Chapter ８

Someone kicked open the door with a bam, revealing a green-eyed man. He stared sharply at the scene. His aura emitted coldness, making George's leg frozen in mid-air.

My eyes widened in shock. How could he come here? Liam wasn't even at the palace when I left! How did he know I was here and in grave danger?

My skin tingled as sweat formed profusely on the surface. I came to see my sister behind his back. Would he be angry with me? But thinking about his dark eyes filled with lust as he would push me, the bed gave me a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. My mouth became moist as I swallowed the saliva.

"Didn't I tell you not to visit her?"

And that familiar cold voice snapped me out of my complicated emotions. I shook my head and pursed my lips. What the hell was the problem with me? Was I seriously craving for Liam's cold and energetic body despite being frightened by his demeanor?

Was I turning into a masochist?

I shuddered at the thought and ignored his presence, getting up from the floor. Just as I was about to turn back to my sister, my hand was gripped as Liam dragged me toward the door.

"Liam! Let me go!"

His grip tightened, but he didn't say anything.

Seeing his actions, my veins pulsed as I glared at the person before me in anger. But I couldn't even turn to look at my sister because he threw me in the backseat of the car.

"Hey!" I turned the doorknob, but it only turned without results. I didn't hear the familiar click sound, and my speed of turning the knob only became rough. Frustrated, my fist slammed against the window. Glancing at Liam on the driver's seat angrily, I said, "Why are you doing this to me?"

He ignited the engine and pulled the gear, driving the car on the narrow road between the bushes.

The man dared to ignore me!

Fine, I'll ignore you too. I turned my head at the window, focused my attention on the cars that passed by as we turned toward the highway.

When we reached the palace, my cheeks were puffed up in anger. Liam stopped the car in the parking lot and walked around to open the door. His narrowed eyes stare at me with intensity. "I forbid you to visit George."

My hands tightened against my purse as a wave of anxiety flooded through my heart. Can't visit my sister? What did he think of himself! My father? Cursing the man under my breath, I glared at him. "You have no right to stop me." My sister had bruises on her arms! How could I ignore it just like that? Shouldn't Liam help me get justice? Wasn't he a prince?

The anger in my veins only increased, making my heart beat faster.

"No," Liam said. I just opened my mouth to refute when I heard another sentence. "I'm not hearing anything about this."

"But, she's suffering!"

"That has nothing to do with me." He snapped back coldly.

I turned to look at his face. His intense eye contact told me that this time, he wouldn't hear a word about it. My shoulders dropped at that.

Should I let Lucy get bruises after bruises before finally dying?

If it were for Liam, he would definitely let that happen without letting me hear a word about it!

My body collapsed on the seat lifelessly. Lucy was suffering, and here Liam was, trying to separate us. What do I do now? The Prince would disagree, and he had clearly been keeping an eye on me. Otherwise, how could he know that I wasn't at the palace?

I have never felt so desperate in my life. Tears formed in my eyes as I took a deep breath. "I understand," I said in a small voice with a touch of disappointment.

Perhaps my obedient form pleased the Prince. I didn't see the look on his face, but a moment later, he grabbed my wrist, dragging me inside the palace. I wasn't in a mood to argue with this man; I was already so disappointed that my entire heart was flooded with sadness.

The red and purple bruises flashed in front of my eyes. I couldn't help but feel helpless. What should I do? How can I help my sister? Was there really no way?

While I was busy in my thoughts, Liam pulled me inside a room, closing the door behind him. He pressed my body against the wall. We were so close that I could feel his cold breath fanning my lips, making me shiver.

"It's time I will mark you before you make any trouble."

That was the sentence that snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked at him in disbelief. "No!" The words blurted out of my mouth.

"You have no say in this." Before I could open my mouth to say anything, he gripped my jaw and pressed his mouth against mine, kissing and nibbling my lips at the same time. My mind went black as my body fell in his embrace. I didn't react for a moment. Not until I felt him taking my lower lips between his teeth and licking it with his cold tongue, leaving a string of saliva as we separated, gasping for breath.

I covered my lips with the back of my hand, taking deep breaths to calm my racing heart.

What was this man doing? Had I agreed to this marking thing yet? Shouldn't he ask my consent before deciding for me? I ignored my heart that was beating loudly after that pleasant experience. I reminded myself of how I was dragged away from my suffering sister. Taking a few breaths, I was able to calm down and glare at Liam.

All I could think of how this man wanted to manipulate me into becoming his puppet.

"Let go of me! You forbid me from seeing my sister. And on top of that, you're trying to mark me against my will! What do you think of me? A robot to obediently agree to your wishes?" I struggled more, but he had been holding me firmly against his muscular body. "I'm a human being, not your toy!"

He squinted his eyes at me before releasing his hand. "Fine, have your way then."

And then he left the room, slamming the door behind him. I let out a breath of relief when he left me alone. Finally, the emotions came down on me as my legs went weak. I gave up and slid down on the floor, hugging my knees. Tears rolled down my eyes and wetted my jeans, but I ignored it and kept crying.

It was only after an hour of venting my emotions that I finally noticed someone was missing. "Daleri..." Where was the maid? Did I just leave that woman behind at George's place? I panicked. Someone I care about was already suffering because of that vampire. I couldn't let him bruise someone else's body too.

"My lady, are you alright?" I heard a familiar voice just as I was about to open the door. An old lady pushed the bedroom door and entered, smiling in a very friendly way.

"Daleri!" Seeing her, my eyes went red as I ran toward her, hugging her tightly. "Thank God, you are alright. Thought I lost you too."

"How would you lose me just like that?" She chuckled and patted my back gently.

I hugged her tightly, seeking comfort. "I thought George took you away."

"That will never happen. Liam can't let me go. I'm his mother's only memory." Daleri's gentle words calmed me down as I let go of her body and sat on the bed tiringly.

Daleri had been at Georges place for a long time before she came back. That means she would definitely know how the sister is doing, right? My restless eyes were everywhere. I scratched the back of my neck, nervously. Just as I opened my mouth, the old maid cut me off and said, "She's fine, if that's what you're going to ask."

I looked up at her only to see the old woman hesitating before she could speak another sentence. I tilted my head at her actions. Was she hiding something? Pursing my lips, I said, "Just say it already."

Daleri parted her lips. "She left you a message."

I raised my eyebrow. "Really?" My mood instantly improved, hearing that. Perhaps Lucy wanted to see me more often, so she might have left contact information. My heart rate increased in anticipation.

Seeing my glistening eyes, Daleri hesitated even more. "You know what? It's not important. I'll prepare something for you to eat."

Just as she hurriedly turned away, I grabbed her wrist. "Wait!"

Her body went stiff.

"What're you hiding?" Daleri's actions made me suspicious. I tightened my grip and turned her around. "Daleri, you're like my mother. Please, I can't trust anyone else but you."

"Fine, I'll tell you." Her eyes softened, and she patted my head gently. "She asked you not to revisit her."

Daleri's voice was slow, but it almost felt as if a mountain had fallen on my head. "What did you just say?" I couldn't believe her words. My sister couldn't say something like that. She was like my mother. How could a mother who took care of a child since birth bear to live separately from her daughter?

"My lady, please sit down..."

"No!" My nose went sour as tears tickled my cheeks. "You're lying! Lucy can't say something like this. She's my big sister! Th-that's not tr-true." I choked out a sob and put my face in my palms, crying softly.

I cried until I felt a hand on my head, caressing my hair. Looking up, I found the caring eyes of Daleri staring down at me lovingly. "Daleri, why did she say that?"

"Lucy was marked already when we had arrived. I could smell George's aura from her. And it wasn't a temporary mark, but a permanent one."

Temporary? Permanent? I frowned at these words.

Sensing my confusion, Daleri explained, "Marking is a sacred ritual for the Vampires where they would leave a trace of their aura in their partner's body during the intercourse."

"Leaving a trace of aura?" This sounded something out of a novel.

"Yes." Daleri smiled. "When a normal human goes on the bed with a woman, all he does is roll around and thrust his iron to vent his desires." She laughed at her own explanation and shook her head. "But they don't share the energy with each other because the energy chakras in the bodies of a human are locked. It would perhaps take another hundreds of years for a human to unlock it." Daleri paused and looked outside the window. Motherly expression was leaking out of her eyes. Perhaps this time, it wasn't for me, but Liam. "But the good thing about Vampires is that their energy veins unlock the moment they become vampires. If someone's a born vampire, it's even better."

My eyes widened at that. Energy chakras? veins? Why did it feel like I had suddenly started reading an Eastern Fantasy novel?

"But, I heard that the vampires were turned because of a medicine that went wrong?"

Daleri nodded. "It was a wizard who wanted to go against the entire humanity and devised a poison in the garb of a medicine. But unfortunately, the wizard wasn't that powerful, and the medicine ended up turning a few suffering humans into blood sucking monsters. As a side-effect, the veins were opened, circulating energy in the chakras."

I glanced at her suspiciously. “How do you know this? Even Liam wasn’t aware of the truth.”

“No one knows yet, but this old maid has seen all kinds of secrets being cooked in this palace.” Saying this, Daleri sighed. “Sometimes I feel like vampires would end up kidnapping me for torturing secrets out of me.”

I shuddered at the thought and stopped thinking about it.

"So, what does that have to do with marking?"

"Marking is a marriage ritual for the vampires." Daleri chuckled, seeing my confused expression as she caressed my head. "The vampires would deliberately leak out the energy during sexual intercourse, letting it embrace the woman on the bed. By doing that, even the vampires get more energy, making them as powerful as magicians!" Daleri paused and looked at me, guiltily. "I'm not making you feel bored, am I?"

I shook my head. "Of course not." I wanted to know whether George had done something evil to Lucy or not. If marking this was anywhere related to inhumane activities, I'd sneak out again and run away with Lucy. I don't care about what would happen to Liam and George after that.

But after listening to Daleri, my mind was filled with flashy images of chakras, energies, and special powers. Damn, was I really living in the real world or is it a novel, and I happened to transmigrate into it?

"The woman would unknowingly suck all the energy. But this process..." She made a thoughtful expression, rubbing her chin as if thinking deeply. "How should I say this? It requires timing. A vampire would have to be in a special position and release the energy accurately. Not before or after that exact moment." Daleri patted my head. "Good thing is that vampires are only supposed to do this once, although they can share energy everytime they get intimate with their partners to make it more pleasurable."

"And this was what Liam wanted to do to me..." The sentence blurted out of my mouth before I could think about it.

"What?" Daleri paused and stared at me with widened eyes.

"I said..." I didn't want to share this piece of information. But now that my stupid mouth revealed it, I had no choice but to tell her the truth. "Liam wanted to mark me earlier."

"Really?" For some reason, Daleri's eyes sparkled with joy. That made me feel even more guilty about my actions. I was angry with Liam because of how he forced me. And now that my own sister didn't want to see my face, I really didn't know how to feel about it.

Seeing my expression, Daleri paused and narrowed her eyes. "You said no, didn't you?"

I nodded and pressed my lips in a thin line.

Daleri sighed helplessly and rubbed my head. "That was a mistake, you know? If only you had agreed to him, it would've been easier to see your sister."

"What did you just say?" My eyes widened at that. How could it have been easier if Liam had marked me? What's the connection of my marking ritual with Lucy?

"You'd be the future queen. Of course, George would have to listen to you. If you decide to see your sister, George would have no say in this. Didn't you see the sunned George couldn’t hamper Liam when he took you away? He's afraid of Liam, and he could only use hidden tricks to take revenge against master."

My mouth fell open at that. The victory was just at the doorsteps. It was just I hadn't recognized it yet, and even kicked it out of the door ruthlessly.

"No!" Why didn't I know this before I rejected him? I could've said that I would think about it! But instead, I said, hurting words to him. I shut my eyes at my disappointing choice. If only I could go in the past, I would hit my own head and remind myself to agree with Liam.

"Daleri." I turned to look at the old woman in expectation. "What do I do?"

Daleri pursed her lips at the complicated situation. "You can only tell him that you're ready for the ritual."

I slumped back on the bed. My mind continuously raced, trying to think of a way.

By the time it was night, I was enlightened uniquely, but I couldn't guarantee its success.

Ten minutes ago, I had sent a maid to call Liam in the room. And if he'd reject, just tell him that it was something important. And I planned to seduce him into marking me...

I was standing before the cabinet, clutching the lingerie tightly, hesitating over my choice. My past self only made me feel disappointed because of my poor decision-making skills. And now that I had made a decision again, I was already dreading it.

God, please save me.

With a determined heart, I ran inside the bathroom. By the time I changed, I had sneaked a peek in the bedroom only to see Liam lazily sitting on the couch, flipping the magazine.

I took a deep breath and opened the door. Just as I walked over, Liam sensed me and raised his head. Surprise flickered in his eyes as he turned toward me.

"Emily?" I didn't know whether he questioned my presence or the way I had dressed. But I ignored his surprised gaze and gritted my teeth. I had to do this for Lucy!

I walked over and sat on his lap, seductively caressing his cheeks. "Didn't you say you wanted to mark me? I'm ready." I deliberately lowered my voice as I pushed my chest on his face, leaning toward his ears. I gently bit his earlobes and whispered, "I'm yours."

For a moment, none of us moved. My heartbeat thumped against my chest every second, making me feel dizzy. Now that I had started to seduce this cold guy, I was already regretting it. He didn't move a single finger and continued to sit on the couch.

My face went red in embarrassment seeing his indifference. I had an urge to make a hole and bury myself.

That was when I heard a deep chuckle. His chest vibrated as he pushed me off of him. His lips curved up to form a smile, but it wasn't gentle. It was almost like he was looking down on me. "You're selfish. You know that, don't you?"

I stiffened. Did he see through my thoughts? Before I could respond, he stood up, leaving the room without a word.