PHYSIENTS WILL ALWAYS OFFER BEST STORIES AND LIVE STREAMING ALL TIME
Chapter 611 Lie
Wide-eyed, Alicia looked at him in surprise.
"Yes. I decided to take you with me to look for that place. I meant to go alone and then bring you there once I found it. But after receiving news on how you’re locking yourself up in here, I believe it’s better if you were to come along with me."
The doubts and suspicions in Alicia’s eyes didn’t subside as she kept her eyes on him.
"This has happened before, Alicia. So even if you find my explanation illogical, you don’t have a choice but to believe it. Your powers didn’t disappear, they were just drawn out of you and stored somewhere else..." Zeres sighed when Alicia’s eyes narrowed even more. "Fine, I’m not going to say any more about it. You’ll see it all for yourself soon anyway. Now please get ready so we can leave as soon as possible. I’ll wait for you outside."
With that, Zeres walked away, leaving Alicia standing there, frowning hard as she stared at Zeres’ back.
Once the secret entrance closed, Zeres looked around and when he saw that now witches were around the area, his shoulders drooped as he leaned weakly against the tree. He sighed several times as if he had just come out from under water.
However, too soon, he straightened again when he felt someone coming. "What is it?" he asked to the witch who had just appeared.
"There’s trouble. I need to speak with the Queen."
"Trouble?" Zeres’ eyes became alert.
"Yes. A powerful vampire prince had just arrived. He’s –"
"Ezekiel?"
"Yes."
A long sigh escaped Zeres lips and he lifted his hand. "It’s alright. No need to bother the queen. I’ll deal with him."
"But Queen Alicia –"
"She will come out soon, don’t worry." He smiled at the witch before he disappeared and materialized near the forest’s entrance.
Zeke and Lucas were standing in the middle of countless witches who were prepared to attack them if they take even a step closer.
"It’s alright. They’re not here to fight." Zeres’ voice echoed as he appeared in the middle of the circle and the tension was immediately broken. The witches looked at Zeres with questioning eyes and when they saw him approach the vampires, they could only relax.
"Kiel, I need to speak with you," Zeres said in haste. "Come with me. You stay here, ginger head."
Lucas simply blinked and the two disappeared from the scene, leaving the witches confused as to what they should do now.
As soon as Zeres and Ezekiel arrived in a certain place inside the Black Forest, Zeres didn’t waste a moment and scanned the surrounding. He knew that Alicia was still inside the cavern, so he had to speak with Zeke now while she was not around.
"Let’s take Alicia with us." He told Zeke in a grave tone.
"Why?"
"I lied to her. I told her that were looking for a crystal cavern that’s akin to the cavern here. I told her that bringing her in that particular cavern will bring back all her powers. I believe this is better than having her lock herself up inside the cavern, causing more worries and troubles to the others outside. Having her along might also trigger some clues if she were to come with us."
Zeke was silent but he was not objecting. His gaze simply settled on the worry in Zeres’ eyes.
"Are you certain that it’s best for us to bring her?" Zeke asked and when Zeres didn’t even hesitate to nod, he asked again. "Why? Is she already –"
"She’s already weakening, Kiel. Someone must watch over her, so it’s better if we take her with us."
There was a short silence. "I see..."
"So never tell her the real reason behind this journey Zeke. I’m sure you’ll think of a more reasonable reason why Lucas and you are joining in the journey as well." His face became severe. "She must not know the real reason why we’re looking for a crystal cavern."
When Zeke remained silent, Zeres grabbed Zeke’s collar out of desperation. "Please. Don’t tell her. I’m begging you. If she knew, she would definitely be against it... she will... she must not know no matter what..."
Zeke could only close his eyes. "Fine. I won’t tell her."
As if a huge thorn was pulled from Zeres’ chest, he let go of Zeke’s collar and weakly stumbled back.
"Thanks." He muttered as he struggled to settle himself, knowing that he should act as normal as he could once Alicia comes out. He knew she was exceptionally perceptive but if Kiel supported him well, Alicia would most likely believe and fall for his lie. She wouldn’t suspect anything. She wouldn’t know that the cavern they were looking for was actually the very first thing that the prophetess had seen that would lead to Zeres’ death.
"Let’s go back to Lucas. I’m afraid that ginger head will start a fight. We’ll wait for Alicia there." Zeres said and in few moment, they were back in the entrance.
Lucas was still standing at the same spot. He didn’t even move an inch.
"Are we leaving now?" the red-haired man asked Zeke. "How about the young prince and the little witch girl?"
"He’s not here." Zeke answered.
"Young prince? Who? Kyle? Wait... Lilith is with him, right?" Zeres finally remembered the girl he had left behind. He saw how Lilith clung to Kyle so he assumed that the two were really close friends.
When Zeke nodded, Zeres breathed in relief. He was about to ask more about the girl’s whereabouts when a commotion attracted his attention.
The witches surrounding them had opened a path for someone approaching. Zeke and Zeres’ gaze fell on the approaching someone in shimmery black cloak. Everyone knew it was Alicia despite not seeing her face because of the hood that fully concealed her face. This would be the first time the witches saw their queen clad with nothing but black colored garments from head to toe.
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Chapter 612 Love?
Alicia had decided to wear a black cloak to conceal her hair. She didn’t want other witches to see the changes in her. That would further complicate matters, as even she did not know what was truly happening, much less explaining to the others in detail. There would definitely be loads of questions coming her way if she were to allow it. Everything was getting confusing and what Zeres told her bugged her to no end. She found it extremely hard to believe. But then, the fact that he was willing to take her with him to see for herself if he’s saying the truth made her feel even more confused.
In the end, despite the suspicion and confusion, she could only decide to go along with him in search for that fabled cave that would restore all her lost powers. She had no choice and she had no reason not to go. It was better than confining herself inside the cavern and let her body weaken day after day as more of her powers are drawn out.
However, what she didn’t expect was the presence of Ezekiel in the Black Forest. She heard he was leaving his kingdom a few days ago so why was he here?
With a questioning gaze, Alicia approached the men. Her eyes fell on the red-haired vampire for a moment. "I didn’t know you have company, Zeres." She said as she returned her gaze back to the stoic man nonchalantly standing before her.
"They’re going to join us in this journey, Alicia." Zeres answered, causing Alicia to whip her head towards him, even more surprised, confused and suspicious now.
Questions filled her eyes but she didn’t dare to probe further right there and then, knowing that the witches were still gathered around them and their eyes and ears are all on Zeres, Her and the vampires. She would speak more on this with Zeres and this vampire prince later once they were without prying eyes and ears. Slightly lifting her hood, she raised her eyes to look at her subjects and Alicia slowly swept her gaze over everyone, looking at their faces as if committing them to memory.
The witch queen then spoke and told the witches that she would be leaving the forest to embark on a special journey. When a witch suggested that she should be taking along the two best fighters of their tribe with her, Alicia declined, telling them that there was no need as she had Zeres with her. The witches could only agree, knowing that there was no one else that could protect their queen better than the immortal Zeres.
While Alicia was talking with the witches, Zeke and Lucas had already left the Black Forest.
"So this group will now consist of two witches and two vampires..." Lucas started. "Pretty unexpected."
But Zeke remained silent, looking as though he was in his own world again, plotting something complicated or probably seeing something ahead no one could even imagine at the moment.
Realizing that the prince won’t even bother response to him, Lucas sighed and leaned against a tree just outside the Black Forest. That is just so like Prince Ezekiel – cold, aloof but having so much on is mind. Somehow one has to truly wonder if he is even something more than just a vampire royal. The way his mind works, and his plans fall into place are truly an amazing feat to behold.
After a long moment, Zeke finally moved. "You wait for them here, Lucas. I’ll join you guys later." He said and before Lucas could even ask where he was headed to, Zeke already disappeared from sight, leaving the large red-haired raking his hair in annoyance.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk...There he goes... the lone wolf is moving on his own again." He could only mutter and shake his head at Zeke’s volatile temperament.
...
Somewhere else in the vampire kingdom’s capital.
"What are we doing here? Why did you bring me here?! You said you’ll bring me back to the Black Forest!" Lilith protested as Kyle finally put her down in what looks to be the living room of an old Victorian house they had just entered. "And what is the meaning of this?!" she yelled at him as she lifted her hand and pulled on the chain that was connecting her to him.
That moment Kyle leapt and took her away from the scary vampires, Kyle had landed at the roof of a certain antique shop and then brought her there. She was still trying to calm herself thinking that the other two vampires were pursuing them, so she did not realize what that little royal vampire was doing to her until she felt the chains that were linking their hands together – and by then, it was already too late.
After scrutinising the chains for a few moments, she recognised it from a memory she had where it was from a book she had flipped through once before. She knew about this certain chain. This was the infamous chain that vampires in the past had used to restrain the witches that they caught. This chain was able to bind the witches’ powers and stop them from escaping from their masters – the vampires.
"So that you can’t escape from me, pet." He said with a smile while Lilith puffed her cheeks in anger.
"I am NOT your pet!" Lilith spat out in anger, not unlike a kitten that got her little fur stroked the wrong way.
His eyes widened before a crease appeared between his brows. A second later, he was touching her hair as if to coax her. "I’m sorry. You don’t like me calling you ’pet’? I thought it should have sounded like a sweet endearment."
"Wha- what are you -"
"Then what do you want me to call you?" he asked sweetly, his face unnecessarily close to hers. "Sweetheart? Dear? Darling? Hmm... Love?"
Lilith felt her face burn red. She didn’t understand what was wrong with this little vampire.
"You’re blushing," he whispered and as his breath blew past her ear, Lilith jumped back – as far as she could, given the chains binding her – blushing again in embarrassment, and feeling goosebumps crawling over her skin.
"W-w-what are you doing? You, idiot vampire!" she stammered.
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Chapter 613 Like
His eyes showed surprised but in the next second, amusement sparkled brightly in his ashen eyes. "No vampire had ever called me an idiot and talked to me in that manner, you know?"
"I don’t care! Let me go!"
"You really are amusing, my love." He chuckled while the young girl gasped again in both embarrassment and surprise.
"You... you... you pervert! Stop calling me that. I’m not your... your love! I think you’re crazy –"
"You don’t like that too?" Kyle was seriously thinking and thought of a better pet name to call Lilith with. One that she would like this time. "I was certain you liked it. You even blushed when –"
Lilith chanted a spell and a smoke appeared between them. The next second, Kyle began to cough.
"Release me from this chain, or else..."
Kyle caught her slim wrists in his hands and Lilith lost her balance in shocked surprise. She fell back but the vampire was quick to catch her. Due to the smoke and partly also to his coughs, the vampire just let his body go along with the motion, causing the two of them to fall on the floor, trapping her beneath him.
Shock coloured Lilith’s face as she went passive in his hold for a while. As he fell on her, his weight naturally pinned her down to the ground, causing Lilith to start wriggling under him, determined to get out from this extremely compromising position. Though she was young, she was a proper young lady and should conduct herself in a proper manner. The young vampire’s eyes widened slightly, and he stayed still as if paralyzed as he looked down at her. She gradually went still too, when it dawned on her that he seemed to have gone frozen.
"G-get off me." Lilith said, looking up at him, cheeks red as apples. He made a low sound in his throat.
"Alright, I’m not going to tease you anymore." He said in a low but tender voice, still not moving off her. "But I can’t let you go yet. Let’s stay here for a while, okay?"
For a moment, Lilith saw what seemed like sadness in his eyes.
"But why? What are we going to do in here?"
"Well..." he paused, thinking. "Nothing... just stay with me."
Lilith’s lips parted, speechless. She really couldn’t understand this weird vampire at all. The only thing that was keeping her from having a panicked escape from his grasp that moment was the fact that she wasn’t scared of him and the fact that she can’t escape anymore because of the chain. She also didn’t know why but she had the intuitively felt like he would never hurt her. There was something in him that seemed to be restraining her, that has nothing to do with the chains and his strong hands. Did this vampire boy do something strange to her without her realizing?
"I think you’re just lonely..." she said, not knowing why she suddenly felt concerned for him. Out of a sudden impulse, she stretched out her hand and patted his head, giving him some comfort and care.
"Lonely..." he repeated and for a while he seemed lost in his own thoughts. However, the next moment, his thin lips curved up into a tantalizing smile and he pinched her nose playfully before finally rolling off of her and letting his back rest flat on the floor right next to her.
Both of them ended up just lying there in quiet companionship, staring at the antique chandelier hanging beautifully from the ceiling and the house was still and peaceful. "If I don’t return, Queen Alicia will send someone to look for me. Also, the other witches will worry." She then broke the long stretch of companionable silence.
She heard him give a long-suffering sigh and when she turned to look at him, he was already facing her. His grey eyes seemed incredibly intense as he stared at her. "I promise I will bring you back there myself later."
"When is later? I don’t want anyone to worry about me. I have left for quite a long while and they are expecting my return. I have to –"
"You really don’t like me, do you?"
Lilith didn’t know what to say so she ended up sitting there and frowning at him. Did she like him? She didn’t know. She only saw him for the first time today! How would she be able to tell? However, she certainly knew was that she’s not afraid of him. When she didn’t respond even after a few minutes, gloom seemed to set in his grey eyes, causing Lilith to swallow that lump that suddenly appeared in her throat, not understanding why he was reacting that way.
"W-why are you doing this? It’s not like you like me either. You’re just lonely and it seems you don’t have any friends and that’s why –"
"I have many friends." He cut her off. Lilith was about to retort again when his face suddenly inched closer to hers, causing her to suddenly pull back to make space between them. "And you’re wrong. I like you. I wouldn’t keep you with me for longer than one minute if I don’t."
The girl was so stunned she was completely tongue-tied. But after the initial shock had passed, she sighed and pushed herself up to a sitting position. "The like you’re talking about is the same as that feeling when you see a really, really cute little puppy in the market and you liked it very much that you want to buy it at all cost and take it home right away, right?"
He rose and sat next to her as well. He rested his elbows on top of his knees and then leaned his cheek on his palm. When he looked at her, his expression was serene. "How could you compare yourself to a puppy? You’re not a puppy so you’re wrong. That’s not the kind of like I’m talking about. It’s definitely not that way. I really like you."
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Chapter 614 Small boat
Lilith couldn’t help but gape at him again. While Lilith was still in a daze and at a loss for words, Kyle slowly but naturally stretched out his hand to tuck some strands of her unruly red hair that had gone rouge to the back of her ear. What he did made her eyes grow wide and then, out of the blue, her palms made a sound as they landed on both sides of his cheeks, effectively giving him something between a slap and squeeze of his cheeks between her hands.
"If you think your cheesy lines will make me stay with you, then you’re wrong. Those words of yours just makes people feel more embarrassed and want to hide their faces, and that is about it. So stop..." Lilith trailed off because for the first time, the vampire showed her a really bemused expression. His expressive eyes even flashed such a strong displeasure after hearing all that she had said.
Blinking, Lilith nibbled on the inside of her lower lip, not knowing what else to say or add to express her stand.
"Why don’t you believe me?" he asked, his expression serious, his voice sounding exasperated.
Lilith eased back, about to pull her hands away from his face, but Kyle grabbed her wrists, stopping her movements and keeping her palms there on his cheeks.
"Answer me. Can you tell me why you don’t believe me?" he probed, and Lilith’s eyes was focusing on everything and looked everywhere but his face.
"Well, because... I’m a witch and we just met a while ago... we’re just strangers."
"Strangers..." he echoed her words and Lilith was forced to look at his unusual eyes. His brows were knitted tightly together. "We stood up for each other, held each other’s hands, embraced each other for many minutes, and now were talking to each other like this..." his voice died down and he closed his eyes and smiled awkwardly. "Since I held your hand for the first time a while ago until now, I never thought or felt you’re a stranger." He sighed. "When you let me hold your hand and clung to me, I thought you felt the same way."
Speechless, Lilith didn’t know how to react but used this opportunity to gently ease her hands from his grasp and back into her lap. Why was she in this awkward situation? And how could this vampire... what was he even... Suddenly, she was unable to think properly. She was never caught in situations like these before. She had a lot of friends who were witches and even some human and a few vampire friends as well that were around the same age as her. When she was with them, their chats were usually light-hearted and carefree. There were times when they did get into arguments, but they tend to be childish ones and end up with either parties forgiving the other or just laughing it off. They were all about fun and trying out wild and adventurous stunts. And when they talk about the opposite sex, it was all jokes to her, and she never took it seriously. Maybe because she was never interested in that kind of topic yet, even though she had already turned sixteen just yesterday. It was almost never that they spoke in a serious manner such as how this vampire royal did to her. It truly was the first time.
That was why she was so thrown off and found this vampire incredibly weird and strange. Was it because he is of royal blood? When she thought of the other scary vampire he had called as ’brother’, Lilith couldn’t help but think that the vampire royals were weird and so very different from the rest, even from the normal vampires.
But as she thought about his last few statements, Lilith realized that in just that short period of time, she had done things with him which she had never done with anyone else before. Remembering that she indeed had let him hold her hand – multiple times, at that – and had allowed him to embrace her for so long. She even recalled having thrown herself at him and clinging so desperately to him that the memory of it now made her face burn red. The most unnerving thing was that she too, never felt or thought of him as stranger until she said it as an excuse – not because it was what she truly felt but because that was the logical thing that she was supposed to say and feel for a person she had just met.
"What is it that got you thinking so hard?" he pulled her out of her thoughts. When her attention was back on him, she realized that he was now leaning against the wall, and she could not help but notice he was a little further from her than before. The chain that bound their hands together was a meter long, so he was able to move somewhat freely away from her and put some distance between them.
"N-nothing," she lied. She wasn’t sure what to say to him.
"You look like you’re thinking something complicated." His voice became light and chilly again as he spoke with a smile playing at the corner of his lips. "It’s fine, you don’t have to think any longer on the matter. Even if I’m just a stranger to you, I still like you."
This time, Lilith choked. She really couldn’t take the way this vampire deals and speaks with her. Every time he opens his mouth and say something, her entire system would short-circuit and malfunction. His words and actions pulled at her on all sides and confuses her. It felt as if she were a small boat without and oar that is being tossed about in the stormy seas. She really did not know if this little boat – namely, her – would be able to survive more tossing and turning of the waves which was this little highness the vampire prince.
Suddenly, he was next to her, looking worried. His hand in mid-air but it seemed he didn’t know where to touch. "Are you okay?"
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Chapter 615 Chase
"I, I’m fine... I’m just... I’m fine." Wasn’t he as far as he could be from her, just a second ago? Didn’t he want to stay away from her? Why did he suddenly come near her again? ’Ugh!! He truly is going to be the death of me!!’ Lilith groaned inwardly, feeling her mind reeling from his erratic behaviour.
Rising to his feet, he reached down to grab her wrists and pulled her upward without warning nor permission. Lilith could only widen her eyes and took a second to regain her composure before rolling her eyes at his high-handedness.
He led her towards the kitchen and poured both Lilith and him two glasses of water. They both sat on the chair next to each other as Lilith gulped down the glass of water as it had been almost a day since she last had a drink.
After a long silence, Kyle spoke again. "Is it really that unbelievable to like someone the very first time you saw her?" he asked in thoughtful voice, supporting his head with his palm while his elbow was on the table.
...
Lilith bit her lower lip. For some reason, she was starting to feel something strange. Usually, she’d just laugh or divert the topic if someone brought up certain topics that she was uncomfortable discussing or threw her off. So why can’t she react like usual? Was it because she actually didn’t find this uncomfortable? Or was it because she didn’t dislike it?
She found herself nodding at him as she peeked at him over her glass, at the same time observing his reactions to her response.
He looked thoughtful again for a long while. "I see..." was all he uttered, and Lilith found herself waiting for him to talk again. But this time, he didn’t. He rose from his seat and opened the fridge that was right behind him. He reached out for something and put it on the table.
"Have some first before we go." He said as he offered her a cake and some juice.
"Whose house is this?" Lilith could not help but feel that he was a little too familiar with the things and layout of this place for it to be a random house they just landed into.
"This used to be my grandmother’s house. My mother’s mom. She’s not a royal so she died quite early." Though he mentioned it in a light-hearted voice, she caught a glint of sadness that flickered in his eyes for a moment that faded away too soon.
"I’m sorry to hear that."
He smiled. "Grandma said 200 years is a pretty long time. She said she didn’t need any more than that because she’s already more than satisfied with her life. She died without regrets."
Listening to him, Lilith didn’t realize that she smiled. She also had a grandmother that died years ago and she remembered how her grandma too, had told her that she had lived a fulfilling life and that it was time for her to go. Her heart warmed at the thought that those loved ones, even though they were gone, could still bring smile to the people they had left behind. Lilith never thought that vampires were just like them even though they lived much longer lifespans compared to them witches.
Lilith was momentarily lost in her own thoughts again that she didn’t see how Kyle’s eyes lit up at their brightest ever at the sight of her smile. That was the first time she smiled that day.
And then, something soft landed on her lips that seemed to have sent electric shocks all over her, jolting her back to the present. Her eyes widened, realizing that the royal vampire’s lips were lightly pressed against hers. She froze on her seat as time seemed to stand still.
He pulled away quickly and he looked as shocked as she was at what he did, as if he was not the one in control of his own actions. Their eyes met and their heartbeats began to drum in their ears. But that moment didn’t last because before they could even process what just happened, Kyle suddenly pulled her towards him and held her in a possessive but protective manner.
Lilith felt something powerful suddenly surging from deep within Kyle that made her catch her breath.
"I’m sorry Your Highness but we have to take you back to the castle." A deep voice echoed and when Lilith looked up, she saw three vampires – scary ones – standing at the threshold. They were not as scary as the other two she saw in the Reign’s castle earlier, but they come a close second. These three were still scarier than any other vampires she had ever met before.
"Raven, I will return to the castle on my own a little later. I am not a child. I didn’t leave the country or wandered into the witch’ forest. I know how to head back without getting lost." Kyle’s voice wasn’t loud, but the intensity and graveness were clearly heard.
"His Highness Ezekiel ordered us to escort you back immediately."
"He still has not left? I thought he’s –"
"He’s back, Your Highness. You must be the reason why he’s delaying. So please hand the girl over to me and head back to the castle. I swear I will personally bring her back to the Black Forest and make sure she’s safe." Raven said but the moment he moved a step to approach the youngsters, it was as if something snapped within the young vampire, he bared his teeth, and his eyes turned red.
The next instant, the table flew towards the three ’intruders’ and glasses shattered. The youngsters were gone by the time the table and glass landed on the floor.
"Go after him." Raven ordered and the chase began. They chased after Kyle who had escaped along with the girl in his arms.
Kyle was as fast as a bullet, but the vampires still managed to catch up with him obviously because of the girl in his arms. He had grabbed a sword from a store as he was running off so once the vampires had cornered him on top of a building, he was already armed.
He had let Lilith down, but his chained arm held her tight against him as his free hand pointed the sword to the other vampires.
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Chapter 616 Shattered
"Please, Your Highness. Let’s stop this and..." Raven trailed off. He could see the look in the young man’s eyes, and he knew that no amount of talk would get through to him now. It’s going to be useless to spout more words to him. Kyle was the gentlest and most innocent of all the royal princes. He was young and kind and was always obedient. The only trouble he had caused so far was whenever he escaped to visit the human world on his own.
Raven knew about Kyle’s potential. He was the youngest of the vampire royals, but he was hiding an immense power that was far stronger than the other three of his brothers with the exception of Ezekiel. The young man had grown up under the loving care of his mother and maternal grandparents for some time before he was taken to live in the Reign’s castle. There he found it hard to fit in a family that was seemingly all about formality, power and responsibility. He had also refused to drink blood even when Ezekiel ordered him to do so and that was why Kyle was the only royal who never drunk blood yet since birth. Even Raven shivers as he imagines just how powerful this young royal would be by now if he did give in to the order and started drinking blood since then.
He knew that this was probably the reason why this young prince was the most restrained and protected out of all the other four younger brothers of the crown prince. Even Ezekiel himself had been pretty tight and protective of him.
"Brace yourselves, men. This won’t be easy." Raven could only sigh as he had his eyes turned red as well. It is going to be a tough fight as they did not genuinely want to hurt His Highness but needed to just put in enough strength and opposition to subdue him and drag him back to the palace.
"How about the witch girl?"
"Focus on His Highness. I don’t think he’d let us hurt the girl anyway."
The three of them attacked all at once but they ended up hitting nothing. Raven gritted his teeth, impressed and filled with disbelief, yet agitated as he thought of how three grown vampires could not match up to one half-grown vampire teen. How could they catch someone like this? No wonder his men did not manage to catch him back when he escaped that last time. He should have known that this prince was much stronger than he had given credit for, upon receiving the news that Alexander was the one who finally got him the last time he escaped to adventure out in that human city.
The vampires attacked the young prince again but despite having Lilith in his arms, he managed to dodge and block all their attacks beautifully without breaking a sweat – much to their chagrin. Lilith was shocked and she could no longer deny that she found this royal vampire whom she thought was weird and gentle in nature was actually so powerful. She knew he is definitely strong because he’s a royal, but she never thought that he was this powerful. Even three fully grown vampires in the service of the palace could not overpower him. The aura emanating from him was so strong it was making her insides tremble in fear. There was only one thing in Lilith had in mind as she felt his power and saw him fight – there was something terrifying hidden inside his gentle and innocent exterior.
The clanks of swords jarred Lilith’s ears and something in her mind was telling her to stop Kyle. But how could she stop him when she almost couldn’t even breath with the speed of his movements?
Out of the blue, she felt like they were airborne again but faster than a blink, Kyle landed them on the ground and within the next second, she heard groans and then thuds sounding nearby. That was the sound of bodies falling on the floor – hard.
"Kyle." A familiar voice immediately reached Lilith’s ears next despite all the chaos and the vampire holding her stilled. She couldn’t even hear his heartbeat for a long while. It was as if the voice had turned him into a stone statue.
She finally looked at him and when she saw his eyes, there was no trace of those expressive eyes that she found fascinatingly beautiful. His eyes that moment was nothing but horrifying.
Still, she found herself calling his name between her breaths. "K-k-kyle. Stop. That’s enough." She realized that that was the first time she used his name.
He moved and she saw how those beautiful dove-grey eyes darkened into a more iron-grey when he looked at her. Some sense seemed to return to his consciousness, and he gripped her harder when he looked ahead, towards the newcomer who had just arrived.
Lilith finally saw the three vampires he fought and the two of them were almost as good as dead. Except that they were already healing. If they were witches, they would definitely be dead by now.
Zeke approached them and Kyle stepped back, gripping his sword. His gaze swept to the two elite vampires that were bloodied all over savagely by the earlier fight, before returning his emotionless eyes to his youngest brother.
He did not stop in his tracks but continued walking towards them despite Kyle’s retreat. Kyle’s eyes remained red, but he was more wary and fearful.
"Please... don’t take her away from me, brother." He requested. Though his words were polite, his gaze towards Zeke was hostile and cautious, blatantly showing his distrust in Zeke, behaving as if that the crown prince would hurt the witch in his arms.
"If you don’t want the girl to get hurt, drop your sword and let her go." Zeke’s voice was authoritative and cold as ice. And then, before they could even realize it, Kyle’s sword was already taken away from him and the chain connecting the youngsters abruptly shattered without hurting either of the party connected by the chain.
Lilith was separated from Kyle too suddenly and without his support, she fell onto the floor. Her knees had weakened from all the chaos and her fear towards the scary man was also a big part of it.
Kyle was about to go to her when suddenly, Zeke hit him hard.
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Chapter 617 Don“t make me wait
Lilith gasped. But Kyle did not even make a single noise, much less gave any reaction to it. He only gave a hard glare to his eldest brother. It was as if the strong hit was just a slap to him which was obviously not the case.
"Are you trying to provoke me? Huh, Kyle? Are you acting like this because I exiled your beloved brother Kai?" Zeke’s voice was emotionless but even the ground was almost trembling at the sheer amount of pressure he was exerting.
At the mention of Kai, the young vampire stiffened. Zeke grabbed the back of his neck roughly and pulled him closer to him.
"I guess it was a mistake that I refrained from telling you the truth. I’d understand that you’re in your rebellious age, but this is something I can no longer tolerate. Listen..." he bent to whisper in his ear. "Your brother is not exiled because he loved and married a human. I banished him to this country because he will live and die as a human from now and can no longer live as a vampire..." As Zeke narrated the truth about Kai and the price he had to pay for his choice, the young prince trembled, and clenched his fists so tight his knuckles started to turn pure white, and his blood began to drip on the floor. Kai had been his favourite brother.
When he was a child, Kai often visited him and had taught him most of his fighting skills. He loved Kai the most within the royal family. In fact, he was the only one he could feel really comfortable with and let down his guard around. He was always tensed up in the presence of his other brothers, especially towards this eldest brother of his. That was why when Kyle heard that Kai was exiled and could never return to the kingdom again, he was devastated. He had asked Ezekiel the reason why when it just happened, and the answer he got at that time was because Kai fell in love with a human.
"You have to understand our reality Kyle. Your beloved brother is already a huge loss so don’t ever try to repeat the same mistake. Yes, Kai managed to keep her alive by sacrificing himself, but he only managed to make it work for them because he loved her more than anything else in this world. Even more than you, his family, his status, his power, his people, this kingdom and more than his own life! I will never allow anyone – especially you to trade all these things just for a woman again, you hear me? It would do you well to heed my warnings and keep that in mind. I will do whatever it takes this time. I don’t care if you hate me for the rest of your life. Do you understand?"
Kyle was trembling uncontrollably for a while but as time ticked by, he began to calm down and his shoulders finally relaxed. The blood dripping from his tight fists had stopped and he loosened up as a weak voice finally escaped from his mouth. "Yes, I understand. Please just let me bring her back to the Black Forest, and then I will come back and... I... I will never see her again. I promise."
Zeke stared at him for a few heartbeats before letting him go. "I’ll wait for you in the castle. There are still some things you need to know. The king had told me to wait for you to turn 18 ... but I was right, waiting for you to reach such an age first before getting to know about serious matters is ridiculous. I should’ve told you everything sooner." Zeke said and after throwing a neutral glance at the witch girl, he motioned to Raven and the still healing elite vampires not to stop Kyle. "Don’t make me wait, Kyle." He added and then disappeared.
Raven sighed and leaned against the wall as he too, waited for his wounds to heal. He knew about most of the royal family’s issues, and he understood why the royal bloodline must be kept pure. Back then, Raven found it strange that Ezekiel seemed a little obsessed about the safety of his younger brothers. No one could question that he would be the next king so wasn’t it fine for him to go a little lenient on his brothers? Logically speaking, his future son would inherit the throne anyway, right? When Raven bravely questioned Ezekiel that one time when he ordered them to carry out the most ridiculous order he ever gave – that his other three brothers especially Kyle would be under 24/7 surveillance – he had received a seemingly reasonable but still barely acceptable answer.
"You seem to have forgotten that I am not an immortal." Was all Ezekiel said to him. It was a reasonable answer but who could kill the invincible Ezekiel? He could not imagine the crown prince being killed by anyone. If this world shall end, Raven could even see him as the last mortal standing. To him and probably to everyone else – even the great Alexander – Ezekiel’s death was something almost impossible to comprehend.
Thus, it had been bugging Raven for a while now and he also knew that Ezekiel would never do something out of a whim. There definitely is a very concrete reason why he is doing this, why he had to be acting in this manner. Raven did not know why, but he had a gut feeling that Ezekiel seemed to be preparing for something very serious. He wasn’t certain but he started to feel such a strange thing since that very day Alexander met Abigail. Maybe because it was around that time when Ezekiel suddenly began to tighten the security around his brothers and even took the step of forbidding them to leave the kingdom except for Kai who had been stuck with Alexander. What exactly was going on in the crown prince’s mind? What was the real reason behind all these plans and precautions?
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Chapter 618 Just a little
Kyle stood as still as a statue, looking off silently into the same direction for a long while even after Zeke had left. He later dropped and fixed his eyes on the floor, motionless, as Lilith watched him. The chain was broken but she didn’t leave or escape. It was not a result of her still recovering from the intense event that had happened earlier, but it was on the grounds that something within her seemed to be telling that it is not the appropriate time for her to leave yet.
After a while, Kyle moved and looked down at her. A wretched expression was etched on his face for a while and then too soon it was replaced with an awkward smile. He approached her quietly and squatted before her. His eyes were bright grey again.
"Are you okay? Did I... hurt you?" he asked as his eyes surveyed her from head to toe and Lilith shook her head.
"You just nearly gave me a heart attack but I’m fine now." she said and a smile hovered on his thin lips despite his apologetic look.
"I’m sorry. I lost control of myself. I shouldn’t have allowed myself to be provoked so easily like that." He lowered his head and ruffled his own dark hair.
It fascinated her how vulnerable and harmless he looked on the outside. Looking at his face now, she already felt sorry for the people who would think this vampire wasn’t dangerous. He was, in her eyes, the definition of dangerous. Just viewing his exterior, that innocent face would fool anyone. There was just no sign of the power and danger that lurked beneath his gentle surface.
A light breeze blew, and Lilith’s red hair was gently lifted to the side. Suddenly, his expression dimmed. "You’re not fine." His voice a little husky and then Lilith felt the back of his hand lightly brush over her collarbones. She felt a sting there and remembered that she might have gotten hurt when the glass shattered in the house as they were making their getaway. It seemed some shards did end up wounding her. "Let me..." he uttered and before she could protest, his head was already bent towards her neck and all she could see was a head of wavy dark hair. When she felt his lips and then, his tongue running over her skin – her wounds – Lilith’s breath got caught in her throat.
But before Lilith could formulate a response to that bizarre action, he backed off almost immediately, looking shocked. For a moment, Lilith saw hunger in his eyes. "That would help it heal faster." He said looking away but his body seemed to have stiffened again.
He rose to his feet and took in a deep breath before offering her his hand. Lilith accepted his outstretched hand, as he grabbed it and pulled her to her feet. As she brushed the bottoms of her pants off, her eyes filled with curiosity and confusion as she looked at him. He could tell she was trying so hard to read him.
"I’m bringing you to your home now." He smiled and then he gathered her in his arms and finally leapt.
The trip this time was slow. If she would compare his speed now from the speed he employed during the chase, this speed cannot even hold a candle to it.
Lilith could only hang onto to him. She could already feel her face hot, a sure hint that it must be flushed red. His arms around her were gentle. No one ever held her like this before – like a piece of precious treasure that could break at any time. She never thought she would experience so many of her firsts with a vampire and within a span of just a few hours. And to think he was a prince too. She had never allowed any male carry her in this manner, hold her hand, embrace her and even... kiss her.
Realizing all this made Lilith blush harder, if that was even possible.
When they finally arrived at the entrance to the Black Forest, Lilith found herself unable to feel the gladness and relief she was supposed to feel. She had a different and strange emotion instead that had made her expression a little sullen.
The moment her feet touched the ground, he ensured she was stable before letting go. Lilith, however, almost did not want to let go. Looking up at him, she silently stared at his face in puzzlement, but to her delight, found him seemingly feeling the same from the expression playing on his face. He was gazing down at her as if mesmerized and looking as though he was trying to memorize how she looked like.
"Your freckles... they’re lovely." He said and before he knew it, his finger already touching them with great care, as if he was touching something extremely fragile.
She nibbled the inside of her lower lip to stop herself from grinning and making a complete fool of herself. "You’re probably the only who thinks they’re lovely." She replied and he shook his head slightly, still unable to take his eyes off her, hands slowly coming down to his sides.
"Whoever told you they’re not lovely have a serious eyes problem. And... your eyes too... they’re the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen."
When she just stood there, red-faced, and wide-eyed, Kyle chuckled. But a moment later, his smile slowly faded, and he took a step back. He was initially only planning to cause a problem for his brother, Ezekiel, because he found out that he was leaving. Kyle was angry about what happened to his big brother, Kai and he wanted to know the truth. He did not want Ezekiel to leave while he was still harbouring hate towards him. And perhaps, he just wanted Ezekiel to pay a little more attention to him – just a little. The truth was that Kyle actually adored and admired Ezekiel since he was young. He knew that this crown prince brother of his was the most powerful vampire so he had been looking up to him. But Ezekiel was too distant. He never visited him even once, before he was brought into the Reign’s castle. However, once he was already in the Castle, Ezekiel only threw him a glance from time to time. He was so unapproachable.
He had longed to be a part of his elite men and hone his skills under him. His brother Kai was very good. He had been a very good and kind teacher to him. But Kai always felt that he wanted more, and he longed to learn from the strongest vampire personally.
But all that Kyle got when he lived in the castle was to study. He was not allowed to do many things and he eventually felt like a caged bird. He resented Ezekiel for his orders to restrain him, personally opposing the fact that the crown prince didn’t have the right to cage him when all he did was ignore him. He also hated that there were secrets that was kept from him by virtue of claiming that he was still too young. Kyle did not believe their reasoning and he had that inkling that they just wanted to keep it a secret from him.
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Chapter 619 First and last
So, when he heard what Ezekiel said a while ago, he felt awful. It seemed that Ezekiel wasn’t the one who wanted to keep him in the dark but the King. And though the truth he had heard was too devastating, he still had a hard time to believe it. It never did cross his mind that the problem wasn’t as shallow and insignificant as he had thought and that... his brother, Kai, would soon die in the near future.
And now... it seemed not only did he just manage to get to the ugly truth as well as gaining Ezekiel’s attention by causing trouble... unfortunately, there was also the need to bear the consequences and pay a price for these things. An unforeseen and unbelievable one.
When he saw this girl sneaking into the palace, he thought to himself that he had found a forbidden fruit that Ezekiel had ordered him to never even set eye on – ever. His rebellious thoughts got the better of him and he was desperate to find out the truth before he leaves.
But the moment he had seen her beautiful green eyes, circling wide as she looked at him, Kyle was dumbstruck. That single moment was enough to burn his plans right to the ground. He didn’t know why but his entire being was suddenly responding so acutely to her that when he touched her, he no longer wanted to let her go. He had truly liked her.
And as he spent more time with her in his arms, multiple times to boot, he had become more and more fascinated with her until he found himself confessing to her and even kissing her. He knew that it was wrong. It was forbidden. But those thoughts became completely abandoned when he was holding her in his arms, looking at her and talking to her... until Ezekiel came and woke him from this beautiful dream, forcing him to face reality again. And when Ezekiel revealed to him the truth, everything just shattered.
His brother was right, he had to let her go because she was forbidden. Aside from the danger, the consequences they had to bear would be too great. It was something unimaginable for his young mind. And he would never want to put this girl to risk because of his beautiful albeit forbidden dream.
Flashing a charming yet sad smile, Kyle stroked aside the red locks over her face and tucked them behind her ear.
"Can I hug you, one last time?" he asked, and Lilith blinked. She did not seem to be overly shocked. Her eyes simply locked on his for a while before she nodded.
She opened her arms and his lips curved up again, and this time, his smile was obviously wider. Their bodies collided and Kyle settled his head into the cradle of her shoulder with a bold familiarity. He hugged her as if he were planning to embrace her like that forever.
But after a long while, he pulled away. He bit his lower lip when he saw that she seemed as reluctant as he was in letting go of the other.
They stared at each other again. Kyle forced his feet to move backwards, away from the Black Forest and her hands flinched as if to stop him from leaving.
The young vampire stood still after taking more than ten steps away, his right hand brought up nervously to rake at his dark hair. His face severe and his eyes were emotional. He sighed before he looked at her again. A hesitant smile played on his face. "May I ... may I kiss you, one last time?" he asked, looking nervous. ’This will be the last time, I promise.’ He hadn’t said those words aloud, but she reacted as though she had heard them. And then, she nodded, quietly.
Kyle’s eyes glimmered in surprise but the sadness that appeared the next second overpowered it. He flashed to be standing in front of her suddenly and slowly, he leaned closer. His heart was beating hard. He remembered how soft and warm her lips were when he brushed his lips against hers in his grandmother’s house. When Ezekiel forced him to come to his senses, he never thought he would ever kiss her again.
His breath came out in a puff as his face move closer to hers, her eyes seemed to be sucking him into that green vortex. And when she closed that emerald gaze of hers, he did the same.
The moment their lips pressed lightly against each other’s; time stood still for them. A cool breeze blew on them and her red hair danced like little red flames behind her. Their innocent kiss lasted for what seemed like forever, which suddenly ended when they pulled apart.
Kyle pressed his forehead against hers and whispered, "Thank you." He stared deep into her eyes next as his hand cradled her face and then planted another feathery kiss on her forehead. "Goodbye, Lilith." He uttered her name for the first and last time before he turned and disappeared. She could never be his. Except in his heart for a few hours, like she was just a dream. This dream was like how one could feel the cool morning mists surrounding them but for a fleeting moment only, until the harsh reality evaporates it the instant the sun appears.
Lilith silently stared at the horizon where he had disappeared to for a long time and stood there unmoving. "Goodbye, Kyle." she uttered brokenly because she just knew that their goodbye would be forever.
...
It was already night when a private jet landed on the airstrip of one of the most secluded town of a certain country in the west. Ezekiel came out and Zeres, Alicia and Lucas who had been waiting inside a car sighed in relief. They had been waiting for him because he was the leader of the group and the man had simply instructed them to fly to the town and wait for him at the airport. As usual, he was so inconsiderate to make them wait for such a long time without notifying anyone of his exact time of arrival and now it seemed he had brought along an additional baggage with the group. It was his youngest brother, Kyle.
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Chapter 620 That thing again
The group soon arrived at an old village called Mapple. They headed to the centre of the village and checked into a hotel to rest while waiting for night-time to come.
Alicia, having fallen asleep immediately in her bed for hours since the moment she checked into her room, was startled when she finally woke up and noticed that the sun was already setting. She had slept as though she had been so tired, almost similarly to her just coming home from a few days of going through a long and exhausting battle. It bothered her greatly that she berated herself quite harshly as she rose and speedily washed up and prepared herself to leave her room.
After some looking about, she found her comrades already gathered and sitting around a large table at the hotel’s terrace. Gracefully, Alicia navigated herself towards the only empty chair next to Zeres.
"Did you have a good rest?" Zeres asked and Alicia nodded frankly. She could not quite accept that she, a queen, had actually overslept in a situation like this. She was not here for vacation, for heaven’s sake! None of them were. However, embarrassing as it may be, she would not lie to justify saving her face – thus the reason she just nodded instead of coming up with some explanations to save her face.
"Okay, let’s eat!" Zeres’ cheerful voice echoed, breaking the awkward silence. He knew that Alicia had been sleeping all day and knowing her, he knew that she was criticizing herself to no end right now. Alicia was the fourth witch queen he had met in his lifetime, so he knew that like all the other three queens he had met before her, Alicia too, had that same ego and pride the other witch queens have. They never wanted to show their weakness or appear weak to anyone, even when they were in the direst of situations. They would fight fiercely, with their heads held up proudly, even in the most hopeless situation. Because they hated powerlessness to their bones to the point that they would prefer welcoming death than being reduced to someone weak, helpless and useless. It seemed as that was one of the main qualities a witch should possess in order to be chosen as queen. A great quality a queen should have but... Zeres thought was also a dangerous one.
The proof of that was Alicia’s mood right now. She already looked angry at herself just by oversleeping. How much more would she react if...
Zeres’ attention was back on Alicia when he heard her drawing in a long deep breath. And what he saw made him relax as well because the queen’s expression became much better, and it seemed her anger towards herself was gone. Looks like she managed to clear her mind and calm her thoughts. Zeres doubted for a moment but when she started to eat animatedly, he thought that maybe, Alicia wasn’t as hard toward herself as those previous queens were on themselves.
By the time they were almost done with dinner, Alicia finally diverted her attention from the food and looked at her comrades. Her eyes landed first on the boy whom she had yet to hear speak and next was the red-haired man seated right opposite her. Her curious eyes lingered on these two beings she had wanted to talk to since she saw them last night when they were gathered at the airstrip. However, the timing was not quite right, and they needed to move with haste, consequently resulting in her holding off her curiosity. Now is the time, if not ever.
When the two raised their eyes to meet her questioning look, Alicia straightened. "So? Why are the crown prince and the youngest prince of the vampires along with their strongest and most elite bodyguard here with us? Don’t tell me they came so they could help us search for a crystal cavern." Alicia’s brow was slightly raised. There was no way these vampires were here just for that reason. These few individuals were too high-profile to tag along just for some simple reasoning like searching for crystal caverns.
"That’s right." Zeke suddenly answered before any words could leave Zeres’ mouth.
Alicia smirked, pressing her temples as her elbow rested on the table. "It seemed you finally learned how to kid now, Ezekiel."
"I’m not kidding, Alicia."
Her smirk faded and her gaze became serious as she stared at Zeke. Her eyes demanding for an explanation.
"I still don’t know if it’s a coincidence, but we are also here to look for a certain crystal cavern. Our reasoning has nothing to do with the witches." Zeke explained, causing Alicia’s brows to knot.
"And what reason is that if you don’t mind me asking?"
Zeke picked his glass of blood and twirled it gracefully before drinking it. His gaze then settled to Alicia before he answered. "I’m afraid I can’t tell you anything yet right now. Because unfortunately, the cavern we’re looking for is also something prophesized."
’Prophecy. That thing again.’ Alicia thought to herself and she could only sigh, knowing that she could not pry too much into it any longer much less it causes more animosity and unwanted disagreements within the group. She was still having some doubts she would like cleared before going on the search, but she also knew that it was not her place to interfere on this topic any more than she already had. Especially when he had clearly stated that it has nothing to do with the witches and it was related to the prophecy. And if that was truly prophesized, Alicia could only wait and see. For she knew that Ezekiel would never reveal anything and as things go, she also knew that prophecies coming from the vampires only meant one thing and one thing only – it spelled trouble – a very serious trouble that could cause unimaginable chaos.
After their dinner, the group finally left the hotel and continued with their journey to the first destination Ezekiel had identified where a huge crystal cavern was claimed to be situated. It was located in a mountainous area a few miles north of Mapple Village, so the group travelled there through the darkness.
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