Chapter 8

The King beheld his beloved as she sprang up from her stance. The manner in which she embraced and shielded herself from potential harm was quite apparent.

With a tremble in her voice and a tight embrace around herself, she cried out, "Whoever you may be, I implore you to keep your distance!" The jaw of the king fell open in surprise.

With his keen eye, the King beheld even the slightest wound to his beloved. The man's seething anger threatened to consume him, yet he

fought to restrain himself from obliterating the confines of this cell.

He made a valiant effort to draw near to his beloved, but she let out a piercing cry, much like the ones that had haunted her in her slumber.

"I warned you to keep your distance! I'm not going down lightly, even if you want me dead." Once more, she let out a piercing yell.

In the midst of the dimly lit cell, his majesty's keen eye caught sight of his beloved's countenance, wrought with fear.

"I shall not cause you any harm," he whispered gently.

The woman's body flinched involuntarily, as if a sudden memory had jolted her. She stiffened, her muscles tensing as she grappled with the recollection. She shakes her head, noting that this is not what she expected. She maintained her silence, offering no response.

The king emitted a slight growl of vexation. The unfortunate turn of events transpired due to his tardiness in locating her. The root of this predicament could be traced back to the vampires who were under his employ.

With a sudden burst of frustration, he roughly yanked at his hair. He had only just come to realize his profound affection, yet the mere thought of caressing even a solitary strand of her hair remained a distant dream.

"I offer my sincerest apologies for the unfortunate incident. Rest assured, I shall ensure that the vampires responsible for your affliction face the full extent of justice," the man said with conviction, hoping to earn the woman's confidence.

However, it remained uncertain whether his words had truly assuaged her doubts. Contrary to expectations, the young woman did not calm down. On the contrary, she was seized by an overwhelming sense of terror.

"Merely a punishment?" she exclaimed incredulously. "Is it within the realm of possibility," she wondered aloud, "that these creatures possess the power to resurrect my dear father? Could they possibly bring back the entirety of my beloved family with the peace we felt before? The death was so sudden that I had not even the chance to bid my father farewell. I didn't even embrace him because monsters like you

slaughtered my father in the middle of the woods!" Not only did the king's voice reverberate within the prison walls, but so too did the young woman's.

In response to his beloved's statement, the King found himself at a loss for words. The man's heart, devoid of any vitality, appeared to contract under the weight of the agony he witnessed in his beloved. He sensed a palpable melancholy and grief in the timbre of her voice.

He remained still, his body frozen in place as he knelt back. He stood there, at a loss for words, as he watched her convulse with sobs.

"I am uncertain as to how I may offer solace to you," he said. "I offer my sincerest apologies for the atrocities that my race has inflicted upon you and your loved ones." It was not his fault, yet he found himself pleading for her forgiveness. As the leader of his race, he felt the weight of responsibility on his shoulders.

He caught wind of her derisive snort. As the King gazed out into the distance, he caught sight of his beloved making her way towards him.

The faint glow filtering in from the outside world cast a gentle radiance upon her countenance.

As he laid his eyes upon her countenance, his breath caught in his throat at the sight of her stunning gaze. Yet it was the fullness of her visage that nearly elicited joyous excitement from the king.

'She is blind!' A scream echoed through his mind. A succession of scenarios raced through his thoughts. Should his beloved be stricken with blindness, the nobles have proven to be a formidable obstacle in her path.

His eyes were immediately drawn to the visible marks on her neck. The mark presented itself in a striking combination of violet and black hues.

With a sudden burst of fury, the King erupted into a fit of explosive rage, his voice echoing throughout the room as he bellowed once again. The king's heart raced with fury and fear.

"Who would dare to harm my beloved?" he exclaimed, his voice echoing through the prison. The thought of anyone causing harm to his beloved filled them with a deep sense of protectiveness.

The king vowed to do whatever good to this woman was immeasurable. The sudden surge of fear caused the woman to leap back, quickly resuming her previous stance.

The king yearned to heal his beloved with his own saliva, but alas, it was beyond his power to do so. Her heart raced with fear and terror at the mere thought of him. "Bring me a doctor!" he exclaimed urgently. Those who heard it instantly followed their king's instruction.

For a brief moment, the chest of the king rose and fell with each labored breath. As he gazed into the tear-filled eyes of his beloved, he felt a wave of remorse wash over him. He knew he had frightened her deeply, and it pained him to see her in such a state.

With a deep breath, he began to calm himself, realizing that his own emotions had gotten the best of him. Perplexity and terror were etched into her countenance.

Touching her today would be an impossible feat. Because of his race, he is disliked. "Why are you calling a doctor when you're going to kill me and drain my blood today?" Her voice trembled with agony as she spoke, and he could only offer a gentle reply.

"How could I possibly do something like that? You are my beloved," he whispered, his voice barely above a breath. "You, my dear, hold the most profound influence over my existence." It dawned on him that the endearing term he had always used for her, 'beloved', had failed to register in her consciousness. However, in this moment, the word finally penetrated her mind, and she comprehended its meaning.

He observed a furrowing of her brow and a thinning of her lips. She pressed her teeth into her lower lip, as if the words that had just left the king's lips were the most repugnant she had ever been forced to endure. With a sarcastic tone, the woman emitted a laugh.

"That's why I've been having weird dreams about a monster who keeps making bad things happen in my dreams. You are the one. What a delightful surprise!" The young woman emitted another laugh, as if she comprehended her predicament.

The king proceeded to shake his head, despite the fact that the lady was unable to perceive the gesture. Despite his desire to tend to the woman and promptly escort her to a physician, he couldn't shake off his apprehension. The sight of blood trickling down her forehead left him deeply concerned.

"Not all of us are the monsters that you perceive us to be. While it may be true that some among us possess such tendencies, the majority do not." The young woman emitted a derisive laugh upon hearing his words. The woman harbors a deep reluctance to believe.

"If you just kill me, this will be over. I do not want to be here! I don't like being surrounded by the race that killed my father!" The young woman's voice caught in her throat as she shouted, choking on her own words.

The vampires who had transported her to this location deposited her unceremoniously on the ground, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the surface beneath her was unyielding concrete.

"No! Absolutely not!" he exclaimed firmly, his voice resounding through the prison. "I shall not suffer any harm to befall you at the hands of those bloodthirsty creatures of the night. Rest assured, I will vanquish any vampire who dares to threaten your safety. However, I must make it clear that I cannot condone any act that would result in your demise. I would rather meet my demise than witness your untimely passing," he declared with fervor.

The king experiences a heightened sense of the bond that unites the pair. The young lady swallowed hard. The woman was incredulous at the knowledge being imparted to her.

The notion of this entire beloved affair was preposterous, and it simply would not suffice for her. The woman shakes her head. As time passed, the individual began to recede from view, their demeanor growing increasingly resistant to his presence. "If you can bring back my father's life, maybe I will consider this." She remarked sarcastically that her head was heavy from fatigue and sleepiness.

She yearned to relinquish her physical form, yet the presence of a vampire within the confines of her surroundings left her feeling far from reassured.

She pursed her lips tightly, regretting her words. Numbness coursed through the woman's body, leaving her feeling detached and disconnected. As she brought her hand to her mouth, the woman could taste the unmistakable flavor of iron on her tongue. It was the metallic tang of blood, and it filled her senses with a primal urgency. Her mind was fraught with tension, and a sudden throbbing pain erupted in her head.

With a sudden loss of strength in her legs, she collapsed onto the ground, her knees buckling beneath her weight. Blood thickened the woman's forehead. Confusion and worry clouded the king's eyes. Whether or not the woman becomes angry is inconsequential.

He approached her with a steady gait, his hand outstretched to hold hers. He struggled to resist the alluring aroma of her blood, so rich and fragrant.

At the sensation of a frigid hand making contact with her own, the woman recoiled once again. "Leave me be!" She screamed, but the king did not move. Instead, he stroked her face, especially her forehead.

As the frigid fingers of the person before her made contact with her visage, she became rigid with fear. As the man tended to her wound, a cool sensation washed over her. Though she was unsure of his methods, she couldn't deny the soothing effect they had on her.

As his hands made contact with her wounds, she experienced a sensation akin to soaring through the clouds. A sense of tranquility washed over her as drowsiness crept in. It was a compulsion she longed to overcome, yet it remained steadfastly beyond her control.

'Emaline, wake up! Don't let this vampire possess you!' Her mind screamed with fury, yet her physical form remained eerily still.

Gradually, she drifted inward, her body falling into the grasp of the vampire king.

The King was unimpressed by the ethereal weight of his beloved. The man remained unimpressed with the entirety of the situation. With a gentle yet firm grip, he lifted her up, his face betraying a simmering anger just beneath the surface.

"My dearest, I offer my sincerest apologies for the pain you have endured. I offer my sincerest apologies for the delay in locating you," he said with a contrite tone. Burying his face in her neck, he whispered softly into her ear.

This fleeting moment was his sole opportunity to embrace her, for he knew all too well that upon her awakening, she would once again refute his assertion.

The royal king strolled gracefully, his cherished companion nestled snugly in his embrace. His jaw is set, and his face is filled with anger and rage. The mere presence of the man was enough to render anyone powerless, and that is precisely what occurred. Cowering in fear were the vampires of low status. Their bodies trembled with fear.

None dared to meet the gaze of the King. They were keenly aware that he had found his beloved, who was not in the best of health. They were all too aware that the King's simmering anger was merely being contained, biding its time until his cherished ones were out of harm's way.

It was an unspoken truth among them that once the king had secured their safety, someone would inevitably fall victim to his wrath. The looming threat of punishment hung heavily in the air, casting a pall over the entire kingdom.