back around, coming face to face with the old lady. Her souless eyes sucked her in, trapping her in depths so dark, it scared her. "You will go back to your city," the old lady began with a smirk. "You!" Sebastian pulled Aurora away from her hypnotizing eyes. Aurora gasped, coming back to consciousness. She glared at the witch, not daring to look her too long in the eye. "Create a barrier," Sebastian said to her through the mind link, "so that she may use her powers on you no longer." Sebastian stepped in front of Aurora, giving her time. "What else do you seek, mother?" mother came out like vomit, "your plan came to naught. Let us g
"You speak gibberish, Justus," Aurora spat, "what kind of a ruler are you? You must let them know, you must let them know that we would never do such, we would never harm them intentionally.""They do not know about the unknown, lady Aurora. How do you explain to them that you only spent three days out there?"Aurora glared at him."Let him go," Justus ordered and the soldiers retreated from fighting Sebastian."Great people of Jaresh!" Justus bellowed, drawing the attention of the people, "your rulers have claimed to not intentionally lock us out of the world and starve us to death! What do you say to that!""Lies!" They screamed, pointing fingers at them, "lies! They must pay!""Let me go! Let me go, you disgrace of a son!" Aurora screamed as she was dragged to the scourging block right in the middle of the public square. Sebastian was held down by silver chains and locked in a silver cage and his frenzied efforts to free himself and save his beloved only made him weaker."You shall
Sebastian was long gone, drowned in the depths of his hidden hunger for her blood. It was her blood, right from the very first, the very first moment he smelt that dark red liquid, the very first moment he yearned to taste it; it was hers.She was right. He fed on all sorts of blood but he was never satisfied and he had to fight the desire, the yearning for what he truly craved because it was far out of his reach. He would never do that to her.But at that moment, unaware that she was no longer conscious, he did hurt her. Mouthfuls after mouthfuls of blood and he still wanted more, until there was no more to drink. His blood crazed brain slowly returned back to its senses and he retracted his fangs.His eyes, now glowing a golden yellow, gazed at his victim until it widened in horror."Aurora!" He shook her wildly. His hands stilled, his eyes running over her body. Her skin was terribly pale, drained of color… and blood."Oh no…" he b
"Do you not think that you are going too far?"Justus glanced at Julian on his way to his father's study."I could have killed you," Justus said, revealing the knife he held in his hand, "it's best not to startle me."Julian followed his younger brother into the study."Handing Aurora to the unknown? That's excessive," Julian folded his arms, a displeased look on his face."And who are you to question me, Julian?" Justus spoke, staring smugly at him from his seat at the table.Julian's jaw ticked."You may be the emperor but I am still your…""Older brother, I know, I know," Justus mocked, "but you should know that I despise older brothers. I think Sebastian is a worthy example."Their gazes held, intense and challenging."Get out," Justus ordered, looking away."You will regret this, I promise you," Julian swore and marched out of the study.Livia tiptoed past the guards on duty at the dungeon entrance and sneaked in. She had nothing on her and she wondered why she was making such a
The next two days, they spent letting the fire burn. No one was satiated yet, no one could stop them, no worries could bother them. On the third day, they finally stepped out to get some cool evening air and some groceries. "Everything feels different, better," she spoke as they walked into a store together, their rented car parked outside. They were in Tanzania. They rented a lone beach house which required a twenty minutes drive to get into town. It was perfect, just what they wanted. "And why is that?" He teased as they perused through shelves, hands locked. "Because we are finally finally together and my expectations of you in bed was superseded..." "Isabella!" He whisper shouted, wide eyes fixed on her. She laughed, pressing a quick kiss to his agape mouth. "What?" She asked with a smile, "do I not get to compliment my husband's bedroom skills?" He shook his head, looking around to make sure no one heard. He looked back at her, "Isabel, seriously?" "We should expect a baby
"I think you have done really well for your first week. You should be able to do things without supervision now... I guess that's the person that's been picking you up since you first arrived. Your boyfriend?"Isabel's lips twitched. "My fiancee," she answered with a smile. "Oh, wow, that's great. When's the wedding?" Isabel opened her mouth to reply just as Ezekiel rounded the car with a big smile in her direction. "What?" She heard Irene gasp but her mind was clouded with too much love for it to register. Her legs carried her across the road to him. "I love you," she mumbled as he enclosed her in a hug. "I think our engagement is making both of us jelly," he laughed, kissing her cheek, "I didn't even realize I was smiling so wide." She kissed him lightly and stepped back a little. Oh heavens, she laughed internally, remembering she abandoned her supervisor. "Irene?" She heard Ezekiel mumble. She turned around, seeing the dazed look on Irene's face. "Don't tell me..." she mu
Ezekiel whirled laughing Isabel around. She was clad in a purple graduation gown, her cap hanging loosely in her right hand."I'm dizzy," she forced out between laughs, holding unto him tightly. He set her down on her feet and kissed her loudly."How does it feel?" He asked, beaming."I don't know," she laughed, "you are rubbing your excitement all over me and I don't even know how I feel.""Exactly," Lily intervened, "you are acting like you have never experienced a convocation before. Get off her."His entire family came to celebrate her, his cousin and his beauty wife included, with their baby."She's not your girlfriend, Lily, mind your business," Ezekiel eyed her playfully.They moved off to a little spot they set out for a picnic and they spent the rest of the day being happy for her. The group stayed an extra day before leaving. It was just two of them left now.When their relationship was a year old, they sat down for a serious conversation. They rented a beach house for the w
Sebastian was just bringing the car around when Isabel and Aurora walked out of the airport."You must be Isabel," the man she recognized as Ezekiel's cousin spoke when he got to them."Yes," she replied with a warm smile, watching how he casually put an arm around Aurora's waist and kissed her hair, "it's nice to meet you."They shook hands. They definitely had good genes in their family. Ezekiel was her boyfriend, the man she loved but she couldn't confidently say he was more handsome than his cousin."Ezekiel is bringing the luggage, we can wait in the car. You don't mind, Isabel?""Of course not, he left me with the luggage in the first place," she answered with a roll of her eyes. Their little group chuckled and they moved to the car. Sebastian hovered over his fiancee as they chatted heartily about school, life, and anything else. Ezekiel arrived soon and Sebastian assisted him in getting the luggage into the trunk.Aurora and Sebastian's wedding was a week away so the atmospher
Ezekiel knew that there was a Supreme Being helping him to restrain himself because it was a miracle he didn't lose control after what she just said. Was she so oblivious that men were easily triggered sexually or was she doing it on purpose? She worked at a bar, she had to know."Your body belongs to you," he said slowly, blowing out a breath, "and to the God who made you. If we are married, you can say that but your body will belong to me and mine will belong to you only because we chose to let it be so. Do you understand?"She clicked her tongue, laying her head on his chest. "Let's get married then, you won't have any excuse to deny me what I want.""Oh heavens," he laughed in disbelief but somewhere deep within him, he began to consider it.*Weeks flew by and Isabel didn't think she had ever lived life so happily before. She woke up happy and blushing, she was much more interested in her boring classes because he always praised her when she performed well in the tutoring session
When she awoke bright early the next morning, he was still asleep and she was late for class. She stood at the entrance to his hospital room at a loss for what to do. She could rush to class and return after school to take care of him or she could stay and be with him throughout the day. She wanted to do the latter as she was the cause of his accident but on further reflection, she decided to choose the former, he'd prefer that.Ezekiel trudged into his apartment, burdened with a load of emotions. Drugs, really?"Stan found me, he sent me threat notes and has been stalking us."Was that true? He sighed, lowering himself unto a fur-covered couch. He didn't even know what to believe. What was her deal? Was it just the aftermath of the rape incident? It scared him that she would go as far as drugging him, how much damage did the incident cause her?If Stan was secretly stalking them then she wasn't safe. The police needed to be alerted and they needed to move away from town for some time
"Are you mad at me?"Isabel said nothing instead she focused on stabbing the potatoes on her plate."Have I ever refused you anything?"She blinked, thinking of an answer to his question though she didn't plan to reply, she discovered he always did what she asked and did more except for a few nos here and there but... He was always there."No," she answered curtly, guilt nagging at her. "Then you must know I have a very good reason for refusing you this one thing. Trust me, Isabel, please."She stared at her meal, fighting with her emotions. She thought of the drugged wine."Ezekiel," she began, looking up. Her eyes widened in horror seeing him bring down his glass from his lips."What?" He questioned, cleaning his mouth with a serviette.She opened her mouth and shut it. "I drugged your wine," she croaked out."What?" His eyes bulged out and he looked into his glass, "what are you talking about?"She kept silent, staring at him with wide eyes. He stared at her, his eye size matching
She was awfully alert the next day, constantly looking back and sideways, being suspicious of every male she came across, staying in open places where there were a lot of people. She didn't realize she was so on edge and tensed up until Ezekiel came to her at the cafe and she almost stabbed him with a fork.He dodged, his eyes wide. "Watsup!? Do you want to kill me!?"She sighed, her tense shoulders falling. The fork landed with a clattering sound on the table."I am sorry. I was... I thought it was someone else," she said apologetically.He raised a brow, sitting next to her, "is someone stalking you?""Don't worry about it," she sighed again and relaxed back in her seat. His presence was immensely comforting. She didn't know whether to be pleased or irritated, he was her boyfriend now."You could really have stabbed me if I didn't have quick reflexes. You wanted to harm the person. Why? What's going on?" He inquired.She kept silent. Why was she keeping it a secret?"Isabel..."She
"You're my girlfriend now," he murmured into her hair, "so you can't cheat on me ever again, you hear? You can't go kissing another man or letting another man touch you because you feel like getting down with someone. You are mine now and I'll tell you, I am very possessive and I get easily jealous."She blinked. What did she just do?"You forgot the second part," she mumbled, not sure of what she was feeling."No, it isn't enough to make me sleep with you."She groaned, surprisingly not feeling annoyed. "Why?" She whined."It only makes me want to protect you more, keep you clean and pure. I'll be your god and I'll keep you away from any filth," he replied.She fought the smile that crawled its way up her cheek. He pulled away a little and looked at her with so much tenderness, she felt she could melt from it."Do you still feel like getting down with me?" He asked, smiling.She shook her head."Good," he grinned, "I'll call your father now and tell him you're safe with me. I'll call