Chapter 28Empty Spaces*Dracul pov.I felt like I was floating, everything around me was sinking and flowing until I had no concept of time. Nothing had meaning and for the first time in years, I felt weightless.I sighed, feeling the rise and fall of my chest. It didn't hurt. Nothing hurt, nothing ached, and there was no fear holding me back.There was no fear, no ache in my chest that told me that I had all of this responsibility. There was nothing that I had to worry about or keep in mind.The weight of hundreds of years of leadership fell away until there was nothing left. I had forgotten what this felt like. I had forgotten the taste of freedom, the touch of peace.I had forgotten what it felt like to be myself, unencumbered by the layers of leadership and stress that had enrobed me for so long.First, it had been protecting my people from humans, humans who thought that they should fear and destroy us. That had been a long and bloody battle, and it had exhausted all of us.The
Chapter 29Unexpected Saviour***ElenaMy breathing came in quick gasps as I tried my best not to cry. Nothing was going right, everything was wrong.I didn't know how I was supposed to save Dracul. I had gotten him into this mess, and I had no idea how I was supposed to get him out.The chill in the air was getting worse now, and I shivered without my coat. Dracul's skin was starting to cool too, and I felt the pressure of my responsibility land squarely on my shoulders.I needed to get us out. There was no one else, but I had no idea what I was supposed to do. I looked around, but only the fallen dragons lay around us. They didn't seem to be dead, just knocked out, and I knew that I needed to move before they work up. Dracul was out of it right now and he was in no condition to fight.And there was no way I could fight off five dragons. Dracul had been able to do it, but even he had gotten hurt.There was no way I had any chance of surviving something like that. No way. I bit my l
Chapter 30Bitter Words***ElenaI felt Dracul tense up beneath me, but I didn't want to pull away. Not yet. He was alive.I had never been so worried about someone in my life. I had never been so desperate to see them wake up. I had never been so tense,so concerned, felt my heart catch in my chest every time his breathing slowed.I hadn't moved all day, watching over him. Gulliver hadn't seemed confident about his survival, and I couldn't handle the thought of missing a moment if he woke up.But now he was here. He had woken up, and held me close. He didn't seem angry at me, just scared for my safety. But then, he had risked everything to save me.He had risked everything to keep me safe, to protect me, to make sure that I was well. He had fought five guys and survived. He had fought five guys and succeeded in beating them all.He was strong, he was fierce, he was amazing.And he was here. He was alive. I never wanted to pull away.Dracul shifted, and reluctantly, I shifted with him
CHAPTER THIRTY ONERevelations***ElenaDracul didn't move for a moment. For what felt like an age, he just rested, taking deep breaths and regrouping. His breath was short and trembling in his chest.He seemed to have a lot on his mind, a lot on his plate. My heart pounding as I watched him, everything seemingly suspended in mid-air.I took a deep breath and held it. I didn't know if I wanted to hear the answer, but I knew that I had to. I didn't know how to move forward from here, but I knew that the truth was the first step. I had been kept in the dark for long enough."It's complicated," Dracul said, finally. His words broke the silence that was hanging between us, but somehow, he still wasn't saying much, wasn't explaining anything.Part of me wanted to be angry with him, but I was still just relieved that he was alive, relieved that he wasn't dead.I couldn't be angry with him, not really, but I could still feel the pounding disappointment in my heart. I deserved to know more,
Chapter 32Revelations***ElenaDracul didn't move for a moment. For what felt like an age, he just rested, taking deep breaths and regrouping. His breath was short and trembling in his chest.He seemed to have a lot on his mind, a lot on his plate. My heart pounding as I watched him, everything seemingly suspended in mid-air.I took a deep breath and held it. I didn't know if I wanted to hear the answer, but I knew that I had to. I didn't know how to move forward from here, but I knew that the truth was the first step. I had been kept in the dark for long enough."It's complicated," Dracul said, finally. His words broke the silence that was hanging between us, but somehow, he still wasn't saying much, wasn't explaining anything.Part of me wanted to be angry with him, but I was still just relieved that he was alive, relieved that he wasn't dead.I couldn't be angry with him, not really, but I could still feel the pounding disappointment in my heart. I deserved to know more, especial
Chapter 33No Holding Back***DraculElena's question hit me like a sledgehammer. I didn't know what to say or how to react.No one had ever asked me that before. No one had ever cared about what I was feeling before now, not really.As a child, the focus had been on survival, and I had been grown for so long now that I barely even remembered that time. I sighed and tried to rein in my emotions, which stampeded along at a great speed.Elena was something else, she was.Right now, when I should be feeling guilty for what happened between Gulliver and me, I wanted nothing more than to pull Elena into my arms. It was insane. It was absurd.But she did that to me. Even in the depth of the hardest conversation of my life, she was still here, listening. Even in the depth of the most challenging part of history, I wanted nothing more than to take her into my arms.She did things to me, things that I had never felt before, things that I didn't truly understand.I turned and she was looking
Chapter 34All the Way**Elena Dracula felt incredible beneath my hands. His lips pressed against mine, and all of the breath left my body.I collapsed into him on the table as Dracul pressed his body against mine and kissed me, kissed me as he needed me for air as he needed me to survive.My head was spinning from the revelations that had just happened, everything that had passed between us. I no longer knew what I was feeling, but it was okay. Everything was okay.Because now I knew. Now, I had seen the real Dracul.And I was discovering that I liked him. I liked him a lot, flaws and all.This was different from before, somehow.This was raw and passionate but sweeter, somehow, wonderful and tender.And yet, he managed to still kiss me harder than he had ever kissed me before, his hands tangling in my hair, possessive and hard as he kissed me, his tongue pressing past my lips.I wanted this. I needed it.Now we were making love for the first time, with all secrets bare. Now, I kn
Chapter 35Nightmare Fuel***Elena Sleep came easily, curled up on Dracul's chest. Even thoughts and confusion about love weren't enough to stop me from sliding into a sweet sleep.But my dreams weren't pleasant, or sweet.On the contrary, I found myself thrown back to where this all started, to the nightmare that happened on my first day in the castle.It was like I was reliving everything again. But this time, it was warped. This time, it was wrong.I stood in the corridor, the hallway of the castle dark and twisted in my nightmare. I couldn't move, the cold seeping into my body like poison. I was helpless. I was terrified.Time seemed to slow as a second figure appeared and they both turned their eyes towards me. In the dim lighting, I saw yellow eyes staring back at me, narrowed to slits.Just like Dracul's eyes, but nowhere near as warm. The golden tones of his eyes were welcoming compared to the pale-yellow eyes that stared back at me.Just like the first time, I couldn't brea