Time slowed down. Everything else but him ceased to exist. Even her own existence drifted to the background. “You’re talking about Ignis…” She was convincing herself. Of course, he must be talking about the archdemon. That only made sense!“You know that’s not him,” he chided, and her blood stopped running. “Contrary to his self-importance and delusion of self-grandeur,” he went on, his tone colder and quieter. “He is a bootlicker, a copycat, and a dumb fox in wolf’s clothing. Although he certainly took a part in shedding my blood. I wonder where he is hiding. He knew I’d peel off his disgusting skin alive if I found him after this little plot of his.”The wall rumbled behind her and all around her, shoving her into his chest, and letting her feel the frightening emotion he had always concealed inside. The dungeon trembled as though an earthquake struck under his wrath, without him lifting a hand. The quake stopped, but she was shaken, in contrast to him being so still, sandwiching
CRASH!Jerking her head up, she saw the light bulb shattering. She jolted to her feet alone in the dark dungeon. Doors slammed and fabric torn upstairs like a tornado was waving through this eerie building.Her first thought was he was viciously locking her up in the dungeon–where he had suffered–to rot. He had taken over by his fury; she decided in alarm. She fumbled around in the dark for his coat and could not get hold of it. Maybe she deserved his revenge, but she could not accept this fate.Her need to look out for herself—how selfish it might be—kicked in. She removed her shoes and dipped her bare feet into the pool of liquid, which was primarily a combination of his blood and dirt. He must have installed the light in the past decades, but had never bothered cleaning the blo
No answer. He had stopped, his sentence unfinished, making her wonder what went wrong. Soon, she found out why he had sent the woman here for herself when she recovered from the shock of getting suspended in the air. The woman went up to the second floor and cleaned a bedroom. Apart from the aura, the woman looked as old as Mr. Hacke at the closer look which made her saggy, gray eyes dart around in suspicion. She shifted on her feet and threw a nervous look at her whenever Danica took a step. “Do you know where I might get some clothing?” she asked, after a good hour of repeating the question in her head. Seconds passed during which the woman fidgeted. “I… I just wanted to put on clothes. That’s all.” With caution, she passed by her before sauntering downstairs. Danica prepared to follow. “Please wait here.” Several minutes later, she came back with a heavy-looking duffle bag, which she handed her. Right away, Danica unzipped it to find stacks of clothes and other stuff, inc
Hello, everyone! Thank you so much for reading my book so far. If you noticed that the latest chapter title was Chapter 75 instead of Chapter 74, it means I screwed up and uploaded the wrong chapter and have yet to fix it! If not, and you saw Chapter 74 following Chapter 73, that was the correct chapter. If you can, please wait a couple of days until it is fixed? Thank you so much! It was entirely my fault. No, it was my sleepy brain! I know the updates are slow, and my apology. I'm ending the story soon! On that note, I do intend to update much faster in my next book. I'll update it daily or at least every other day. Yes, I have a new book, and you might want to check it out if you've loved this story so far. I'm going to upload a free chapter of the new book as an additional chapter of this book. So, stay tuned! Lastly, I'd like you to know that I do appreciate every read and your support. Leave me a review, a comment, or a gem whenever you feel like it, and that would be super a
“Reign?” Her heart did a little somersault simply with the knowledge that he was here, behind her. The shadow did not move. Receiving no response, she shifted back and her stomach dropped. Something had terribly gone wrong, more so than before.She had never, ever seen him in this state. Not when they had got off on the wrong foot. Not during the time he was pretending to be some lord. Violence and borderline madness were what adorned him, apart from the sea-gray and the pastel-blue pair that would look good only on him. Or rather, apart from the slacks and the shirt which used to be those colors.They were only visible where red blotches did not cover and long rips were absent. One sleeve was rolled up to his elbow, and another was ripped off of the shoulder. One single diamond remained as a button, just like the last piece of sanity on his face, which was covered in thin, red lines.She jerked up, sat facing him, and put her fingers on his cheek to examine if he was hurt, knowing he
You brought me to the palace.”He did not respond, still holding her in his cold, loveless embrace. Some shadows came as close as she could almost make out their faces. “Come, meum deliciae,” he uttered, not looking at her. My pleasure? Or my darling? Not my love, of course.Bowing, one figure opened the car door. She raised her palm up against the strong gust of wind. However, she would like to at least walk into this grandiose, foreign place, as an independent person, to keep the last bit of her dignity, he would not allow her. He stepped out of the car, carrying her like some possession he disliked but could not discard.“Reign, please, put me down.” She slightly pushed him in the chest, her fingers brushing the frayed edges of his shirt. “I…I regret what I did to you.”This was her final plea, which did not seem to register him. If she were to allow her emotions to take the best of her, she would close her eyes and lean into him, shutting the world out. She could sense, however,
After a thousand steps and not less than a dozen flights of stairs, she wondered if she had been used to being cradled like a kid and carried along everywhere. Honestly, he had done it so effortlessly, in and out of cars and planes and so on. She could have been a feather. And, she must have forgotten a part of herself.“No elevator, by any chance?” “Where you are is a thousand-year-old heritage. No elevator.” He walked alongside her, and to his credit, he did not look bored. “What about the throne room? That’s not part of the heritage?” she probed. “Who says I’m conserving this? It’s all Magnus’s idea.” “I would have thought you’re the artsy type. Given that little piano display when we met. And the paintings.” She was trying to get a reaction from him aside from getting answers. Since he had gained her promise, he had been gritting his fangs and keeping his silence. “Little piano…” He groaned. “You should know, during the 20th century, everyone who heard me play wondered why I
***An hour later***“Slap!” Her palm resounded against his cheek and he had not avoided it. She swung her hand to slap him again and this time, he took hold of it. Groaning, she struggled with all her might to break free. When she could not, she attempted with her free hand. “Enough,” he scolded, seizing it.The sense of betrayal was so deep all she could feel was despair and anger. Because she knew she still loved him after everything he had just told her. She raised her knee to attack him where it would definitely hurt–even if he was the most powerful being on earth. He released her hands and slipped out of her path.She fell on all four, losing her balance.“I said enough!” he snarled, pinning her on the floor when she tried to attack him yet again. They were so close, their faces mere inches apart, but this was different from all the other times. While his eyes held no glint of desire, the pain in her chest was so great it overpowered all other feelings.“How could you do this to
When he led her down the stairs, she eyed Marie, who was biting her lips and giving her a conspiratory look. An hour later, she was in his mansion, having lost the crowd at last. Marc and Loyd arrived with Marie, Both whining they would have come sooner if they had known. In the garden, they sat down for dinner, five of them. Reign asked Mr. Hacke to join and the old man cried before he took a seat at the table. “You’re coming with me back to the kingdom, my darling,” he announced, in the middle of their noisy chats.“Am I? Why?” she set down her fork. “Are you…giving me orders? Already?”He tilted his head, candle lights half-shadowing his face. “If you’d love to stay behind, of course you can. I’m not giving you an order. Chaos could break out soon without me or you with the remnants of…” he halted as though searching for words, “my enemy. I simply thought you’d agree with me to come along.”She looked down at her plate.“I’m sorry I brought this up at our engagement dinner.” He k
“Cut!” the director’s voice boomed. Nova slumped her shoulders and dared a peek at his direction. This was the 51st take of one single scene and the sunlight was burning her in her voluptuous Snow White costume. This was how a vampire would feel under the sun, she thought sarcastically. “Snow White’s supposed to be sad thinking about her late mother.” he shook his head. “You looked freaked the hell out. This is her birthday. She is ‘lonely’. Again!” Her jaws felt so stiff, almost paralyzed with trying to get into that sad smile the director wanted for hours straight. Before she was ready, the director shouted, “Action!” She looked at the giant birthday cake and sighed. “Happy 16th Birthday, Princess,” said the co-actress. She smiled wryly, or tried to. Thankfully, it worked! “Cut.” Director Clark rose from the chair. “Good job, everyone.” She exhaled in relief, before slumping down into a nearby chair. For today’s scenes which started at six am in the morning, she had to wake
“Wait, Your Highness! Your outfit! How silly of me.”The woman gestured to her assistants, who gingerly carried what she was going to wear for this evening over to her. She stared at her dress in a daze; it was easily the most beautiful gown she had ever seen. The sleeveless, low-cut dress was neither black nor silver, or both perhaps. It shone whenever it moved in their hands. Delicate forest green laces were sprinkled with…diamonds.She swallowed the urge to refuse it, biting down on her lips not to slip that it was too expensive and she couldn’t accept it. Unlike the other dresses she had received from him, this felt so different. This gorgeous dress was full of his adoration for her; she looked away, blushing at her thought.After she put that on with their help, she stood before the mirror they had removed from her wall. Her lips were a few shades darker than her red hair; her cheeks appeared naturally flushed; and her eyes looked glittering, just like all the jewels over her bod
“What is it?” she questioned, pretending to be angry. “You have nothing to be jealous of, do you?”“I wouldn’t dare, Your Royal Highness,” Marc joked. “It’s just, you guys were not even kissing, but the tension was so high. We were afraid you guys might burn down the building.”“Yep. Yep,” Marie agreed vehemently.“You guys trust him now?” interrupted Sage. “Stop, Sage,” protested Marc, but the other one continued, “And you, you don’t care about her. Why are you even here?”Danica was worried Reign would do something to him and prepared to stand between them.But, he merely responded, “I am starting to regret that I healed you. I probably should’ve let you crippled for your entire life.”She spun around and faced him. “You healed him?!”“Yes, my darling,” he smiled, lighting up the entire apartment, or the entire building perhaps.“The vampire prince—sorry—king could smile?” Loyd remarked, sounding dumbstruck.“I’ve seen him smile,” retorted Marc.“I’ve seen it on the net too. But, i
Patrons went back to their noisy selves although several were still staring at her. “Who cares if you’re someone’s fiancee or not?” he grinned. “By the way, did he tell you? That I saved his life.”“Yeah, Marc is a hero,” said Loyd, looking at him fondly. “He saved the vampire king’s life.”She took the glass Marie was handing her. “Now that I think about it, yeah, he almost told me about you. I think he was saying, “Your friend...” when I started screaming about going back.”“You shouted at him. Now you’re a hero,” Loyd pitched in. She noticed some tables went silent around her. She ignored them and swallowed. The scene in the throne-room from five months ago replayed in her mind.“Thank you, Marc,” she said seriously. “What did you do?”“It’s nothing,” he sighed. “Compared to what he had suffered. I’ve never met someone like… your boyfriend. He’s your boyfriend, right? Excluding Loyd obviously; he is the most amazing. Anyway, I was at the palace gate when the evil vampire king was
After a long, frustrating flight and drive, Danica was finally back in Brickland, Umbre. Along the way, she had yet to meet a single person who did not recognize her as an alleged-criminal-turned-princess. Some stared at her, whispering between one another, and others–especially teenage girls–would surround her and try to take photographs with her, and of her.“I don’t want you to take my pictures. Please. Please!”Nobody gave a damn. They would press their faces next to hers and would take selfies while her face ended up grimacing or contorting. A few would caption their photos and upload them to their social media accounts, right under her eyes.Their hashtags, #withcc, #ccandme #atairport, #milestonemoment, etc., etc. CC meant Cinderella Convict, apparently to someone who practically shouted that to her face. One group of teenage boys even asked her, “Are you hungry now? Do you want to bite me?”“No. I don’t have bloodlusts.”“Really?”They looked disappointed while some girls gav
In the wind, his sentinel cloak was flapping. It tickled her calves below her nightdress. The garden below was in pandemonium just like in the tower. She registered all those noises vaguely while she was too aware of the single presence, the male holding her.“We’re going back in,” he warned.In one swift movement, he lifted both of them back into the tower. Once their feet touched the bathroom floor, he stood face to face with her and leaned down gently, cornering her against the half-broken window. Along the ragged window frame, he placed his hands, seemingly unaware the sun was hurting them.She stared when he spoke, unable to take her eyes off of him.“I shouldn’t have let you out of my sight. It was my fault,” he murmu
That did not surprise her. All of Fragor’s followers hardly consider her a princess anymore since they realized what she was for their king: a device. This sentinel must think the same. He must not feel the need to grace her with a response.She left the chair and went to the wardrobes where she had found the blanket, all along feeling a hawk-like gaze on her back. It seemed her remaining few days would be even more suffocating than her previous days. While Eirene hadn’t given a damn about her well-being, she had kept her good company most days.This new person… she sighed, placing the blanket in the far corner where she had found it. She went to the bed and sat down in the middle. There was no scenery to look out. No sunlight. She had wondered how the sun would feel against her skin since the seal on her arm was gone and she was a hybrid. Hours must have passed while she was sitting on the bed and the person at the door had yet to move at all. She got down from the bed to take a bath
Danica did not blink at the word, ‘the ritual’. She did not care what he was going to do with her. Footsteps retreated and footsteps entered while she did not bother getting up from the floor. Pulling up her hood, her new attendant stopped by the bedside; she did not look like an attendant at all.“You know…” said Eirene. “I came here to kill you.”“I know,” she mumbled. “How do you know?!” her eyes widened.Danica got up, holding onto the edge of the bed to support herself. Her limbs felt heavy after days of no movement. “I saw you in the crowd the other day.”“You couldn’t have possibly known my—”“Here…” she looked at her in his glowing eyes. “I’ve been a hunter for years. I could at least spot someone who wants to kill me. You probably thought I was a dumb bitch, didn’t you? How convenient you want to kill me. Do it now.”Eirene showed her fangs. “No. I changed my mind. You deserve to live suffering.”“Oh…” she breathed, disappointed. “Your father let me in even though he knew I