Too damn late! Danica prepared to attack her enough to get herself out of the car. She was already raising her hand from the seat but had to put it in her hair instead because Monica spat, “What a load of crap! Don’t worry, Dani. I never believe in those pathetic humans. They all report fucking nonsense day and night.”
She pretended to comb her hair and mumbled something incomprehensible even to herself.
“What? Didn’t catch that.”
“I said you’re right. That’s—” she lied through her teeth. “That’s a load of crap, obviously.”
“Right?” she shook her head. “Why would you curse our prince? It’s not even possible. He’d know! Besides, you had feeli
“I might need a new name! Or probably a new face!” Danica slammed shut the door after jumping back into the car.“Yeah, agreed!” Monica started the engine.They had a good laugh about her being famous along the way. The vampire girl was really growing on her. She was like a vampire version of her friend Mia. Danica looked at the flower fields through the window. The colorful nature against the fluffy white snow seemed miraculous. “What about…umm…Ane?”“Ane? Wow, really creative. You name yourself after the sector?“El, then.” After Elaine. “Okay. El.”“What are those?” Danica bent forward to get a clear view of banners on each side of the road. They were golden-maroon, each printed with an embossed coat of arm. Under the faint light, they were sparkling.“They represent the crown prince. The sectors are showing they are with him. The banners represent our wishes for him to recover soon.”She clasped her hands to hide her nervousness. They did not know he was never going to recover.
She knew little about the vampire family aside from King Magnus and Queen Campana, and ‘him’, of course. Back in the room, Danica slumped back into the nearest chair. The news did not interest her. As though responding to her thought, Monica said from the balcony, “We might hear about the prince if one of the royal family is here. I doubt somebody would update about him on social media, at this point. Let’s go out…maybe tomorrow night…when you have enough rest.”She almost felt like she had cursed herself, cursing him. A weight settled in her chest. She was not entirely aware of how she responded. Her mouth moved and uttered an agreement.A full-length mirror stood at the opposite wall. A good amount of concealer hid the ugly marks. The slashes were healing faster than ever; the scabs had even gone. Still, they would be more than obvious on her bare face. She had thought about what Ignis might have done: taking his power back was what it was. He was a demon; what had she expected?B
“Impossible!” She shot to her feet, but hands pushed her back down. The snarls targeted at her, the exhaustion she felt, and the surrounding guards all dimmed out of her senses as she focused only on one male.He was the shadow that stood tall, surrounded by the entourage. He sauntered in, wearing an expression that he did not care about anything or anybody by his side. The dignified manner was more pronounced and somehow different in him than the male she had known although they looked exactly the same.He hadn’t spared a glance at the disturbance she had caused as he continued his way to the throne-like seat in the middle of the room, which might be where the count usually accepted his guests, but now it belonged to him.He was in all crisp white, from his tie and vest to his leather shoes. As he
The noises of vampires and humans alike roared and screamed as the guards brought her along the dark passage. Just like her way in, the human prisoners’ cries for mercy—to their vampire cellmates—disturbed her like no other, she wanted to kill every vampire guard around her.“So inhuman!” she shrieked, for the lack of a better word.“Guess what! We aren’t human,” answered one guard.The laughter followed.Like some rag-doll, they dragged her into the light, into the courtyard. “Of course, he is fine with this,” she spat out bitterly.“What the hell is she talking about?”“About him, probably. She seemed to have a thing for him.”The guards mocked.“He is fine, obviously. He’d be there soon to whip them himself.”She struggled again, raising her knees up. Before her effort took any effect, they sped up, the grass and flower beds turned shadow around her. Sharp stones scratched her exposed legs. Seconds later, her ankles touched the steps out of the back door. She was bleeding all over,
She punched him in the face and he dodged, but her fist still scratched his temple, which was as hard as steel. Red tinged in his eyes; a flicker of surprise flashed across his beautiful face.“You thought I couldn’t hit you, and here we are.”He regained his composure and muttered two words. “Of course.”“What do you mean, “of course”?”He said nothing for several unnerving seconds before he curled his lips into a mocking smile. “Of course, you’re a hunter. That’s what I meant. You ‘were’ a hunter. You are my blood slave from this point onward.”That said, his eyes roamed down her body, and this time, his expression suggeste
Danica closed her eyes to concentrate on her hearing. She tried to make out what they were saying from bits and pieces.“Why? Was that really necessary, my lord?”“Perhaps not.”“Perhaps not,” the sentinel echoed between sobs. “It pains me to see–” She opened her eyes because she could only hear leaves rustling, birds chirping, and footsteps in the distance after a while. The following events almost made her wish she hadn’t left her room. One minute she was peeking at him lounging there like he hadn’t a bother in the entire world and the next he uttered two words flatly, “Get them.”Her heart leaped to her throat. Instantly, human guards from all directions were sprinting over, separating into two directions. One was towards her undoubtedly. She raced to the back gate for her life. Two: she wasn’t sure and couldn’t care less.A couple of trees and less than ten meters sat between her and the opened gate. The entire estate was in turbulence. Shouts and screams were flying around alon
“What are you doing here? Get–get out!” She lay back down in a hurry. Water splashed. Most bubbles had popped, leaving a thin layer only. She faced the ceiling instead of him.“You were taking such a long time.” His lazy drawl made her body warmer than what the water—which was no longer warm—could have ever done. She crossed her arms to cover her chest, feeling his eyes on her. “I don’t care. Get out! I—” She got flustered.Hearing a whirl, she jerked up, exposing herself again. In the corner of her eyes, the black and slate-gray of his suit formed out of seemingly nothing. The motion had caused the illusion.He had crossed the distance between them, instead of obeying or replying to her demands. She looked up at him towering over her bathtub. His eyes were so hooded they were almost a slit, making him appear cunning. And cruel. Like a snake.“I asked, “what are you doing here?”,” she said sharply.“I owe you no answer. You’re going to serve me.”“You son of a—Ugh!” She yelped as sh
“I did nothing wrong! Please!” A voice screeched somewhere outside. “Let me go. Please. No. Fuck you!”The familiar nasal tone made her immediately rush to the nearest window. She put her hands on the glass panels. The scene in the garden confirmed her thought: it was Monica, in two pieces of clothes that barely cover anything, twisting wildly in two guards’ grips who were hauling her along. “Do you see that?” The sudden breath into her ear nearly made her jump out of her skin. “Imagine the hell she’d have to go through…” His lazy drawl suggested he didn’t have a care in the world. “If only you are not so stubborn…” Monica continued to struggle. They were sending her to the dungeon. This shouldn’t be happening. “Leave my friend alone. She has nothing to do with this.” She slammed the glass panel in frustration. This was her fault.“Why?”She spun around and ended up in his arms. He had been standing too close. She took a step back, which only sent her up against the glass panels. T