Lucius returned to the ward one hour later, and Lydia was so focused on her task that she didn’t even register his long absence. Lucius sat quietly on the other side of the curtain, feeling light-headed and unreal.

He actually did it.

The post office was fairly busy at that hour, and no one even gave him a second look as he went to the deposit room, entered the security code and put in the vial.

He left right away and didn’t wait to see who his correspondent was. And now, his heart was still beating violently, half from the climbing he had to do moments ago and half from wishing he had never agreed to the quest.

And now...he just wanted to forget all about it.

After another hour, the curtain was pulled open. Florian was still immobile on the bed, looking more pallid than usual. His hair wasn’t shaved off as Lydia used some nano insertion technique, which would create an almost invisible wound. An incredible technique that humanity had never been able to develop.

Lucius shot up from the seat and quickly came to Florian’s side, “how is he? Is everything ok?”

“The procedure was very successful,” Lydia said curtly in her usual speaking style. She showed him a bloody tiny piece of metal connected with several hair-thin wires lying on a plate, “this is the chip. I managed to disable it when I took it out. As the Crown Prince instructed, I will dispose of it later.”

Lucius eyed the chip with disgust but politely said, “I don’t know how to thank you enough, doctor. I owe you one.”

“He may feel dizzy and nauseated for a few days, but it shouldn’t be too much. If he begins to show any other symptoms, like delirium or high fever, let me know as soon as possible.”

“I will. When will he wake up?”

“Anytime from now on.” Lydia then went into the washroom to disinfect and dispose of her operation gown and left Lucius alone with Florian.

In about five minutes, Florian’s fingers twitched, and his eyelids flustered. He wasn’t sure if he was in the middle of falling asleep or waking up. But then he heard the familiar voice coming from afar, beckoning at him, eliciting a strangely gentle and warm sensation within his frozen body, and he wanted to respond to that voice.

“Florian? Florian?”

Who was the owner of that voice? It was someone special to him... someone who simultaneously made him feel safe and engendered a desire to protect.

His eyes opened, and he saw a face hovering over him. An alabaster, boyish face framed by wavy reddish-golden tresses and those alluring hazel eyes filled with care and worry. Florian yearned to caress that lovely face, but his arms were too heavy to move.

“Hey, you are ok. You are awake.” Lucius said and gently touched his shoulder.

As the fog slowly receded from Florian’s mind, memories began to return. He blinked slowly and said, “I’m still alive.”

Lucius chuckled and nodded, “yes, and no more chip in your head. You are free, my friend.”

Reality finally dawned on Florian, and yet he felt unreal.

For the first time in six years, he was his own body’s master once more. No longer forced to do things he didn’t want to, no longer worried that a simple word would condemn him to the most horrible torture.

Freedom...

Something he thought he would never have again before he died.

“How are you feeling?” Lucius asked attentively, “Do you want anything? The doctor said you can’t eat much in the first twelve hours, but some smoothie or chicken soup may be ok.”

“A bit nauseating, but not much else.” Florian suddenly recalled something, “And how about the other thing?”

“It’s done.”

Florian relaxed a little. He smiled from the bottom of his heart for the first time in a long time, “so it all went well?”

“Yes. We are very lucky.”

And then Lydia exited the washroom, and they ceased talking. They had to stay there for another hour for Florian to gain strength slowly, so he wouldn’t appear to be someone who just went through brain surgery.

They returned to the Citadel around three am, before most royal families. Lucius kept his weak appearance, pretending he just undergone some simple but intense treatment, and Florian looked as strong as usual.

For the next two days, Lucius kept Florian close to him, ensuring he had sufficient opportunities to rest whenever they were alone. Dorian seemed slightly peevish by the fact that Florian was always around and that Lucius paid so much attention to the man but didn’t say anything to protest.

With the chip issue cleared out of their way, Dorian and Lucius started to plan their trip to Esmore. They told people in court that they were thinking about a journey together since they hadn’t got a chance to go on a honeymoon, and the news soon spread to the media.

Lucius didn’t expect anything to go wrong, and in the worst kind of way.

It was a Sunday, and Lucius decided to spend his late afternoon in the swimming pool. He did his first round of freestyle, and as he thrust out of the water and brushed away wet hair from his face, a person was standing by the pool, looming over him.

He looked up and saw Silvan’s smiling face.

“Good evening, Julian.” The prince said. He was in his regular stylish clothes and, therefore, was not coming here to swim.

A premonition rose in Lucius’s stomach. He frowned and propped himself out of the water, asking, “Good to see you, Silvan. What brings you here?”

“Just want to spend some time with you to get to know you better,” Silvan said cryptically. content rights.

An alarm rang in Lucius’s mind. This was not Archie; Silvan had always been charming and courteous to him. Why was he having such a bad feeling?

Lucius pretended to be calm and nonchalant, grabbing a towel to wipe his head and face, “why? What’s to know about me?”

He felt Silvan draw nearer from behind, and his scent quickly wrapped around him like a trap.

“I want to know, whose blood is this?” Silvan’s beguiling voice slithered into his ear and exploded in his head like a grenade.

Lucius turned around and was petrified as he saw the vial he had deposited two days ago now in Silvan’s hand. A loud humming noise dispelled all his thoughts as panic began to set in.

Voice stuck in Lucius’s throat, and he couldn’t utter a word.

Seeing the unmasked fear on the Crown Prince Consort’s face brought a rush of excitement up to Silvan’s head. His smirk grew more malicious, “you see, when I heard that you were so sick the other day, I was worried, so I followed you. You were very stealthy for a human, but I have Lilith’s blood, and we have a much stronger sense than any other bloodline, so I knew when you left the hospital.

“I followed you from afar, watched you enter the deposit room, left this in a box and left. I figured someone should have picked it up, but maybe they noticed me. No one ever showed up. So, I went in and got it.

“It smells...old. Why were you depositing an old vampire’s blood? To whom were you delivering it? Most importantly...“He prolonged his question and leaned closer, only an inch away from Lucius’s face, “Does Dorian know?”

“Please...” Lucius didn’t know what he was pleading for, but he knew he was defeated and was only one step away from the destruction of himself and his country.

“Oh no no no, don’t be so scared.” Silvan ran a finger over Lucius’s lips, and his voice was gentle, but the malevolence was dark in his eyes, “I haven’t told anyone yet. Not even my mother.”

“What do you want?” Lucius asked quietly, his body shaking visibly like an autumn leaf.

“I want us to be friends. I thought you knew that by now.“Silvan flashed his exceptionally white teeth and sharp fangs.

“Stop playing games with me! Tell me what I have to do.“Lucius tried his best not to quiver, “Just...don’t tell Dorian...”

“Well...” Silvan licked his lips seductively, “you can probably start by letting me drink from you?”

Lucius gawked at him. He had never given permission to drink from him to any vampire except Dorian, and the only time another vampire bit him was when Archie forced himself upon him.

In vampire culture, which Lucius had mostly adapted to, giving permission to a vampire to drink and submit oneself by baring one’s neck was extremely intimate and even sexually provoking. It was almost like having sex, often leading to lovemaking.

And now, Lucius was in his swimming shorts, nearly naked and vulnerable. His lips tightened into a thin line, obviously unwilling to comply.

Silvan was not in a hurry. He tilted his head amusingly as if finding the human’s resistance funny, “It is only the first request, and you are already so hesitant? Maybe we are not friends after all.”

“Is there anything else...”

“Oh, there will be many other things, but this is the first step.” Silvan played the vial between his fingers, “It’s like...pledging yourself to me, so I know you are sincere about our...friendship.”

“...”

“Or maybe you prefer Dorian to have this? I can go to him now.”

“No!” Lucius gave in in fright, “All alright, I give you permission.”

“Oh no, this is not the proper way of doing it.” Silvan pointed at the ground at his feet, shifting his tone to a more demanding, domineering manner, “kneel before me, bare your neck, and beg me to drink from you.”

Lucius couldn’t believe his ears, yet he had no other choice. He looked around nervously, fearing anyone would see, and dragged himself to the spot Silvan pointed at, right in front of the vampire prince. He kneeled on the ground as if crumpled down and bared his neck to one side.

“Show me the side where Dorian usually bit you,” Silvan commanded with a cold thrill.

Lucius reluctantly bared the other side of his neck, revealing the not fully healed bit mark Dorian left four days ago. He felt as if he was exposing a private part of himself and was so humiliated that his cheeks were burning red, and his teeth were chattering as if he was shivering from the cold.

Silvan leered down at him as if he were his master, and he demanded imperiously, “Now, say it.”

Lucius’s hand tightened into a fist, and he squeezed the words out of his mouth, “Please drink from me...”

“Louder, and say my name!”

Feeling losing control, Lucius closed his eyes and said loudly, “Please drink from me, Silvan!”

Silvan grinned diabolically, lowered to the same level as Lucius, and ran his cold fingers across the long, pale neck. Lucius flinched but kept himself in place, letting the devil do whatever he wanted.

The finger with the sharp nail dug into the spot where Dorian bit him, drawing blood. And the sweet, erotic scent soon woke something more dangerous and hungry in the depths of Silvan’s eyes.

“Tell me, how does he usually bite you? Is it before he fucks you or as he fucks you?”

Lucius bit his lips and didn’t want to answer. But then Silvan roughly grabbed his jaw and forced him to look up at him, “Answer me.”

By now, the obliging and polite veneer of the vampire prince was entirely gone, and the true color of Silvan made Lucius tremble. He said, “both...”

“Hm.“Silvan studied Lucius as if trying to find a defect in an object, “I wonder what makes you so special to him.”

Lucius wanted to laugh. He wished he was someone special to Dorian, like his brother. But that was not the case.

“You know, he practically gave up his crown for you. Do you think he will still be so protective of you when he knows what treacherous little shit you are? ”

“You promised...”

“I didn’t promise anything. I only said, as long as you keep me happy, I will have less reason to tell him the truth.” Silvan explained condescendingly, as if Lucius were a child, “You will do anything I say from now on. Understood? You belong to me now, little sheep.”

Desperation rose like a black mist and engulfed Lucius. He was completely under the insidious vampire prince’s mercy.

Seeing how compliant and scared Lucius was, a sadistic pleasure took hold of Silvan’s mind. He grabbed Lucius’s hair, pulled him into his arms, and bit down at the same spot Dorian did. His bite was nothing like Dorian’s. Silvan was violent and ferocious, and he bit so hard that Lucius felt he would tear his throat open.

As the venom entered Lucius’s system, he felt the familiar tingling and heat under his skin, and he felt Silvan’s hands roaming on his body, pinching at his nipple roughly, and the other hand was trying to slip into his swimming shorts. Lucius struggled and whimpered, but as blood was quickly sucked out of him, he felt dizzy and weak, as if all his strength was sucked out of him with the essence of life.

Lucius knew he was close to his limit, but Silvan showed no sign of stopping. He just drank and drank and drank as if he never planned to stop.

What if Silvan decided to drain him? Lucius vaguely thought.

But just as he was about to pass out, Silvan finally let go of him. He was thrown to the floor like a ragged doll. Silvan took out a handkerchief to clean the blood on his lips elegantly, and then he straightened his own attire, making sure he still looked impeccable.

“Dorian will ask you who bit you, and you will not mention my name.” Silvan said callously, “and you will tell him that you gave the permission.”

Lucius lay on the floor on his stomach, trying to hide his face. Wetness was rising up in his eyes, and he couldn’t press them down.

“Did you hear me?“A more menacing tone.

Lucius opened his lips and whispered, “yes.”

“Too bad that I don’t have more time today to go through the second part as you and Dorian did. But no matter”, Silvan grinned satisfactorily, “I’m looking forward to having more friendly times with you, angel”, and he left, leaving a bloody and humiliated Lucius behind.