Chapter 555: Dawn Light
The dawn light peeked through the curtains but did little to brighten the bedroom. The Gale manor’s windows had been enchanted to filter sunlight to a minimum. A vampire’s skin burned easily. Without the proper gear, a mere half hour in direct sunlight could leave their skin a blistering red.
Sunlight always bothered Stryg’s eyes, but he had never experienced a sunburn. He glanced curiously at the beam of light shining through the curtains as lay in bed. He stretched out his hand and tried to grasp it, to no avail.
“What are you doing?” asked Feli through panted breaths. She was sprawled on top of him, her beautiful olive skin bare and slick with sweat.
He looked her over, tracing his other hand down her back and finding her soft bottom cheeks. “Just enjoying the moment.”
Feli smirked and kissed his chest before rolling off him. She exhaled deeply in satisfaction, “I waited too long for that.”
“You and me both.”
She cocked her eyebrow. “Are you telling me you didn’t find a goblin wench to bury your desires in the last few months? Or perhaps a drow barmaid from Undergrowth?”
“Um… no.”
“Stryg, you’re a terrible liar.”
“She wasn’t a goblin or drow…”
“I knew it.”
“How?”
“Besides the fact that your people don’t believe in marriage and can be quite— ‘tolerant’ of sexual encounters? Easy. You are terrible at holding back your desires. Another one of your many flaws~.”
“Flaws?” Stryg glanced down at himself.
“Not that. I’m talking about up here,” she poked his forehead.
Her words sparked memories from last night. If Melantha and Holo’s words were true, then he had almost killed everyone at the Katag manor. All because he had lost control of himself.
Feli noticed the slight shift in his demeanor. She scooted closer and looked him directly in his lilac eyes. “What’s the matter? What happened?”
“The dinner party last night.”
“What about it?”
“It was… difficult.”
“What happened?”
“I may have ruined the marriage alliance.”
“You what? Did you bite someone? Please, tell me you didn’t bite Lord Katag.”
“No, but Elise threatened to kill him and his entire family. And I knocked Tauri unconscious to save her, which I failed to do, so that didn’t help either.”
“Sweet Sterjne, how do you get yourself into these situations?”
“I’m a demigod of chaos?”
Feli rolled her eyes. “Uh-huh. More like a bumpkin of dumbassery. You need to fix this.”
“How? What would you have me do?”
“Arrange a meeting, talk to them, apologize. Whatever you do, make sure the engagement still stands.”
“You want me to marry Elena? I thought you hated the idea.”
“You’re the lord of a powerful House now. You need allies because you’ll certainly have enemies. Everyone knows marriage is the greatest way to bond two families together.”
“So you’re for it now?”
“I never said I was against it, I’m just not particularly enthusiastic either,” she said dryly.
“So you think I should marry a Katag then?”
“You already have a mistress, a political marriage is hardly any worse. Besides, I knew you’d always find a noble wife to marry.” She forced herself to smile, “Even if I’m married to an Aspirant of a legendary bloodline, I am still commonborn. I will always be a secondary wife.”
“There is nothing secondary about you.”
She smiled genuinely. “So long as you see me that way, then that’s all that matters.”
“…How do you feel about me? As a Veres?”
Feli glanced at the unsheathed scarlet hanging on the sword rack in the corner of the room. “...It’s difficult to believe if I’m being honest, but I’ve seen you wield Krikolm, so I know it’s true.” She smirked, “I guess it explains your biting ‘habits’ and your penchant for drinking a certain pretty blonde’s blood.”
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“What if it was more…?”
“You drink other women’s blood?”
“What? No. I mean, not usually, unless I’m tearing out their throat. What I meant to say is what if I was more? More than just a vampire-goblin hybrid. What if I was different?” He swallowed, “How would you feel about me then?”
“You’re a blue goblin who tears people’s throats out with his teeth. You’ve always been different.”
“Feli, I’m serious.”
She caressed his face, tracing his features with her slender fingers. Her lips curled in a wry smile. “When I look at you, I don’t see a Sylvan goblin, an Ebon Aspirant, or a noble vampire, all I see— is the brooding, ignorant, beautiful man I fell in love with.”
Stryg frowned. “You just insulted me three ways.”
She giggled and kissed his button nose. “Well, it’s true.” Feli smirked bewitchingly, “What are you gonna do about it, little Veres?”
She squeaked in playful surprise as he pulled her close with a single tug. He buried his head in the crook of her shoulder and sank his small fangs into her neck. She grimaced, but only for a moment. Feli welcomed the familiar pain and wrapped her limbs around him in a warm embrace. The feeling was intoxicating. Instead of resisting, she closed her eyes and moaned softly, letting it wash over her.
~~~
Tauri woke up to the chirping noise of a bird on the windowsill. She squinted her eyes at the dawnlight piercing the window unapologetically. She felt exhausted, as if she hadn’t slept in days, and decided to run around the city’s perimeter.
The white ceiling was unfamiliar.
Where am I…?
She looked around and recognized the engraved wooden patterns on the walls. This was her family manor, but this wasn’t her bedroom, it was—
The healers’ room?
With a wince, she slowly sat up and spotted her two older brothers sleeping in a pair of chairs. Their bodies slumped against one another, heads tilted to the side.
What are they doing here—?
Suddenly, the events of last night rushed back to her. Tauri grimaced and held her stomach. She wanted to throw up from the sheer horror of how badly things had turned out.
Tauri threw off her blankets and got off the bed. The world spun around but she held the bedpost and waited until the feeling disappeared.
“Tauri…? You’re awake!” Lucas jumped to his feet and rushed to her side, “Are you alright? Don’t push yourself.”
She sighed. “I’m fine.”
“But—”
“I said I’m fine!”
Niko jolted awake at her voice and almost fell out of his chair. “Huh? Wha–? Tauri? You’re awake! Are you okay?”
She voiced each word through gritted teeth. “I. Am. Fine.”
“We just want to help,” said Lucas in a pained voice.
Tauri laughed angrily. “Oh, you’ve already helped enough.”
Lucas furrowed his brow, “What is that supposed to mean?’
“I mean what the FUCK was all that knight-in-shining-armor bullshit at dinner!?”
He frowned. “I was protecting our House’s honor, your honor. That cad of an Aspirant dishonored our sister and you.”
“Dishonored me?” her voice dripped with venom.
“Yes, he defiled your purity,” he said as if it was obvious.
She groaned loudly, “Lucas, I’m not some virgin in need of your protection!”
“Wait, you’re not a virgin?” interrupted Niko. “Like, even before the whole fling with Lord Stryg?”
She looked at her brothers pointedly. “I’m 31 years old. What do you think?”
Niko whistled and broke into a laugh.
“But, that’s— unseemly,” blurted Lucas.
“Why? Because I’m a woman?”
Lucas cleared his throat, “W-Well, noble ladies are expected to behave in certain honorable ways—”
She groaned. “Ugh, as are noble lords, but I don’t see either of you protecting your chastity.”
“Ooh, she’s got you there, brother,” piped in Niko.
“Why did you never tell us?” whispered Lucas.
“Because, unlike you two idiots, I don’t want to brag about my sex life with my damned brothers!” she screamed.
Niko grinned slyly. “Well, I say good for you, sis. Get that dick wherever you can, even if it’s blue.”
“Shut the fuck up!” yelled Tauri.
Niko raised his hands in surrender, “Hey, I was just trying to be supportive.”
“Tauri. I… I didn’t know,” Lucas muttered. “I was— I was only trying to protect you. I’m supposed to protect my little sister.”
Tauri sighed lamentingly. “I’m not little anymore. I don’t need protection. Especially from a man who puts honor above everything else.”
“Maybe not,” he admitted. “But it doesn’t matter how strong you are. In war, no soldier can stand alone, Father taught us that. If you don’t accept our help then whose will you? Our parents?”
“Nah, after last night she probably needs protection from those two,” Niko laughed.
Brown mana surged into Tauri’s hand, covering her scarlet skin in a bronze sheen. “Niko, I swear to Bellum if you so much as utter a single more syllable I will break your nose.”
Niko covered his nose instinctively and closed his mouth.
“He’s right, you know,” said Lucas. “Our parents must be furious at you right now, especially Mother. And Elena, she didn’t even bother to come visit you once the entire night. You need allies. I’m sorry for last night, I am, but if we hadn’t stepped in then that Aspirant would have kidnapped you. Who knows what he would have done to you then.”
“What have you done with him?” she asked suspiciously.
Lucas frowned, “Are you serious? Even now, you worry about the Aspirant?” He shook his head and scoffed, “Unbelievable.”
“Lucas.”
“If you must know, your lover escaped. With a pair of intruders. Two women. One was a True Orange mageborn. I didn’t get a good look at either woman, it happened so fast, but I don’t think they were Gales.”
Tauri nodded to herself, “I see… Thank you.” She turned on her heel and made a beeline to the door.
“Where are you going?”
“Doesn’t matter. I won’t need your protection.”
“...What will you do when you see him?”
“Pay him back for last night.” She slammed the door behind her.
“She’s a violent one,” Niko shook his head. “I think she takes after our grandfather.”
Lucas hung his head and sighed.