Chapter 44: 44
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"All of you," he growls lowly, in a voice so chilling it would be impossible not to hear. "I expect everyone's attendance in the throne room tomorrow morning at dawn. Recently, there are some of you who would think it funny to spread rumours about my partner, and therefore about my own authority. I expect to find whoever started these rumours at the foot of my dais at dawn, and if I find no-one, I will simply have to find them myself."
The promise and the threat of his words makes my body tingle with a cold, harsh dread that consumes my very being, eating away at my soul. The way he puts it, with such certainty and harsh conviction, it almost makes me wonder if he already knows. Exactly what other powers did he have that would allow him to find such people?
Can he, like his brother, also invade minds? I remember the words he had spoken in my head earlier today, this strange, unexplained ability for him to communicate with me, a fact that for some reason, I had never truly questioned. I shiver. When at last the shadows sink back into his skin, and the room returns to a bustling cacophony of noise and stunted laughter, I work up the nerve to ask.
"Soren," I ask, my heart thundering in my chest, from fear of what I might find out, or perhaps fear that I already know. "What did he mean by a mating link," Silence. Soren drops his hand, his face softening a little as he straightens his gold embroidered waistcoat and runs a hand through his hair, the wildness gone.
"Not here, I cannot stand these foul creatures any longer," he replies roughly under his breath, tilting his head to the side, towards a gathering of Faey folk who were subtly edging closer to us. No, to him. I frown, realising that perhaps I had let myself get a little too close to Soren, a little too comfortable, that I had forgotten how easily he turns, that whatever niceness he had shown me, he is in fact still a creature capable of murder. And he isn't the only one in this palace I need to worry about. Carefully, I drop his arm, taking a couple of steps back.
"Then where-" I start. He holds out his hand.
"If I may, little dove, allow me to take you there," he offers, with a low sweeping bow that attracts the stares of several creatures, Faey folk and vampires alike. Some of them snarl viscously, others simply gawk, staring on in wonder at how such a feeble creature like myself ever managed to wrangle her way into the wanton hands of the Scarlet Prince. His raven-feathered cape brushes the shining floor as he bows and I frown- a shame to get something so lovely ruined. He lifts up his head and shoots me a wide smirk, teeth flashing evilly, the black cross hanging from his ear swaying in each one of his fluid motions.
There is no sign of the wild, wicked creature who had been standing in his place moments ago, only a dazzling Prince bedecked in gold rings and rubies, his face the picture of both an angel, and a devil. Everything about him is so monstrously, inhumanly beautiful- the perfect curls of his hair, the flash of his canines and the slight upturn of his nose all evident of some creature that is not quite of this world. The fullness of his lips that a part of me wants to reach out and...
I blush. I know what it is, this dark beauty, a vampire's greatest trap. But the more I look the harder I find it is to take my eyes off him. So much for being careful.
"You don't have to take your eyes off me, you know," he chuckles to himself, sharp teeth flashing brilliantly under the light. I take his hand and a little spark runs through me. I look up at him, my eyes wide, and I wonder, silently, shamefully to myself if he might have felt it too.
"Well, wouldn't you like that, you audacious flirt," I laugh back, smiling at him and brushing off the feeling as he leads me through the crowd that part in waves around us. I almost have to run alongside him to keep up with his long strides as he holds himself high above the crowd, daring a challenge. The cold, glowering eyes disappear around us.
"Here," he says, passing me a glass of white fizzing liquid as we walk, nearing the archway that leads back into the throne room. "To wash away the blood," he sighs, rolling his eyes as I shoot him a strange look. "I would have thought we had gotten past the idea that I might be trying to poison you,"
"Can't be too careful," I shoot back with a grin, but put the glass to my lips anyway. The liquid is bitter, but not entirely unpleasant, I decide, as I finish the last drops off, emptying the glass and relieving a dryness in my throat that I hadn't realised was there. Soren takes my cup back off me, placing it on a platter of empty glasses that I butler is coming round with, and before I know it, we are into the throne room and heading out into the gardens.
"Where are we going?" I ask, finally, realising I don't have a clue where he is taking me.
"That would ruin the surprise," he murmurs, teasing, squeezing my hand a little. I run my fingers over my hair with frustration.
"But when we get there you promise to tell me whatever the hell Azrael meant by a mating link?" I ask, but smile in spite of myself as I run to keep myself level with him. Soren looks round to me, golden eyes gleaming and glistening under the swaying light of hundreds of lanterns.
"You look beautiful when you smile," he says softly, his eyes still trained on me as we burst out into the cool night air. My skin prickles with the sudden cold.
"That doesn't answer my question," I growl, prodding him in the arm. He laughs.
"Yes, yes, alright." he chuckles in his low, velvety laugh, waving me off. After a few more minutes of walking in silence, and weaving through the hedge mazes of the Sezerian gardens I hadn't even dared to explore, we stop under a glowing canopy in the centre of one such maze. Soren acknowledges a guard with a tight nod, looking perhaps a little too relieved to be outside.
And yet he only just got in, I think. So much for any thoughts of dancing inside.
Perhaps this had been his plan all along.
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"All of you," he growls lowly, in a voice so chilling it would be impossible not to hear. "I expect everyone's attendance in the throne room tomorrow morning at dawn. Recently, there are some of you who would think it funny to spread rumours about my partner, and therefore about my own authority. I expect to find whoever started these rumours at the foot of my dais at dawn, and if I find no-one, I will simply have to find them myself."
The promise and the threat of his words makes my body tingle with a cold, harsh dread that consumes my very being, eating away at my soul. The way he puts it, with such certainty and harsh conviction, it almost makes me wonder if he already knows. Exactly what other powers did he have that would allow him to find such people?
Can he, like his brother, also invade minds? I remember the words he had spoken in my head earlier today, this strange, unexplained ability for him to communicate with me, a fact that for some reason, I had never truly questioned. I shiver. When at last the shadows sink back into his skin, and the room returns to a bustling cacophony of noise and stunted laughter, I work up the nerve to ask.
"Soren," I ask, my heart thundering in my chest, from fear of what I might find out, or perhaps fear that I already know. "What did he mean by a mating link," Silence. Soren drops his hand, his face softening a little as he straightens his gold embroidered waistcoat and runs a hand through his hair, the wildness gone.
"Not here, I cannot stand these foul creatures any longer," he replies roughly under his breath, tilting his head to the side, towards a gathering of Faey folk who were subtly edging closer to us. No, to him. I frown, realising that perhaps I had let myself get a little too close to Soren, a little too comfortable, that I had forgotten how easily he turns, that whatever niceness he had shown me, he is in fact still a creature capable of murder. And he isn't the only one in this palace I need to worry about. Carefully, I drop his arm, taking a couple of steps back.
"Then where-" I start. He holds out his hand.
"If I may, little dove, allow me to take you there," he offers, with a low sweeping bow that attracts the stares of several creatures, Faey folk and vampires alike. Some of them snarl viscously, others simply gawk, staring on in wonder at how such a feeble creature like myself ever managed to wrangle her way into the wanton hands of the Scarlet Prince. His raven-feathered cape brushes the shining floor as he bows and I frown- a shame to get something so lovely ruined. He lifts up his head and shoots me a wide smirk, teeth flashing evilly, the black cross hanging from his ear swaying in each one of his fluid motions.
There is no sign of the wild, wicked creature who had been standing in his place moments ago, only a dazzling Prince bedecked in gold rings and rubies, his face the picture of both an angel, and a devil. Everything about him is so monstrously, inhumanly beautiful- the perfect curls of his hair, the flash of his canines and the slight upturn of his nose all evident of some creature that is not quite of this world. The fullness of his lips that a part of me wants to reach out and...
I blush. I know what it is, this dark beauty, a vampire's greatest trap. But the more I look the harder I find it is to take my eyes off him. So much for being careful.
"You don't have to take your eyes off me, you know," he chuckles to himself, sharp teeth flashing brilliantly under the light. I take his hand and a little spark runs through me. I look up at him, my eyes wide, and I wonder, silently, shamefully to myself if he might have felt it too.
"Well, wouldn't you like that, you audacious flirt," I laugh back, smiling at him and brushing off the feeling as he leads me through the crowd that part in waves around us. I almost have to run alongside him to keep up with his long strides as he holds himself high above the crowd, daring a challenge. The cold, glowering eyes disappear around us.
"Here," he says, passing me a glass of white fizzing liquid as we walk, nearing the archway that leads back into the throne room. "To wash away the blood," he sighs, rolling his eyes as I shoot him a strange look. "I would have thought we had gotten past the idea that I might be trying to poison you,"
"Can't be too careful," I shoot back with a grin, but put the glass to my lips anyway. The liquid is bitter, but not entirely unpleasant, I decide, as I finish the last drops off, emptying the glass and relieving a dryness in my throat that I hadn't realised was there. Soren takes my cup back off me, placing it on a platter of empty glasses that I butler is coming round with, and before I know it, we are into the throne room and heading out into the gardens.
"Where are we going?" I ask, finally, realising I don't have a clue where he is taking me.
"That would ruin the surprise," he murmurs, teasing, squeezing my hand a little. I run my fingers over my hair with frustration.
"But when we get there you promise to tell me whatever the hell Azrael meant by a mating link?" I ask, but smile in spite of myself as I run to keep myself level with him. Soren looks round to me, golden eyes gleaming and glistening under the swaying light of hundreds of lanterns.
"You look beautiful when you smile," he says softly, his eyes still trained on me as we burst out into the cool night air. My skin prickles with the sudden cold.
"That doesn't answer my question," I growl, prodding him in the arm. He laughs.
"Yes, yes, alright." he chuckles in his low, velvety laugh, waving me off. After a few more minutes of walking in silence, and weaving through the hedge mazes of the Sezerian gardens I hadn't even dared to explore, we stop under a glowing canopy in the centre of one such maze. Soren acknowledges a guard with a tight nod, looking perhaps a little too relieved to be outside.
And yet he only just got in, I think. So much for any thoughts of dancing inside.
Perhaps this had been his plan all along.
"All of you," he growls lowly, in a voice so chilling it would be impossible not to hear. "I expect everyone's attendance in the throne room tomorrow morning at dawn. Recently, there are some of you who would think it funny to spread rumours about my partner, and therefore about my own authority. I expect to find whoever started these rumours at the foot of my dais at dawn, and if I find no-one, I will simply have to find them myself."The promise and the threat of his words makes my body tingle with a cold, harsh dread that consumes my very being, eating away at my soul. The way he puts it, with such certainty and harsh conviction, it almost makes me wonder if he already knows. Exactly what other powers did he have that would allow him to find such people?Can he, like his brother, also invade minds? I remember the words he had spoken in my head earlier today, this strange, unexplained ability for him to communicate with me, a fact that for some reason, I had never truly questioned. I shiver. When at last the shadows sink back into his skin, and the room returns to a bustling cacophony of noise and stunted laughter, I work up the nerve to ask."Soren," I ask, my heart thundering in my chest, from fear of what I might find out, or perhaps fear that I already know. "What did he mean by a mating link," Silence. Soren drops his hand, his face softening a little as he straightens his gold embroidered waistcoat and runs a hand through his hair, the wildness gone."Not here, I cannot stand these foul creatures any longer," he replies roughly under his breath, tilting his head to the side, towards a gathering of Faey folk who were subtly edging closer to us. No, to him. I frown, realising that perhaps I had let myself get a little too close to Soren, a little too comfortable, that I had forgotten how easily he turns, that whatever niceness he had shown me, he is in fact still a creature capable of murder. And he isn't the only one in this palace I need to worry about. Carefully, I drop his arm, taking a couple of steps back."Then where-" I start. He holds out his hand."If I may, little dove, allow me to take you there," he offers, with a low sweeping bow that attracts the stares of several creatures, Faey folk and vampires alike. Some of them snarl viscously, others simply gawk, staring on in wonder at how such a feeble creature like myself ever managed to wrangle her way into the wanton hands of the Scarlet Prince. His raven-feathered cape brushes the shining floor as he bows and I frown- a shame to get something so lovely ruined. He lifts up his head and shoots me a wide smirk, teeth flashing evilly, the black cross hanging from his ear swaying in each one of his fluid motions.There is no sign of the wild, wicked creature who had been standing in his place moments ago, only a dazzling Prince bedecked in gold rings and rubies, his face the picture of both an angel, and a devil. Everything about him is so monstrously, inhumanly beautiful- the perfect curls of his hair, the flash of his canines and the slight upturn of his nose all evident of some creature that is not quite of this world. The fullness of his lips that a part of me wants to reach out and...I blush. I know what it is, this dark beauty, a vampire's greatest trap. But the more I look the harder I find it is to take my eyes off him. So much for being careful."You don't have to take your eyes off me, you know," he chuckles to himself, sharp teeth flashing brilliantly under the light. I take his hand and a little spark runs through me. I look up at him, my eyes wide, and I wonder, silently, shamefully to myself if he might have felt it too."Well, wouldn't you like that, you audacious flirt," I laugh back, smiling at him and brushing off the feeling as he leads me through the crowd that part in waves around us. I almost have to run alongside him to keep up with his long strides as he holds himself high above the crowd, daring a challenge. The cold, glowering eyes disappear around us."Here," he says, passing me a glass of white fizzing liquid as we walk, nearing the archway that leads back into the throne room. "To wash away the blood," he sighs, rolling his eyes as I shoot him a strange look. "I would have thought we had gotten past the idea that I might be trying to poison you,""Can't be too careful," I shoot back with a grin, but put the glass to my lips anyway. The liquid is bitter, but not entirely unpleasant, I decide, as I finish the last drops off, emptying the glass and relieving a dryness in my throat that I hadn't realised was there. Soren takes my cup back off me, placing it on a platter of empty glasses that I butler is coming round with, and before I know it, we are into the throne room and heading out into the gardens."Where are we going?" I ask, finally, realising I don't have a clue where he is taking me."That would ruin the surprise," he murmurs, teasing, squeezing my hand a little. I run my fingers over my hair with frustration."But when we get there you promise to tell me whatever the hell Azrael meant by a mating link?" I ask, but smile in spite of myself as I run to keep myself level with him. Soren looks round to me, golden eyes gleaming and glistening under the swaying light of hundreds of lanterns."You look beautiful when you smile," he says softly, his eyes still trained on me as we burst out into the cool night air. My skin prickles with the sudden cold."That doesn't answer my question," I growl, prodding him in the arm. He laughs."Yes, yes, alright." he chuckles in his low, velvety laugh, waving me off. After a few more minutes of walking in silence, and weaving through the hedge mazes of the Sezerian gardens I hadn't even dared to explore, we stop under a glowing canopy in the centre of one such maze. Soren acknowledges a guard with a tight nod, looking perhaps a little too relieved to be outside.And yet he only just got in, I think. So much for any thoughts of dancing inside.Perhaps this had been his plan all along.
