The walk to the royal dining room felt like a walk of death to Elena. She held onto her tray tightly, following other maids as they headed to the room. Once they reached, Elena was greeted by a long table. She wondered if Firoza was joining them and who else was because the table was too big for just the royal family. Before Calhoun had returned, his parents ate at a much smaller table. Now that she thought of it, perhaps he was having a royal meeting. Hopefully, he would be too busy to notice her there. She took a stand by the side of the table, where all the maids stood as they waited for the table's occupants. Elena could feel her legs shaking. She didn't know why she was afraid. Wasn't it better if she knew what Calhoun's response to her might be and got it over with? Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself, then silently waited for the room's occupants. The first guests to walk in were some of the king's advisers. Elena had seen them when Calhoun's father he

Calhoun looked at Elena, a bit confused. "Where you are from doesn't change anything for me, love. You might be the daughter of a killer and I would still love you." "That's the thing," Elena replied, dragging her hands across her hair. "I am the daughter of a killer." Calhoun faced Elena intensely, a worried look overtaking his face, but he remained quiet. "You asked me why I never wanted to talk of the blood king? Well, it's because of my father. My father wanted to send me to you as a peace offering." "A peace offering?" Calhoun said, confused. "Yeah. His wife, my stepmother wanted to get rid of me. Rumours had it that whoever entered your kingdom can never get out..." "That's not a lie," Calhoun hummed. "And so she sort to send me to you as a bride, more so for the fact that I wouldn't be able to escape once I entered your kingdom. Before I knew you, I thought you were a masochist, blood loving, demon." "Ouch," Calhoun said, pouting. Elena

Svetlana and her partner wasted no time in going to Neba. Once she had told him her discovery, they quickly made their way back to their kingdom. Upon arriving at their kingdom, Svetlana felt that something was strange. Even though people seemed normal and were going about their daily activities, the slight actions Svetlana spotted that weren't there went she left let her know that something big was going on. Security was tighter at the front gates. That should have been expected after the little war in their kingdom. Svetlana and her father still hadn't told the king and his son Wazir how they were able to know the weakness of the Allikans. It was unavoidable that she would have to say to them her real identity with the news she had. The guards at the gate were not the normal ones she was used to seeing. There were built like the ones trained for war, and they carried the finesse of a warrior. They were stricter in their dealings, pushing and locking away people the

Laughter, lovely bright colors, pale skin, smiles. A woman's hand. Her caress. Her body. Her gown was carried softly by the wind. Her feet were beautiful against the soft green grass. Her eyes were pale grey yet twinkling with mischief. Her laughter. "Come, your majesty." Her soft voice called out, her pale hand reaching towards him. He took it, held unto it. He noticed how smooth and soft her skin was against his roughened one. He saw the daintiness it carried in its slender fingers. He felt the joy at that simple act of taking her hand. His heartbeat was faster than average, his blood rushing to his brain. He loved her. "My king, please hurry up!" the voice said again, now carrying a sense of amusement with it. He followed her. Felt his feet against soft grass. He was dragged by her little hand, and he wondered how such a small hand could pull one as big as he was. They paused their walk, but he didn't notice their environment, only the grey eyes that were

His powers had increased again. He felt it, in the way his blood tore through his veins, the way it bruised his flesh inside out. He knew it was about time it increased. He had spent the last several weeks hunting after people who were trying to make it hard for the royal family. Ever since the power of the blood king erupted inside him, he had been doing double the work. His father hadn’t been sure that the power would awaken him. So along with his cousins, he trained for the day he would gain the power. But apart from that, he had been carrying out several pieces of training of his own. No one knew, no one, except for his two most trusted guards. They were the same age as him and were so close like brothers. They were against his training procedures because it took place in the dark forest surrounding the castle. They were afraid for him, but as they were very close, they supported him but also forced him to accept that they would be coming along. Together, they all fought the str