Chapter Five

After several turns, the guards finally stopped at a purple door; it was the only things she had seen in here that was light coloured , that made it feel kind of odd.

As they went in, she realized it was actually really large inside, it smelled like petals and it was surprisingly warm too; it seemed like they had just renovated it for her though.

Stone walls dressed in crimson drapes, a carved bed with thick furs, and a hearth that had already been lit. It wasn't the prison she had expected—though the heavy iron latch on the door hinted at what it truly was.

"Not awful," Mara commented, glancing around as the guards exited. "Cozy, even… for a vampire castle"

Selene looked around apprehensively, she just couldn't bring herself to trust vampires no matter how cozy it was. "That's the more reason we need to be careful" she said with a care free attitude.

…

A few hours later, they heard a knock on the door. "Come in" Selene said.

Two young ladies dressed in the red uniform she'd seen the workers in walked in and courtesied.

"We were sent to show her(she pointed her Mara) to her room and escort you, lady Selene, to the dining hall for dinner" one of them spoke.

"I want Mara here with me!" she said with finality. "I'm sorry my lady but these are royal orders" the same maid said calmly, she didn't dare raise her voice. "I sa…" Mara interrupted Selene . "It's fine Selene, I'll go" she said calmly.

"Mara…" Selene called gently. "I'll be fine Selene, I promised you I'll always be there for you, I'll do anything and go anywhere for you. Allow me to keep that promise." Mara said will a weak smile. Selene hugged her tightly before they made for the door.

"Lady Selene, Prince Kaelen has appointed the old lady (Mara) to be in charge of the maids who will tend to you" the second maid said trying to console her. Selene only gave her a cold stare and kept walking.

Turned out they'd have to pass the door to the dining hall before they made a turn to the workers' quarters so Selene made the two maids walk in front while she walked with Mara.

The castle breathed…not in the bubbly, alive way of a great house, but in the slow, deliberate hush of ancient things. Selene walked the halls of the Dravara stronghold with Mara close behind her, the hush of her boots against the stone drowned by the eerie sense that the walls were listening…watching.

The dream she had last night still lingered like fog in her mind—her mother's figure vanishing into black crows, the temple surrounded by moonlight and moss, and the dead bloodstone resting silently on an altar. The last words of her 'mother' still echoed in her mind; was it a clue to something? Or just a dream?

Her fingers clenched around the pendant at her throat. It pulsed faintly again, its deep red glow barely perceptible. The same reaction it had when she passed the temple painting in the corridor. Selene hadn't told anyone—not even Mara—but she couldn't deny it anymore…there was something alive in this stone!

"You're doing it again," Mara whispered, glancing sideways.

Selene dropped her hand. "It's nothing."

"It's glowing again, isn't it?"

Before she could answer, they arrived at the entrance to the dining hall and they had to part ways.

---

The doors creaked open on their own. Inside, dozens of floating candles hovered above a black stone table that gleamed like still water. Vampires already sat in silence around it, noble and terrible, their gazes piercing and unreadable.

Kaelen sat near the head of the table, dressed in deep sapphire, his hair slightly tousled and he was directly facing her. Selene gasped involuntarily; he looked like he had stepped out of a myth — impossibly beautiful . The dull brightness of the candle light carved his features with maddening precision: cheekbones sharp enough to draw blood, lips that looked like they'd never known a lie, and eyes—those haunting, silver-threaded eyes—that seemed to pull at things she kept buried. The darkness that clung to him — that low, ancient stillness all vampires wore — only made him more breathtaking, like ink spilled across starlight.

Selene blinked hard. Focus! She snapped at herself. He's a vampire, remember. 'A beautifully dangerous one.' Her mind added , she shrugged and kept walking.

At the far end of the table sat a woman with skin like moonlight and eyes like ice broken over stone. Selene didn't need to be told who she was. There was no mistaking the queen.

Kaelen stood as Selene entered. "Lady Vireya," he said, voice smooth. "You grace us."

She offered a shallow curtsy. "I'm only here because I was summoned." She replied coldly

Amused murmurs rose from a few nobles.

Kaelen's mother did not rise. She merely looked at Selene, as if measuring the sharpness of a blade she had once thrown away.

"You wear it openly," the queen said, her voice cool and crystalline. "How bold."

Selene's fingers twitched again toward the pendant.

"It belonged to my mother," she said. "Kaelen returned it to me."

The queen's gaze slid to her son. "Returned… or offered?"

Selene felt the air thin.

Kaelen answered without looking at his mother. "It's hers by blood. That's all that matters."

"Blood," the queen murmured, turning her goblet in her hand. "Yes. It always comes down to that."

---

Selene sat beside Kaelen, of course. Every vampire at the table had their eyes on her, even when they pretended not to. She took small, careful bites of the strange meat placed before her, uncertain of its origin but unwilling to appear weak.

"They're all watching you," Kaelen whispered beside her, lips dangerously close to her ear.

She turned her head slightly. "And you find that amusing?"

"I find it… revealing."

There was something in his voice—low, velvet-soft, almost mocking. But when she glanced at him, his eyes weren't teasing. They were curious.

"You can't read me," she said quietly.

Kaelen leaned closer, just slightly. "Can't I?" his breath hit her neck slightly and her entire body shivered.

'Is he intentionally doing this?' she thought angrily and turned away

---

Dinner passed in slow, deliberate courses. The nobles spoke of old wars, alliances, bloodlines. All while sneaking glances at the girl raised to slay them.

At one point, a pale noblewoman with garnet-red lips said aloud, "It's poetic, isn't it? Binding a hunter to a prince. Perhaps the old prophecies weren't myths after all."

"Prophecies?" Selene asked.

Kaelen answered for her. "Myths, twisted by time. They speak of a joining. A union that ends the bloodshed, and—"

"Ancient stories," Kaelen's mother interrupted swiftly, her voice a blade wrapped in silk. "Meant to entertain, not inform."

Her eyes slid toward her son—sharp, warning. Selene caught the flicker of tension. That wasn't just a correction. It was a cover.

The king—quiet until now—leaned forward, clasping his goblet with both hands. "Tell me, Lady Vireya, how many vampires have you slain?"

Selene met his gaze without flinching. "Enough to know you bleed like us."

Another noble smirked. "And yet here you are, breaking bread with the same mouths you once hunted."

Selene's lips curved slightly. "Only fools assume a knife is dull just because it's sheathed."

A low chuckle passed through the table. Kaelen didn't speak, but his fingers tapped thoughtfully beside her plate.

One bold general asked, "Do you plan to keep your blade at your hip even after your wedding night?"

Selene picked up her goblet, took a slow sip, and said, "That depends. Will your prince keep his fangs in?"

Silence fell like a blade.

Kaelen smiled into his wine.

---

After the meal, Selene rose, her mind a whirlwind.

Kaelen stood with her. "Walk with me?"

She hesitated.

Then nodded.

---

They walked in silence through a side corridor lit only by torchlight and the moon bleeding through stained-glass windows. Every brush of their arms as they walked sent a shock through Selene's spine, but she didn't flinch. Not this time.

"You held your own," Kaelen said eventually. "Most wouldn't dare speak back to my parents."

"I've been around countless monsters," Selene said. "I know how to keep my teeth bared."

Kaelen chuckled. "And yet, you hide your fear so well."

"Who says I'm afraid?"

He stopped walking.

She turned to face him—and found him close. Far too close. The space between them was barely a breath.

"I do," he said quietly. "Because I can smell it."

Her heart kicked against her ribs.

"And something else too…"

She swallowed. "Don't mistake curiosity for attraction."

He tilted his head, just slightly. "That's a shame. I was hoping you'd say it was both."

They both went quiet, like a single word would snap the tense atmosphere between them.

Selene stepped back but she didn't look away.

"Is this your game?" she asked. "Flirt with your prisoner until she forgets she's in a cage?"

Kaelen stepped forward again—just slightly. "I don't see a prisoner. I see a storm pretending to be still."

Her breath caught, but she held her ground. "Careful, Prince…you might fall into it."

He let his gaze trail down her face, lingering a breath too long around her neck. "I'd drown in it… if it meant learning what you truly are." He said.

He suddenly started burning up; Selene panicked "Prince Kaelen? Are you okay?" she asked, concern evident in her voice.

"Let me take back to your chambers" he said hurriedly.

---

Kaelen stumbled into his chambers, his fangs painfully sticking out. His pupils dilated and his skin flushed red as blood.

He slammed the door shut and leaned against it, dragging a hand through his hair. Damn it. He hadn't lost control like this in decades; not even during blood-starvation, not even during battle.

But Selene…

Every time she looked at him, every time she spoke with that defiance on her tongue, something inside him stirred. Not lust — not entirely. It was deeper…something carved into his instincts.

He could still smell her on his coat — the warmth of her skin, the faint trace of lavender and steel. His fangs throbbed, it really hurt.

"Is she my mate? No. It's not possible." He refused to believe it. Mates were rare. Chosen by blood, by fate — not by politics. Not by war. Not by cruel irony.

And yet, since the moment she stepped into the Vireya Grand Hall, something in him had shifted. He had noticed her, yes — but now? His entire being responded to her. It terrified him.

He turned from the door and paced, fangs still bared, jaw clenched; veins had begin to bulge all over his body, he looked like the real beast his kind were made to be.

If he let this continue… if he allowed himself to feel what his body already had, she would sense it. She would know, and she'd hate him even more.

"She can't be mine!", he growled under his breath. "I won't let her be…"