Chapter 17Elena POVI stepped into the room and my breath caught in my throat.It was magnificent. The hall itself was huge, a room that would have easily doubled as a ballroom if necessary.Unlike the rest of the castle, the curtains were drawn, and the light was spilling into the room, across the finer silverware and linens that were set on the large table in the middle.But it wasn't the table that caught my breath in my throat. It wasn't the look of the room and the spread of food that made me rethink this castle.It was Dracul.He sat at the head of the table and I got my first look at him in the soft morning light. The glow in his face was nothing like the shadow of torches and the dim light of an abandoned room at the far end of the castle.Now, I could see him clearly and I couldn't look away.I stood there for a moment just staring.Dracul was wearing an elegant suit, one that cut across his chest in the best possible way.He wasn't wearing a tie and the top button of his sh
Chapter 18 Carriage RideElena pov.The carriage rock slowly, a gentle rhythm as it moved along the road.I had no idea where we are going and so far, Dracul hasn't been so talkative. We were sitting beside each other in the carriage and he looked consistently ahead.There was a focused expression on his face.I had gotten ready quickly, throwing a few supplies into one of my smaller trunks. They had been loaded up with the rest of the luggage and I had been the first one in the carriage.Dracul had swept in a few minutes later, giving order to the coachman, before sliding into the seat beside me.My heart had been pounding in my chest. Maybe this was my chance for conversation. Maybe he'd tell me what was on my mind, what we were doing, what was next.Maybe we could talk, and I could share what I knew. I had hope, the certainty that everything could be smoothed out.But he didn't say a word, brooding with the darkest expression. I had stuck back against the chair and sit in silence
Chapter 19The MagicianElena povI leaped away from Dracul, stumbling back until I fall against the door itself. My heart was still racing as I frantically straightened up my hair, taking a few deep breaths.Dracul was straightening up and tidying his shirt.He looked composed if you could ignore the flush on his cheeks the way his eyes looked gazed.He has been as into it as I was."Yes?" He said.When he spoke, it sounded curt and refined, like he knew exactly what he was talking about, like a ruler who was composed.Like he hadn't just kissed me until there was no more air in my lung. Like he hadn't just kissed me as he meant it.I felt a flood of warmth in my stomach at the memory of his touch. So recent, my skin was tingling, my lips burning where he kissed me.I could smell the smoke of the wood fire over my skin. I could still taste him on my tongue, sweet and musky all at the same time. I could still feel him pulling me closer."We are here, My Lord." The driver said through
Chapter 20 Royal BloodDracul pov.I turned to Gulliver, surprised at his words. He wanted me to bring Elena and now he was asking her to leave?"What?" Elena said, looking surprised.I couldn't blame her. I swallowed the confusion and turned to look at her fully, "Elena, could you wait outside, I will be with you in a moment."She looked at me, and then at Gulliver. I expected her to get angry, to ask questions, to be her usual feisty self, but she didn't say a word.Instead, she pressed her lips together in a tight line and nodded. Turning without a word, she left through the wide doors, letting them, banged shut behind her."What was that about?" I said, turning on Gulliver.I always felt uneasy around him. I felt uneasy around magic in general, around something I didn't fully understand, something that felt dangerous and dark and untamed.I didn't know want game Gulliver was playing and I never felt like he was being straight with me. He wasn't lying, but it was like he was dumbin
Chapter 21Elena povI signed and sank down onto the large bed that filled the space room.When I left Dracul and Gulliver to talk, I had been met by an attendant, who had shown me to a large room. At first, I had thought that it was a prison, but it was a stunning room that looked fit for royalty.Plush bedding and gold morning adorned and made themselves known. The beauty didn't escape me and I knew that this was a room meant for Dracul, as much as it was meant for me.I didn't know why I was here, but the door was left unlocked and I had free roamed when the attendant left.I signed and leaned back, flopping against the cover and closing my eyes.I didn't know what I felt. I didn't know how to feel about everything happening.Sure the treatment here was better than at Dracul's castle, but why was I even here?I was clearly needed for something, as the magician knew about me, knew who I was and that I was here to help with something.Maybe he called for me, and Dracul complied. May
Chapter 22(Morning After)Elena POV.I shifted, feeling the plush softness of the bed beneath my fingertips. For a moment, all I could feel was the warm, sweet glow and comforts of bed.I stretched out, my fingertips touching another body.My eyes flew open.I looked around, my brain taking a moment to catch up with where I was. I was in the room with Dracul, in the middle of nowhere. We'd been visiting the magician.We had made love.I sank back into the sheets; my eyes open wide as I started up at the ceiling. Dracul was beside me; I could see the curve of his body beneath the sheets.I should feel regret.I didn't though. I didn't feel regret. All I felt was the comfort and softness of the warm blankets around me. All I felt was how solid Dracul was behind me in the bed.It was a comfort, waking up with someone beside me. I had never imagined that it could feel so good to wake up with someone. I had never imagined how this might feel.I had never thought of making love and what it
Chapter 23Kings Burden.Dracul pov.My heart was pounding as I stepped out of the room. My hand shook as I sank against the outside wall.I buried my head in my hands and took a few deep breaths, trying to steady my racing heart.My emotions lay in tatters. I had barely been able to get out of the room without letting my emotions show. It had been hard. It had been hard. It had been a close one and I didn't know how I had managed it.What have I done?My hands shook and I couldn't get them to stop shaking. I needed to talk to Gulliver. I needed to talk to him and ask him if there was an alternative solution. I had to talk to him.What have I done?I pushed myself up, my legs threatening to give way from beneath me as I started walking towards his quarters.I was the king of these lands, but I felt completely out of control. I was admitting a fault, a flaw a mistake.What was I thinking when I did that?I'd made love to Elena. And it was the most beautiful and wonderful thing I had ev
Chapter 24(Forest Truths)**Elena pov.The air was cold against my skin and I pulled my coat closer around myself, trying to shield myself from the cold.It was icy, the wind that cut through the trees, and made its way down to the very core of my being. I wondered, for a fleeting moment, I should have simply stayed inside.Maybe, if I had stayed put, I wouldn't be freezing right now. I wasn't thinking straight when I ran out of the room, but my head was a mess. Then again, it was still all twisted up now, the anxiety within me making itself known. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. The warmth that I was used to was nothing more than a distant memory now. I didn't know what I was doing out here.There was nowhere for me to go. Nowhere for me to hide. I couldn't run and I didn't even know if I truly wanted to run. All I knew was that there was a knot in my chest.All I knew was that there was an ache inside of me, an insistence that I do something, anything at all before I w