A look of disbelief ford on Alanna’s face as she stared at the fangs clutched in her trembling hand. Losing those alone had been humiliating enough. Now he expected the rest as well?
"I... I can’t do it," she confessed, her voice breaking. She wished to die!
"What do you an, you can’t?" asked one of them with a baffled expression. He stepped to the front and offered, "I will help you with it. It will be quick—"
The person’s words were cut off when the iron stoker in Lucian’s hand scraped harshly against the floor. Sparks burst where the tal struck the stone, one landing far too close to the edge of the carpet.
"I was only trying to help," the person said quickly, raising his hands. "Just removing her teeth."
"If you’re that eager," Lucian replied coolly, "you are welco to try on yourself."
That was enough for the person to retreat a few steps back. A few of the vampires wondered if Lucian was only trying to frighten Alanna into obeying.
But when they looked at the pureblooded vampire again, the thought quickly died. Though Lucian didn’t show it outwardly, there was a clear madness in his eyes. If the flas caught, he would burn the entire den without a second thought.
And while Alanna took her ti to ntally prepare herself, whispers began to drift in the Den.
"Who even invited her here tonight? I knew her recklessness would get us all into trouble one day."
"All this because she couldn’t gain his attention and now we all pay for it for her foolishness."
More murmurs followed, so louder than others.
"She always had to push things too far. Was she not with the minister? Typical Alanna."
The words ca from every direction, pressing in on the vampiress until the confidence she had once carried like armour began to crumble under their stares. The people who used to respect her now looked annoyed, while others were openly disgusted, as if her presence alone had beco an inconvenience.
For the first ti Alanna felt small, and Ruelle noticed it. She watched the vampiress’s hand return to her mouth.
Alanna shut her eyes and began forcing the teeth out one after another, as if unable to bear people watching her. No one stopped her. Blood dripped down, saring the front of her clothes.
"Quicker, Alanna. Did you treat the minister this slow too?" Soone asked in the room, and Alanna tried not to look up.
Ruelle glanced toward Lucian. The look on his face hadn’t softened. If anything, the madness in his eyes seed darker now, as if he would gladly watch the entire room fall apart before he was satisfied.
Seeing how Alanna was done ripping out seventeen of her teeth and a silent tear dripping down her cheek, Ruelle whispered under her breath,
"Lucian... that’s enough."
Ruelle had once used the vampiress’s na to save herself from the minister. Given what Alanna had done in the past, Lucian today had made his point.
Lucian didn’t answer at once, and for a mont Ruelle thought he might ignore her. But the smoke then began to disperse before disappearing into the ground. Then he spoke,
"If I find you attempting anything again, I will skin you and the others alive. Literally."
Alanna tried to hide the sob behind her blood-covered hand while her eyes lowered and drops of water spilt onto the floor. The vampiress realised that if it weren’t for the human, Lucian would have made her continue. When she looked up, her vision blurring with tears, she noticed him standing beside the human.
And in that mont Alanna understood that every desperate attempt she had made to remove the human had only brought them closer together. Worse, he despised her and she closed her eyes in defeat.
Together Lucian and Ruelle stepped out of the room, Kevin following them a second later, leaving the rest of the vampires behind in the den.
When Ruelle stepped out of the abandoned building, she caught sight of Hailey, who stood next to Lucian’s coach. She noticed the humans who had arrived for the soiree was nowhere to be seen and she could only guess that they had been sent away.
"I am so glad you are fine!" Hailey looked relieved and she was about to hug Ruelle when she caught sight of the stake. "What happened to you?! I should have stayed next to you! At least for support," she added, knowing the limitation she had as a human.
Kevin remained silent, still too dazed to respond. Ruelle simply shook her head. She replied, "It was a small mistake. Don’t worry, I am fine. Let us get in."
Hailey nodded imdiately and they climbed inside the carriage with the coachman holding the door. Sitting in the carriage, Ruelle let her body lean against the side and sigh. Utterly tired, she briefly closed her eyes.
Outside the carriage, Lucian had taken a couple of steps away from the vehicle when Kevin spoke up carefully.
"Did it have to go that far...?" he asked, catching sight of the iron stoker that the pureblooded vampire still held in his hand. "Ruelle looked uncomfortable tonight."
"Ruelle believes people are better than they are," Lucian said calmly. "I would like that belief to remain. If the world around her proves otherwise, then it needs to be corrected."
Kevin noticed Lucian glance down at the iron stoker and then at the building, as if only now rembering he was still holding it. But then the next mont, he watched Lucian pull his hand back before driving the iron stoker forward, where the rod made an arc through the air and disappeared through one of the open windows.
A second later, screams rang out from the den as orange light blood out of the window.
Kevin felt his mouth go dry, while Lucian didn’t bother to look back as he made his way back to his carriage.
User Comments
0 comments from readers