Ch. 441..450

Chapter 441 - Million Times Better

Silence enveloped the dark room illuminated by a bluish light coming from a ball of magic that was placed on the small table. Gideon had yet to move at all. Not even for an inch. He just sat there, frozen as a statue as he hugged the woman in his arms, making sure she was fully enveloped within the circle of his embrace.

She was still burning hot, and he could still feel the heat coming off from her in waves. But the good news was that she had stopped crying and moaning. Her shivers had stopped as well and now he could hear nothing but her faint heartbeats and her slow and calmed breathing.

As he sat there holding her in his arms, he could feel her burning heat seeping through the layers of her clothes to him and he felt like he might actually melt as though he were made of wax if he kept on holding onto her like this. Even though he had thought of it that way, instead of pulling away, Gideon dropped his head, leaning it gently over the crown of her head and then held her even closer to himself. He held onto her as if he was craving for her heat, as if he had finally found the warmth he had been longing for after an eternity of time, all that time just embracing nothing but the cold and murky darkness in the depths of his own being. And now that he was holding her, he found that he had not the slightest intention of letting her go even if her heat ends up melting him away.

Hearing her pleas while she was still asleep made Gideon finally realise why he could not find it within himself to leave this person alone. She had never once screamed out for help even when she was frightened to death while being chased by that human predator. She had never even whispered out that one word 'help' when that man had harmed her, much less cried out for assistance from others around her. And yet, here she was, unconsciously pleading for help in her sleep, over and over.

Gideon could not help but see himself in her. Both of them were similarly tormented, utterly broken creatures who seemed to be beyond anyone's saving grace. Gideon had also experienced the same thing, where he had been talking in his sleep as well. And that was why he had never let anyone sleep next to him since a long time ago when he had found out he had this problem. He had always chosen the room which was isolated, and he always put up a soundproof barrier whenever he sleeps. It was all just so no one could hear and see what he was actually going through every single night.

To think this frail little human was going through the same thing as him… what had she done to deserve this? What kind of demons plagued her during her sleep? Gideon wondered to himself.

The corner of his lips lifted slightly. Of course, she had not done anything. Just like him, she must be just another creature with an unfortunate fate. Just another person who was born just to suffer and then die within the cycle of life.

As that thought played in his mind, Gideon's hold on her tightened a little. No, she was not like him. She had not reached the point of hopelessness yet. This person was not beyond saving. She still had a future. Unlike him.

…

Vera could not believe her eyes the moment she awoke and opened her baby blues. She was utterly shocked at the sight displayed before her eyes. He… Gideon was next to her, hugging her and… he was asleep. Her heart skipped a beat, and she became paralyzed. The feel of his heavy arm around her made her cheeks burn hotly as an itchy feeling crept around within her heart. And it was just shocking how she felt incredibly relieved the moment she realized it was him who was with her in bed.

But as she thought about it, a small smile bloomed over her face. This was the first time she had woken up with someone holding her like this. She had gone through many terrible fevers and other illnesses in the past and she had survived them – all by herself, alone and without the care of anyone. Even during those times when she had wished she would not wake up anymore, she still awakened the next day with no one around to even help bring her a cup of water to moisten her parched throat.

And yet, here she was, waking up comfortably wrapped up in someone's arm as if she was being cherished like a precious treasure. Her eyes were hot as she thought 'so this is how it feels like being taken care of'. Even though this might not be like what she was expecting – as perhaps he was here by accident or probably by force – Vera did not care. Right then, she just wanted to stay like this, being held in his strong arms as though she was a cherished maiden. Even though he would become cold to her again when he wakes up later on, Vera would still be happy and grateful. All because he had allowed her to experience this feeling of being treasured like this at least for once in her life.

With eyes blurring with tears, Vera moved and snuggled herself closer to him, gripping a handful of his shirt and bringing it close to her face. He was surprisingly warm and had a wonderful earthy fragrance that enchanted her. He was so much warmer than any pillow she had ever slept with. And why did he feel a million times better when he was not even as soft as her pillows?

While Vera was revelling in the feeling of him, Gideon finally opened his eyes. His electric blue eyes circled as he realized that he was still in bed and… still hugging her. He had slept?! How was that possible?!

He was so shocked that he could not move for a while until she began moving even closer to him. She even shifted her knees quite a few times, not caring where her knees were rubbing and touching.

Gideon abruptly held her shoulders when she suddenly kneed him right there. At the contact, both of them froze for a second.

Then their eyes met. Both eyes, one a vivid blue and the other a pale one, circled wide as they stared silently at each other.

Chapter 442 - Recklessly

The first to snap out of it was Gideon. He was about to rise when Vera suddenly lunged forward and clung onto him. Her large eyes twinkled as they were still moistened from her earlier thoughts.

But that look in her eyes only made Gideon freeze for a moment. He placed his palm over her forehead and when he felt that her temperature was no longer burning like the previous day, he sighed in relief. Somehow, he could not believe it. He was certain that his sly little sister-in-law was making a fool out of him. Or perhaps she was just joking around with him. Yet her suggestion had actually worked? What kind of sorcery was this?

Gideon then placed his hand over hers that was clinging onto him. "Let go now," he said but Vera did not loosen her grip on him.

"Uhm… Just a bit more… can you stay with me like this for a little while longer? Please?" she pleaded, causing Gideon to look at her, blinking. "It's…" her eyes wandered and stopped at the window. "It's still night."

"Not anymore. Our sun here are those crystals up there. When those crystals light up, it means it is already day." He replied hastily.

"But. Still, can we –" Vera tried to plead her case.

"No."

"Just a moment. Umm… until the count of ten. Please?" she begged him with those large dewy eyes.

He creased his brows. "Don't tell me this is another process of human healing."

Vera blinked, not understanding what he meant. But she took advantage of that statement he just threw out and nodded frantically. Gideon let himself fall back on the bed and his arms wrapped around her to hug her, his expression dark and stony. "Fine. In ten counts."

Her eyes gleamed and the corner of her lips curved up ever so slightly as she delightedly hugged him back, taking the full opportunity to enjoy this short time that would never again come in her lifetime.

"Start counting now," his impatient voice echoed out above her head.

"Ten thousand and one…" Vera started, snuggling closer to him. When she settled in the spot that she felt most comfortable in, she quietly revelled in his arms again, listening to his heartbeats, feeling his warmth.

"Nine thousand and one…" she whispered after a long while and she felt him draw in a sharp breath.

"Your counting's too slow." He complained.

"But that's how you're supposed to count." Vera looked up and blinked innocently at Gideon.

"If you think I'm –"

"I'm not trying to take advantage of you, believe me." She cut him off and he was utterly speechless until she finally reached number two after what felt like hours.

When he did not hear number one being called out even after a long while, Gideon's patience seemed to have run out and he grabbed her hand to pull it off him.

"You agreed it'll be up to ten counts." Vera protested though knowing that she had purposely counted down ever so slowly and left the last number hanging.

"Ten counts were over long ago." Gideon growled out low.

"Not yet. I haven't counted out the last number yet." Vera stubbornly insisted, a small pout on her lips.

Gideon pinched the skin between his brows. How did he end up in this situation again? He bit down on his lower lip then released it slowly. After that, his blue eyes gleamed dangerously.

"Let me go or I won't be responsible for what will happen next." His deep voice echoed coldly. That was a warning, and Vera could tell that he was serious about it. But… if she did let go of him now, would this opportunity come again? After this, would he give her to Azrael since… since that man was the one who was the one who initially wanted to take her in as his bed warmer?

From his reaction and the tone of his voice, Vera could clearly tell that he was unhappy. It made her throat hurt a little even though she had already anticipated this. If she lets go of him now, would she be able to hug him again, or be with him again? Her mind told her, the answer was definitely no. It was already obvious as he could not wait to leave the bed already.

"I'm telling you nicely for the last time, let go of me." He said and she felt that it was his final warning. But somehow, Vera still could not make herself let him go. What was he going to do to her next?

Despite his aura being a little dark right now, she just did not believe that he would be willing to hurt her. Then what… she swallowed.

"What… what are you going to do to me next?" she asked bravely, meeting his gaze. "Are you going to… kiss me next?"

He blinked then the corner of his mouth lifted into a disbelieving smile. He shook his head slowly then his gaze became wicked.

"Oh… not just that, more than that, much… much… more than that. If you're a wise girl, listen to me now and save yourself." He played along with her.

"Will this… much, much more… hurts?"

Gideon's smile faded and his mouth dropped. The hesitation and slight flash of fear in her eyes gave him pause.

Then he did not know what had gotten into him at the sight of that look in her eyes and his voice suddenly softened. He lifted his hand and touched her face with the backs of his fingers.

"Oh no, little red. It won't hurt you… I'll make sure of that." His voice became hoarse as he said that last line. He snapped out of his daze and secretly gritted his teeth afterwards, asking himself what the hell had he just said to the lady.

"Then it's fine if you won't be responsible. All I want is to stay with you for a little while longer," after saying that the smile she threw at him was so dazzling that Gideon stilled.

Vera had already decided. This man, she wanted him. She wanted to be with him even for a short while. Not with Azrael or anyone else. If he was a living warning then he would be the kind she would love to ignore even if that decision would bring her to her demise. She would not mind. Because she had already been shattered into pieces. She had long since given up with life. There was no hope left inside her, until he appeared before her. He was her newfound hope and this time she was not going to play it safe. It was all just so she could hold onto it. She had played as safely as she could before, hoping that she would not get hurt, but she still suffered again and again for so much until she was broken to pieces. She would now gamble again for the very last time, and this time, recklessly.

Chapter 443 - As Long As

Gideon could not seem to react after hearing her statement. He could not believe what he had just heard. Did she even understand what he had been trying to say? This girl. How could she… how could she still smile like this at him?

It was clear as crystal to him that she was someone broken to the extreme. In fact, right now, she was still bleeding and in pain, filled with cuts and bruises on the inside. Yet she could still smile so dazzlingly and why… why was she looking at him like he was her newfound light? Her eyes that were dull and gloomy previously are now sparkling with some renewed vigour that seemed to have come out of nowhere.

Subconsciously, Gideon clenched a handful of the bedsheets tight in his fists. This cannot be… happening. He was no one's light. Never. In fact, it could be said that he was the exact opposite. What the hell was wrong with this lady? Are her eyes even working right? Was she blind?

Something so unsettling bloomed within his chest. No, this must not happen… he cannot allow this to go on. Not now… not her…

All of a sudden, the look in his eyes changed again. His fiery blue orbs hardened as if something suddenly quenched the flames and froze them all into cold hard glaciers. The burning flames had transformed into an endless eternal wintry scape.

And in a swift, almost as fluid as a wisp of air, he was looming over her. His strong hands had grabbed onto hers and pinned those frail limbs above her head.

"What a na?ve little red you are," that voice that sounded like the darkest song, echoed in Vera's ears, sending a zing into her heart and itching up a storm, causing Vera's heartbeat to pick up its pace. The blue ice in his eyes seemed to be shooting out icicles uncontrollably as he stared down at her. She was supposed to be scared out of her wits right now but… Vera did not even flinch. On the contrary, she found herself totally mesmerized by him. He was truly a breathtaking dark angel. Was she a twisted girl to desire a man who was clearly oozing with darkness just because he had saved her and embraced her once? Maybe she was… but she realized that she could not even bring herself to care any longer. She would not care. All she knew was that she wanted him. That was all that matters to her now.

"It seems that someone must teach you a lesson for you to learn how to heed serious warnings, little red." He continued in that low rumbling voice, his face moving ever closer to hers.

"As long as… that someone is you," she replied, "I wouldn't mind." Vera boldly declared while little shudders intermittently shook her petite frame.

Once again, Gideon looked at her as though he were looking at an odd creature that he had never seen or heard of before. Then he narrowed his eyes at her. "Tell me, red…" his voice came out low and gravelly. For some reason, there was a tinge of anger that coloured his voice. "You do know exactly what I am talking about, don't you?" his jaws clenched as his gaze became more and more intense. "Or are you still a little confused about how things roll from here?" Gideon's narrowed eyes glittered as he double checked with her, wanting to make sure that there was no misunderstanding arising from this.

Vera was no longer innocent regarding this kind of talk. Back home, she often secretly overheard her mother's conversations with her many lovers when she hid herself behind doors or small spaces to keep out of the way. Days before her mother had decided to sell her, her mother had locked her inside her room and made her watch her in secret having sex. That nightmarish night, she had thought her mother was becoming more and more insane that she no longer knew what she was doing and tried to break them both to the extreme degree. She did not know that that was actually her trying to teach Vera on how to please a man. It was not until she found out that her mother was selling her to become a whore that she understood her mother's actions that night.

She had heard her mother's lover saying the words 'I'll teach you a lesson' and that was how Vera had finally understood and learnt what those words actually meant. Though Vera had never actually watched, as she had just sat there, staring at the floor like a lifeless doll, she certainly heard more than enough to know what went on during matters such as these.

Therefore, she nodded at Gideon's question – although a little hesitantly – because that was the truth. Vera had no intention to play the little pure and innocent virgin role – though she was still one – but to face it head on and admit that she knew the dynamics of what goes on between a man and a woman when they were together in bed. And his darkness seemed to blaze into an uncontrollable thing that seemed to be alive.

His one hand moved to her face, cupping her chin as his other hand clasped both her wrists hard. The tinge of anger now had grown very intense and morphed into a full-on flood.

"Tell me…" the sound of his voice seemed to become even darker, if that was possible, causing Vera to involuntarily hold her breath as goosebumps ran across her skin. "I need you to tell me everything. Every single one of those lessons those damnable men had taught you, little red." he almost growled as he demanded full compliance from Vera.

Vera blinked at what he had said. She was getting a little nervous because of what seems to be anger which was present in his eyes. But what he just said made her come to a complete halt for a moment. Those men? What did he…

Suddenly, Vera remembered her conversation with Azrael. Could it be because of that 'bed warmer' thing? Could it be that he had assumed she had… and was that the reason why he seemed so outraged?

Chapter 444 - Human Way

The shock was too much that Vera had a hard time believing it. Was this truly happening? Why would he be angry? No, that could not be… It was not like he… no, it must be because he was just disappointed that he thought someone else had…

"And what… what are you going to do if I tell you?" Vera asked in a soft voice, her gaze scrutinizing him. Her heart was flip flopping between wanting to hope for more and shooting herself down to not expect too much.

His jaws worked once again and for a long while, he just stared hard at her until he shut his eyes in exasperation. When he opened those blue orbs of his again, the anger in them seemed to have subsided. "If that is the case… I'll overwrite them all." His dark voice was low and rich now, husky and seductive in her ears. "All those fucking men must be terrible teachers. They freaking failed big time to teach you well enough." That tinge of anger was back as he viciously mentioned all those non-existent men. Vera could not wrap her head around the implications on what Gideon had just uttered and her heart rate spiked dangerously high.

And before a sound could leave her mouth and before she could even manage to formulate a response in her mind, his mouth had descended swiftly over hers and sealed it possessively. Vera's eyes widened at his dominating actions. He was… kissing her… voluntarily…?

Her mind seemed to have immediately suffered a great shock. This was definitely not her first kiss. She had been kissed by a few boys before the tragic death of her father. And the very last time she had been kissed before Gideon found her was another nightmarish experience. It had been by force and from one of her mother's filthy lovers. She had barely managed to escape the man's grasp before he could do anything more repulsive to her. But that experience alone was enough to be etched firmly in her mind since then like an awful scar, doomed to forever be there like an unsightly brand taunting her. It was so disgusting she had thrown up upon returning to her room, unable to keep it back in her throat any longer. That night, she was so mentally disturbed by that experience that she could not bring herself to sleep.

Vera had thought that she would not be able to kiss anyone ever again in her entire life without being reminded of that awful experience. But it seems that she was wrong. Because right now, her mind seemed to have forgotten about everything and anything else, there was no one else that existed other than him and her right now. All she could feel currently was the welcoming warmth of his mouth, his dextrous tongue exploring the insides of her mouth, sucking on her own with a kind of delicious and delicate greed.

It was inexplicable. Was this real? This was not some kind of magic or spell that he had placed on her, right? Were kisses supposed to be like this?

If this was not some kind of spell, if this was what kisses are supposed to feel like, then, this would be the very first time she is experiencing a real kiss. It was as though there was a kitten clawing away at her heart with its small and not quite sharp claws, resulting in an itchy, ticklish kind of feel on her insides.

She suddenly wanted to reach out her hands to touch him, but he still held her wrists captive. He, however, did not stop kissing her until Vera began to feel a slow, fiery warmth spreading all over her. His body over her was not even touching hers and yet she seemed to be feeling the heat he was exuding. Or was it hers? She could no longer tell. Her mind seemed to be encased in a thick later of cotton that muted everything else except what he was making her feel.

Vera desperately kissed him back. She was not as skilled as he was, but she was not a total novice. And by gods, kissing him was like tasting the forbidden foods of the gods.

But all too soon, he pulled away. His now fiery blue eyes were wide as his breaths came out in warm puffs, caressing sensually across her face. "Your… lips," he uttered hoarsely, and Vera saw blood on his lips as well. "It's bleeding." He cursed and abruptly, he pulled her up into a sitting position.

Something dark was already coming from the tip of his forefinger in an undulating wisp and was headed for her lips. But he cursed again, gritted his teeth as his magic did not seem to work on the cut on her lip. He had completely forgotten that humans do not respond to magic.

"Tell me, what's the human way to stop the bleeding?" he asked in an urgent voice. What? Human… way?

"I'm fine." she brushed his concern off as she moved to wipe the blood off with her fingers when Gideon caught her hand again, stopping her. She looked at him and blinked in confusion. What was the big deal? It was just a crack in her lips that bled.

"Stop touching it so recklessly like that. You're making it worse." He warned irritably and Vera continued blinking at him.

"No, it's… It will eventually heal. Don't worry." She brushed her tongue over her lower lip and that only caused Gideon to crease his brows.

"Don't tell me licking it is the human way… ?" Gideon murmured to himself. But due to their close proximity, Vera heard what he said.

What? Vera was still processing what he had said when he suddenly sighed and moved closer.

"Leave it and let me. I know males could heal you humans better." Then he began licking her lip. W-what? Where did he even hear of such a thing? Wait… was there such a thing in the first place that she did not know about? But his confident statements and actions did not seem to be fake. She was suddenly confused.

But Vera did not speak anymore. She just could not. The tip of his warm tongue had started licking across her lips and rendered her utterly speechless that she even shut her eyes to just enjoy the feel of it. What is going on? Why… why is he doing this? However, she was not going to deny herself the pleasure of it even though she was baffled at his actions.

When he finally pulled away, Vera opened her eyes as well and stared hard at him.

"Gideon…" she called his name in that sweet tone of hers and he stilled, his gaze on her lips slowly travelled back to her eyes. "Are you… worried about me?"

Chapter 445 - More Of Him

When Gideon could not respond and just regarded her with an unblinking stare, the corner of Vera's lips lifted up ever so slightly.

"You are… aren't you?" she said, looking at him in wonder, "I know you are." Her eyes twinkled, glimmering so breathtakingly like millions of tiny pale blue crystals. Her hand slowly reached out and she reverently ran her fingers down his face, the slight smile widening into a full blown one when he did not grab at her hand to stop her from establishing more physical contact with him.

Vera felt as though she were floating in a wonderful dream. She still could not believe he had slept next to her, embracing her tightly throughout the whole night, making sure that she was being warmed by his body heat. He had even kissed her, and worried about her, and now he was letting her touch him and looking at her like he was in a daze.

If this was a dream, she wished with her whole heart to never wake up again. If this was a dream, she would pray to all the gods in existence not to let anyone wake her up. Because all she wanted was to stay in this dream now and forever, nowhere else would do anymore for her. Forever and ever would still not be long enough, even until her very last breath.

Her chest felt like it was swelling due to so much happiness. Vera knew all these feelings might be a little too exaggerated because this was the first time that she is experiencing all these blissful things after being in a hellish place for so long. But she just did not care anymore. She would not care. Even if this was just a fleeting dream, she would no longer deny herself the opportunity to feel as happy as she could. While she can, while he lets her experience these feelings, she would not hold back. She would give her all to this man as well. She would give as good as she gets, maybe even better.

She leaned closer to him, lifting her other hand to touch the other side of his perfect face. She could not imagine that a man's face could be so smooth and flawless. Still, he did not move. His eyes remained glued to hers, looking like he was heavily under her spell. The way he looked at her, the heart stopping blue fire in his eyes… Vera just wanted to kiss him again. The temptation was so real, and she could literally feel the pull of it. Even if her lips start bleeding again, she knew no cuts or bleed were enough to stop her.

Gods… she had never desired anyone or anything like this in her life ever before. Was this already love? Could it have happened so quickly? She was uncertain but what could it be? Or was it just pure unadulterated desire? After thinking about it for a while, Vera decided that it might be both. She had never experienced such emotions as intense as this before. So, she could only deduce that this must be love. Intense, inexplicable… almost unbelievable, just like him, in fact.

If it was true that love is the greatest thing that ever existed in this world, then Vera would fully be willing to believe it now. Because no matter how ridiculous it sounded, that she was already claiming it is love when she literally just met him yesterday, Vera knew what she was feeling. The fact that her heart was able to beat like this, despite the fact it was supposed to not work normally anymore due to all the heartbreaking things that had happened to her was enough of a proof to her. So she was not going to mull over it anymore and waste more time. She knew her own heart, she knew herself better than anyone else. Because for so long, she only had herself and no one else to rely on. Thus, Vera was going to believe that this was truly love at first sight. That she had fallen for him, head over heels since the very moment she had laid eyes on him when he had come to her rescue – as her very own knight in shining armour.

Gently and also a little cautiously, Vera pressed her lips against his. There was a slight apprehension that he might push her away. But when seconds passed and nothing of the sort happened, she threw caution to the winds. She felt as though sparks were flying at the touch of her lips on his. It was sending a delicious heat raging its way through her heart. She wanted more of him… more.

Finally pulling away, Vera gazed into the blue hellfire of his eyes. "Gideon…" she uttered his name and she realized how she just loved the sound of his name rolling off her lips. "Gideon…" she repeated, loving at how his name just evokes sparks that ignite into large intense flames within her. "Gideon," she said his name again and a giggle was about to burst from her ruby red lips when he abruptly moved.

His mouth suddenly came crashing down on hers and kissed her hard. His attack was so passionate and hard that Vera could not help but widen her eyes in shock. But soon, she too got caught up and closed her eyes and kissed him back as fervently as he gave. She tried to use her tongue as well to keep up with his delicious intensity. Gods… she was starting to feel very hot. His kiss was just… it was literally melting her, her very bones, even down to her very soul. And it was so… so good that she did not want it to stop despite the iron taste of blood that she knew was coming from her own bleeding lip.

When their lips parted from the mind-blowing kiss, Gideon suddenly grabbed her and wrapped his arms around her in a tight grip as if he was scared to let go of her even for a second. Vera was surprised once again at his outburst of emotions and his shocking actions did not stop there. He even started shaking a little as he hugged her even tighter, almost crushing her smaller frame in his arms.

Then the darkest song which was his voice echoed out beside her ear. "Leah… Leah…"

 

Chapter 446 - This Gamble

"Leah… Leah…" he continued calling that name while his body shook like a leaf in the wind and his deep voice sounded as though it was drenched in so much sorrow that Vera could feel her own heart break without knowing why.

Vera felt like she was breaking down as well since the moment he called that name out with his broken voice. And as he continued calling that name out, her heart kept on breaking like glass being hammered on again and again.

She stayed very still, letting him hug her so tight as he called out someone else's name. Then a small, pained smile curved slightly on her face. Why? Why must you end my dream this soon? She knew that with her luck, all that had happened was just too good to be true. Just as she wanted to throw herself fully into this dream come true, it all came crashing down like a house made of glass.

Now she understood why. Why he was treating her so carefully and delicately like this. All his too good to be true actions towards her… it came as a crystal-clear flash to her now… it was all because he was seeing the image of someone else superimposed over her. It was now that she finally realized that he had never called her name even though he already knew what it was. And it just … hurts so very bad.

Of course… how naïve of her to think someone she had just met would truly care for her… would even fall in love with her. Now that she was rudely awakened, it was laughable how she had indulged in her own wild fantasies. A sad and very soft chuckle escaped her red lips, unnoticed by Gideon who was currently lost in his own memories.

It was unbelievable how he had made her feel like she was in heaven and then made her feel like she had fell into a burning hell the very next moment.

Vera let out a shaky sigh and her hands moved to his back. She started patting and stroking his broad back so gently as though she was trying to soothe his pain. It was obvious to her that he was in so much pain just like her and with all his trembling right now, she could tell that his pain must be much worse compared to hers. He felt so broken in her arms. Who would have thought that this man would suddenly shiver and tremble in her arms like this? She did not need to ask who this Leah was to understand his pain. For a man like him to be reduced to a state like this… Vera could already tell who Leah was in his life.

Silently, Vera continued caressing Gideon's back absentmindedly. Her baby blues had long since turned back to their previous doll-like emotionless eyes as her gaze fell straight to the window, looking at the crystals gleaming up there until Gideon's trembling stopped. Her heart felt as chilled as the cool and icy crystals that worked as the sky in the Under Lands – bright as though it was the Sun, but in actual fact, without an iota of warmth. It could be said that her heart had lost all warmth and felt as though it were made of lead, exerting a heavy weight in the cavity of her chest.

She eventually felt him become very still for a long while. Then he pulled away, carefully.

Their eyes met. The blue fire in his eyes were much calmer now. As calm as the eye of a storm.

He abruptly averted his gaze from hers and looked at her lips. She scoffed in her mind, feeling contempt for herself after seeing his actions and could only accept that she was only a body that resembled that Leah he was obviously pining for. She saw his brows creased slightly before he held her face, resting his hand below her ear as his thumb settled near her lip.

"Stay put," he said then he began licking the blood on her lips again.

Vera let out another shaky breath as she shut her eyes. She viciously told herself not to overthink things. It was unbelievable how even breathing seemed to hurt so much, the pain from her wounds could not even hold a candle to it. Ah… this gamble… it was just the beginning, but she was already fading away, knowing that there was no way for her to win this man over as hers. He was already someone else's. At that thought, there was a pain like a thousand needles pricking her heart.

The heat from his erotic tongue no longer brought her pure pleasure. There was a flavour of pain along with it now and yet she did not want to push him or pull herself away.

It seems she was trapped now. She had willingly walked towards a trap that was himself despite his earlier warnings. This pain was not his fault… he had warned her.

Still, she would not allow herself to regret it. She will never regret. This pain… Vera told herself it will dull as well eventually, just like how all her other wounds healed over time. She just needed to hold on for a little while longer like she always does for as long as she could bear. And after that, the pain would just slowly become numb.

When he was done, Vera did not rush to open her eyes, even when she felt his gaze on her. Until she felt him climb off the bed, only then did she allow her body to relax a little.

Opening her eyes, Vera took another quiet breath before she turned her eyes to look at him, standing there, his back facing her.

"You are…" Vera's voice echoed softly in the room, sounding defeated and tired, "… going to give me over to Azrael today, right?" Her eyes then lowered a little at the end of her question.

He stiffened at her question. Then she saw his hands turned into tight fists.

"He… Azrael was the one who agreed to have me as his bed warmer after all." She added with a nonchalant tone as she informed him and then he was suddenly before her, eyes blazing violently as he bent over her.

"I was the one who brought you over here!" he told her in a controlled voice. However, his body was so tightly coiled up and tense that Vera could clearly sense it. "So you stay here. With me. You're my bed warmer now." His voice hardened as he almost snarled the last line out.

"But… what if I choose to be Azrael's bed warmer?" Vera retorted, her eyes that were lifeless and doll-like, looked into his. Her voice dull and sounded tired.

Chapter 447 - Trouble

Vera felt the atmosphere inside the room became extremely heavy, so heavy that it was becoming hard to breath. She could see there was something dark which seemed to be leaking out of his body and his eyes dilating. What was wrong with him? What had provoked him to behave this way? Did what she said incited something dangerous to blow up within him?

She held her breath, waiting for what he would say next, never averting her gaze from those beautiful vibrant blue but coldly dangerous eyes. A thought just speared through her mind as she was looking at him. Why was it that she had to fall for this kind of dangerous man that had so much baggage it was more than enough to drown not just him but also her in it?

But before either of them could speak again, a knock echoed through the room. However, he stayed very still and only when another knock echoed again, he looked as though he finally snapped out of whatever muddle headedness he was currently caught up in and he swiftly pulled himself up to see who it was outside the door.

The heavy and suffocating air seemed to be cleared in an instant as he faced the door. "Get in." he said darkly, feeling a slight trail of irritability still running within himself though he was not sure why he was feeling that way.

A dark fae emerged from the door and bowed her head, greeting the prince. "Lord Kione sent me to fetch you, Your Highness. He said you need to come to the light fae Queen's room immediately. He said that it's urgent." The messenger was quick in delivering her missive and bowed respectfully to Gideon after completing her task. Once she was done, she saluted and waited patiently at the side for Gideon's permission to leave or other further commands.

The report made Gideon's eyes narrow. Now what was it this time? Why was it that there was just so many things coming up daily lately?

Gideon shut his eyes close for a moment as if to gather his perfect composure once again. When he opened his eyes again, there was not a single trace of the look he had showed to Vera just a while ago. He was back to the cool, calm, and composed Prince Gideon he usually was. Nothing could be read from his face that was as blank as a piece of unmarked paper.

"Go get something for her to eat." He ordered when the dark fae waiting at the side for further instructions blinked at him.

"For the Light Fae Queen, my lord?" She was not sure who the prince meant her to prepare the food for.

"No, for her." He nodded his head towards Vera and the dark fae understood his gesture. Gideon glanced at Vera and their eyes met.

He looked like he had something to say but after a few moments of not saying anything, he pressed his lips together instead of opening them. Then a dark smoke swallowed him, and he silently disappeared before her eyes.

When he materialized just outside Evie's room in the next second, Kione and Azrael were already standing there like they were guards. Well, Gideon did assign them to guard the light fae queen.

As soon as Gideon's gaze fell on Azrael, his eyes darkened, causing Azrael to lift one of his brows at him in question. Now what was with that level of animosity? He could only question himself as Gideon's gaze turned to the side and faced Kione.

"What is it this time?" he asked in an impatient voice.

"I think something is going on with your sister-in-law." Kione said with a serious face. "She's not waking up and she's been making some sounds for a while now."

"Sounds…??"

"I believe it's probably a nightmare." Kione's matter-of-fact tone explained his thoughts.

Gideon creased his brows as he looked at Kione with an 'are you kidding me' look. "You summoned me here just because you think my little sister-in-law is having a nightmare?"

"Well, since you ordered that no one was to enter her room, I can only call on you to come check on her." Kione replied and Gideon's calm seemed to crack again. "She had made a mention last night that she was not feeling too good and the fact that she's yet to wake up at this hour, I think you should check on her. We can't afford to have anything happen to her while Queen Beatrice is asleep. She'd probably skin us alive when she wakes up if…" Kione trailed off as Gideon was already rushing to open the door and entered the room.

However, the moment he stepped in, Evie made a small yelp and she sprung up from the bed as if being jolted awake.

Gideon stilled by the still opened door, looking at Evie. Her eyes wide and her silvery hair looked dampened from sweat. She was breathing so heavily as well, and she looked somewhat terrified as though she had just seen something awful. Seeing this powerful queen looking like this made Gideon's irritation immediately subside. What had she seen in her dream for her to be looking like she had seen something so horrific?

Quietly, Gideon walked straight to the table by the bed and poured water into the glass sitting there. He then picked it up and gave the glass of water to Evie as he sat down at the edge of the bed, looking at her with concern. Evie wordlessly accepted the proffered glass as she nodded her thanks to Gideon.

As Evie was drinking the water and calming herself, Gideon asked, "You were such a feisty and sly queen this whole time. It just I never would have thought you could actually get scared of nightmares." He commented lightly and a little teasingly as he took the empty glass from her and placed it back on the table.

But Evie did not seem to hear Gideon's attempt to lighten up the mood.

She suddenly grabbed onto Gideon's arm. "Listen." She said urgently. "Trouble… a very big trouble is coming." Her eyes were large and there was a severe light within their depths as she uttered those words that Gideon could not help but frown hard. Knowing that she was not the kind of person to fool around, he could not just laugh it off.

"Trouble…" he echoed, "calm down and elaborate on what you are trying to say Queen."

Chapter 448 - Queen Of Bargain

Evie swallowed then she straightened and took another deep sigh. When she felt a little calmer, she looked at Gideon again.

"I saw something like a huge well," she started. "Hundreds… no… thousands of monsters I have never seen before were coming out of it. Then I…" her voice faltered a little. "I saw destruction. An immense destruction such as none have ever seen before… great wars… deaths… and then they – those monsters… they also reached the surface." Her voice choked and broke off at this point.

It was Gideon's turn to look at her with widened eyes. Disbelief and shock filling his blue eyes. It was obvious he could not quite believe what she was saying.

"Listen," Evie breathed out again before she continued, "my dreams and nightmares aren't normal ones like what others have. Whatever I see in my dreams… they actually do end up happening."

Gideon did not speak. He just stared at her with an unfathomable look in his eyes.

"You do believe me, right?" Evie questioned him, her eyes wide as she trained her gaze on him. She needed him to believe her! "This… we need to tell this to King Belial. He needs to know this nightmare is approaching us very soon. The Under Land is going to be embroiled in big trouble! We need to find a way to stop this from happening!"

Evie felt a rush of urgency surging up from within her. The scenes she saw in her dream… it was nothing close to anything she had ever seen or even imagined before. That was… that was the most horrific nightmare she had ever had. Not only did those monsters looked as though they were very strong, but there were also just too many of them. A word like 'many' or even 'numerous' would not even come close to describing their numbers. The death and destruction that these monsters had wrecked in her dream that she saw was too extreme that she felt like throwing up. In her dream, this place, this beautiful dark paradise of the Under Lands had turned into nothing else but hell and ruin. Even she could not help but feel mind numbing and debilitating fear consume her as never before. The fact that she saw these monsters reaching the surface only meant one thing. It could only mean that the dark faes had failed to stop them and they lost the war. The whole race of the dark faes must have been completely wiped out for the enemies to proceed to the surface.

To think that King Belial and all these powerful dark faes, and probably including her would actually lose the war… Evie bit down on her lip. This was bad. Really bad. She could already feel it. They must do something before it was really too late. They must do something now to stop that disaster from happening! And she hoped that they were still in time to get something done. She fervently prayed to whatever gods that there was in existence that it was not already too late for them.

As her mind was still caught in utter turmoil, Evie felt a large and warm hand gently landing on her head, causing her to blink and raise her head. She saw Gideon standing there with his hand outstretched, looking at her quietly but calmly.

To her surprise, a small smile curved on Gideon's face as he then patted her head lightly. "Calm down, Queen." He said in a deep and reassuring voice. "It's not good for you to worry too much. Don't forget you're carrying my niece or nephew inside you now." He then cracked a grin at her, obviously trying to get her to calm down and distract her from her flustered condition earlier.

Evie creased her brows, as suspicion bloomed in her heart at the sight of him being so calm. It did not seem as though he does not believe her claims. But if that was the case, then he should accept what she said as the truth. Then why was he not even showing the slightest bit of worry or agitation at her premonition, especially when it might involve the genocide of the whole dark fae race?

"Don't worry, your nightmare will not come true. I can promise you that." He added and with one last soft pat on Evie's head, he retracted his hand and placed it inside his pocket.

"You… don't tell me you already know about this?" Evie narrowed her eyes. "Do you actually know more about this matter?"

He looked away and stared out the window. "That's right, queen. I've actually known about this matter for quite a long while now."

Evie's mouth dropped open in disbelief. So this was why he did not look shocked at all. No wonder he did not look at her as though she were crazy when she first rattled off what she saw in her dream to him. He was just shocked that she knew about it as well!

"So can I ask you to keep it as a secret for now, Queen Evielyn?" He looked at her with those calm eyes again, his eyes shining with confidence that she would agree to his request.

"Why? Why would you want me to keep it a secret?" she questioned. "If you don't give me a satisfying answer, I can't promise I won't talk. This matter is really too massive. It involves the matter of the life and death of a whole race of people!" Evie wanted to know what else he was keeping from her and probably everybody else.

"I'm really convinced now that you're the queen of bargain my dearest sister-in-law." He sighed as he quirked a helpless smile and shook his head. But a moment later, his eyes turned steely blue as though it were heated titanium. "Because I have already thought of a plan. And if you do something unnecessary, this plan I had formulated for many years might get ruined and all the stages I have meticulously set up will fall into nothing but useless trash. And when that happens, everything you saw in your nightmare would actually happen."

A short silence reigned between them.

"I am now convinced you're the prince of blackmail my dearest brother-in-law," Evie glared at him, returning his earlier jab at her in the same manner and he just smiled mildly at her. "Stop smiling like you have already won this, you damned cheap prince. This talk is not over yet." Evie grumbled with an eye roll.

But Gideon only chuckled at her words as he knew she did not truly mean what she said and then sighed. "I wonder how my brother handled such a feisty lady like you. That devil sprout really is amazing to marry a woman of your calibre." He gave a little shake of his head as a lopsided smile spread across his lips.

"Stop changing the topic. Tell me, what the hell are you planning to do? Is kidnapping me here one of the stages you have been talking about that you've been setting up?" Evie questioned, her gaze at him was fierce now. "And Gav, my husband, is a big part of this plan of yours, is he not?" Evie's eyes narrowed as she trained it sharply on him, landing all the scorching power of her gaze fully on him, hoping that it would be able to push him to reveal his plans to her.

Chapter 449 - Terrible Plan

When Gideon just returned her stare at her with his own placid and perfectly blank face, Evie rose, never averting her firm gaze from him. She was resolute on wanting to wrestle whatever details she could get from this dearest brother-in-law of hers.

"Tell me…" Evie hesitated for a moment but then she lifted her chin and held his gaze with an even firmer intensity. She was giving him the full force of the eyes of a queen who did not know how to give up. "Is the plan you are talking about the one where you were planning to force your brother to kill you?" she finally asked. She had her suspicions and threw them out at him, questioning his plans at point blank range in the hopes that he would be flustered enough to divulge more. However…

Another long moment of silence reigned between them. Only this time, the silence was definitely much heavier.

Evie waited after throwing her suspicion out to him. Hoping that he will not avoid this question and disappear as he usually does when he did not want to face certain issues. His expression however, surprisingly remained very calm, and he did not even blink.

"Just how much did that smart ass friend of mine tell you, Queen Evielyn?" his voice was now shrouded with unsettling darkness.

But Evie managed to stay completely unfazed, ignoring his questioning of her. She narrowed her eyes at him. "So I was right? Your plan does somehow involve having yourself being killed off at some point in time?"

When not a single word left his lips in agreement or denial, Evie scoffed. "You know what? If that's really your great plan, then I'm telling you now. That. Is. One. Terrible. Plan. In fact, I believe that your death alone might be the sole reason which caused the disaster that I saw in my dream to happen!" Evie shot out at Gideon.

Still, Gideon did not speak, and his expression now became absolutely unreadable.

With urgency and a tinge of anger in her voice, Evie took a step closer towards him. "If you still stubbornly keep your mouth shut like this, I won't." she told him decisively. "I'm going to find King Belial right now and I'm telling him all I know about this matter. Everything that I had seen in my nightmare, every detail, I will tell him. Not a single tiny point will be left out." Evie spelled it out lowly, the threat very real in her tone.

Evie unleashed her fiercest, unwavering gaze to tell him how serious she was. It was all in the hopes that he would give in and tell her everything to stop her from speaking out. But he did not move, nor said a thing, even when Evie walked past him and headed towards the door.

She bit down hard on her lip when she had already reached the entrance and her fingers had grabbed onto the doorknob because he did not shout out the word 'wait'. Why? Why was he not stopping her despite her warning actions? Does this mean he truly did not care if she actually told all these things to King Belial? Really? Evie questioned silently within herself as she paused for a couple more seconds, giving him the final chance to take action or to say something. However, nothing happened.

With a heavy sigh, Evie turned her head over her shoulder and looked at him. Gideon remained standing there, unmoving. It angered her at how stubborn he was being in regard to this matter. What the hell was going on in his mind? Does he not care at all at the immensity of the implications if her nightmare actually did come true?

She finally pushed the door open after giving him sufficient time and then shut it hard behind her, wanting to jolt the stubborn tough nut. Walking with much haste along the spacious corridor, Evie could only shake her head when she did not sense even a shadow of him following her. It seemed that it was impossible to make him talk right now and reveal what his plan really was. She could not help but find his reactions suspicious when she said those words to him. Could it be that Kione's theory was wrong? That's why he didn't show any reaction at all?

"Good Lord, that guy's going to be the source of my headaches at the rate we're going!" she grumbled as she headed to Queen Beatrice's room. Evie hoped that maybe the queen can make him spill out the details of his plan. But she halted when she remembered the queen would still be asleep until tomorrow. Still tomorrow… she could not be wasting any more time! A single day could be a crucial moment for actions to be taken or for the king to prepare for what was coming.

As she stood there contemplating and thinking hard over what might be the best move she could attempt, Evie felt a presence approaching her quickly. She knew it would not be Gideon, so she immediately raised her guard up. Who could it be? This person's movement was really quick!

Soon, a person in a purple cloak stood before her, silent and not speaking for now. After she observed for a moment, she realised that it was one of Queen Beatrice's journey companion?

Slowly, the person raised his hand and pulled down the hood and Evie blinked, her eyes slowly widening as a familiar face was revealed beneath that heavy hood.

"Claudius!" she exclaimed. "It's you!"

A kind smile curved on the dark fae's face and then he respectfully bowed his head to Evie, acknowledging her identity as the queen of the light faes. "I am so pleased to finally meet you in person, Queen Evielyn." He said and Evie smiled back as she too, nodded at him in greetings.

"Pleased to meet you too.. I can't believe you're with Queen Beatrice! Did you deliberately hide yourself from me since arriving with the entourage yesterday?" Evie asked, raising her brow at him as she said her last line.

Chapter 450 - Greatest Weakness

Claudius scratched his head as he laughed a little sheepishly. "Of course not, Queen. I just thought that it wasn't quite the right time for me to show up and introduce myself to you at that time." His smile widened. "After all, you needed to meet with Queen Beatrice first, right? How could I jump the queue?"

"And you think that this is now the right time for you to finally show up?"

"Yes, since I saw you looking quite a bit troubled. May I know what's causing you to be so vexed, Young Queen?" Claudius asked in a calm and unhurried manner.

Suddenly, Evie looked at Claudius like she had found the answer to her dilemma. She looked around and her expression became serious. "I have something very important to tell you. I believe King Belial needs to know about this as well, as soon as possible." She lowered her voice and spoke to Claudius gravely, her face and tone immediately alerting Claudius to the fact that Evie was not joking and was extremely serious about this matter.

The expression on Claudius face quickly changed as well, immediately understanding the severity of what she was going to say next. He could sense and see it in her intense amber eyes.

"Do you need me to put up a sound barrier, my queen?" Claudius asked and Evie gave a quick nod.

When the barrier was finally set up around them, Evie began to speak. "I had a terrible nightmare…" She told him everything that she saw in her dream. She knew from experience that this man was someone she could fully trust. And she also knew King Belial trusted him. As such, he could act as the messenger to deliver this pressing matter directly to the king.

Unlike Gideon, Claudius was clearly shocked and extremely disturbed at the things she had said. His reaction was normal. Anyone, except Gideon of course, who would have heard of such a thing would react like this. In fact, many others would react much worse than how Claudius did.

A long silence passed by as Evie let Claudius process everything he had just heard. Evie had also thought of telling him about Gideon, but for some reason, Evie felt incredibly hesitant in mentioning him and the things that she had heard about him. It was as if something was telling her that mentioning anything about Gideon to Claudius or King Belial was going to be a bad idea. So in the end she listened to her instincts and only told Claudius about the nightmare she had.

With a troubled look, Claudius finally spoke. "I don't know how to thank you enough for revealing this, Queen Evielyn," Claudius said. "This definitely needs to reach the king's ear as soon as possible. I need to go back now and report this to His Majesty."

"Can't you use that same magic which you used to communicate with me back then?"

"I can't as my king isn't using his magic right now, and this is definitely not something just anyone else should be listening in to. So there is no choice but for me to go back as fast as I can." Claudius's tone was urgent now, as if he was now more than ready to bolt away as soon as Evie allowed him to go.

"I see… I believe that's the best way too." Evie agreed and nodded her assent.

Claudius nodded at her. "I am going to leave immediately. If I am not able to return here in time and Queen Beatrice comes looking for me, don't answer for me. I'll have Alvion to cook up an alibi for me." Claudius did not forget to remind Evie of this matter. The queen must absolutely not be allowed to know this as of now.

Evie creased her brows. "Wait, you don't want me to tell this to Queen Beatrice?"

The dark fae nodded.

"Why? Don't tell me I must avoid mentioning my nightmare to her too." Evie was puzzled at why this should be kept a secret.

"That's right Queen Evielyn."

Evie's eyes widened as she looked at him questioningly.

"The truth is, King Belial had finally agreed to let the queen travel here so he could send her away from the Great City for a period of time. The king had sensed an unrest stirring up and he believes that whatever is coming would be something huge. This city where we are right now is the farthest one from the Great City and the Great City is one of the nearest cities to the Abyss of Darkness." Claudius explained.

"So he actually sent the queen here because he wanted to protect her, under the guise of visiting her eldest son?" Evie said and when Claudius nodded in confirmation, Evie smirked. "Like father like son, indeed." She muttered, shaking her head as she remembered how Gav always does the same to her even back then.

"So please don't let the queen know about this matter for now. Of course, I know we would not be able to hide this forever. But please just for now, keep it a secret. I'm afraid that if she over worries and tries to do something on her own to help the king, the king might get distracted. He is trying to focus on this problem so as much as possible, we want to help him maintain his focus. I know I shouldn't be telling you this but… Queen Beatrice is our King's greatest weakness. She is his only weakness. Therefore, I am hoping that you will understand my stand on this, Queen Evielyn." Claudius smiled apologetically to Evie.

A small smile curved across those luscious red lips of hers. Of course, she understood! In fact, she understood it very well! She knew just how much they loved each other as well as that special bond between them.

"I understand, Claudius. I will do my best not to say anything to her." Evie said and Claudius flashed a relieved smile before bowing low to her.

"Thank you, Queen. Now I need to make a move and return to my king. We don't have much time to waste."

Evie nodded at him and as soon as the barrier was dissolved, Claudius disappeared before her.

Chapter 451 - Dilemma

As soon as Claudius left, Evie headed over to Queen Beatrice's room. Her guard, Alvion, bowed when he saw her and naturally allowed her to enter into the room. The three noble ladies that were part of the entourage and who accompanied Queen Beatrice were also there, watching her closely.

Evie now realized just how protected Queen Beatrice was. As she looked at her beautiful sleeping face, Evie smiled. She looked so peaceful and even more youthful in her sleep. No wonder King Belial loved her so. No hot-blooded male would be able to resist such gentle beauty. And more so, Queen Beatrice's personality was already a winner. Therefore, just those two factors alone were enough to understand why King Belial was head over heels in love with his wife.

Thinking along these lines, Evie was reminded of Claudius words where he said that this queen was King Belial's greatest weakness. Silently, Evie shook her head. She thought that that statement would never come from King Belial's mouth. Opposite to that in fact, Evie believes that the queen was not his weakness. In fact, it was the other way around where she believes this queen was the source of his strength. Because he loves her so much and wants to protect her so badly, that in itself was a mighty encouragement for him to grow stronger.

But she did not say anything about it and tried to explain her thoughts on this with Claudius earlier. First reason was, they truly did not have any more time to waste, and next was Evie understood why they would think that Queen Beatrice was the king's greatest weakness. She thought that it must be due to the fact where Queen Beatrice could weaken the king whenever she needed to drink his blood. Even because of this fact, Evie still thinks it was not right for them to think of her as the King's greatest weakness because she believes the queen was definitely not. And to top it all, Evie could clearly sense that Queen Beatrice was actually very powerful. Since she had just met Queen Beatrice, she was not sure how the queen portrayed herself to the people here. Perhaps she might be hiding her strength or maybe there was just no need for her to display her real power as King Belial was doing such a good job up till now to keep her safe. Whatever it was, Evie was pretty sure of her own sense where the queen had very deep reserves of power just held under great control by the queen herself.

And this was why Evie still decided to tell Queen Beatrice this secret when she wakes up. Evie was aware of the possible risks. But… for some reason, Evie just did not believe that Queen Beatrice was completely oblivious of the real purpose on why her husband allowed her to travel so far away from the capital and even without him. The queen was not a simple minded and straight lady. The fact that she could be a queen of a people of a totally different race and still remain as one beside King Belial for so long in this place just goes to proof that she was an able ruler. Moreover, she believed that in this place, Queen Beatrice would be her closest and greatest ally. And she believes that if they work together, they could do greater things and contribute to stopping this upcoming disaster.

When she left the room, Evie headed to the hall where the vampires were gathered and spent a short time mingling around and catching up with them before getting her own breakfast.

While waiting for Queen Beatrice to wake up, Evie decided to do something about Gideon. This troubled brother-in-law of hers was truly an enigma! She needed to figure him out while it is still early but… how?

She also thought of Gav and wondered where he was right now. Leon and Zanya supposed to have reached them last night. She wondered if Gav knew where she was at right now. Looking outside the window and staring at the dark city, Evie took a deep sigh. She was starting to miss Gav so bad.

But she smiled as she touched her still flat stomach. Somehow, she had a feeling that they will be reuniting together as a family of two plus one again soon and that feeling was enough to make her feel quite relieved. That though brought a dazzling smile to grace her already beautiful features. Those who were looking at her, found her smile to be so beautiful that they were tongue tied and in a daze as their queen's stunning features were impressed upon their minds.

Her thoughts then returned to her current dilemma which was no other than Gideon. She still believed that he was going to be focal point of everything that will be unfolding in the future. If only he was willing to open up to her and stop fighting all on his own and start involving others to help. She could understand if it were others who did not know. But he already knew that she too knew about the upcoming disaster. So why was he still so reluctant to open up? She did not need him to tell her everything at one go, but at least a little would not hurt.

Somehow, Evie could not help but compare Gideon to how Gav was when he was Gavrael. Both of them were lone wolves who act as though they do not need anyone or any help at all. Suddenly, something came into Evie's thoughts. That was right, she had yet to mention to Gideon about Gav's situation, that his dark fae side seemed to have left his body for good now. Should she mention this to him?

Evie paced back and forth by the window. Thinking hard on what the best decision would be for her to come to. It was hard for her to decide as she still could not fully trust Gideon when it is related to her husband. She had already decided Gideon was not the villain she thought that he was but… what if he ends up doing something to Gav once he finds out Gav no longer has his dark magic? On the other hand, what if it could change Gideon's mind or might even help Gav to regain his dark magic and dark fae side if he found out about this matter?

For the first time in a long while, Evie found herself extremely indecisive as she kept vacillating between the options she had.

When time passed and she still could not decide, Evie went to visit Vera. She found her sitting there alone in her room and she was not sleeping. She was just seated beside the window, her unseeing eyes staring out in a daze.

Looking at her, Evie felt sad. Slowly, she approached her and sat on the bed.

"How are you?" Evie asked. Vera blinked before turning to look at Evie and she smiled.

"I still can't believe I'm seeing you in a place like this Ev…" Vera trailed off. She could tell with one glance that this was no longer the frail little young lady she had met before during those days long passed. Even the feeling she invoked within her was so different. This Evie was nothing like that little girl. And even before she had found out from the woman tending to her that Evie was now a queen, a very powerful queen, Vera had already somehow sensed that Evie was now someone so high, so powerful that she was no longer worthy to even call her 'Evie' anymore. "… Your Majesty.." Vera stood from her chair and gave a respectful bow to Evie.

Chapter 452 - I Will Be Fine

"You can still call me Evie when we're alone. We're still friends after all, right?" Evie smiled amiably at Vera.

Vera looked down and lowered herself slowly back to her chair. "I'm not sure if I'm still worthy to be your friend. I am… I am just a nameless lady now."

"You're not nameless. You are Vera… and you are still the most beautiful human I have ever seen." Evie grinned and Vera's lips trembled a bit.

Evie moved forward and enveloped the trembling lady in a warm hug and the two embraced each other for a long time, not breaking the silence until Vera's trembling became a bit better.

"I'm not sure how you ended up here. But… if you want to go back to the surface, just let me know. I can help you." Evie told her carefully. But Vera shook her head, slowly but firmly.

"Thank you but I don't want to go back up there anymore. There is nothing left for me up there on the surface." She said decisively then she averted her eyes and looked up at the fascinating crystals above this dark paradise. "I don't want to see the sun anymore. I think… I want to spend the rest of my life here, in this beautiful… dark paradise."

For a long while, Evie just observed her expression. She could see the obvious hurt flashing within those baby blue eyes of hers.

"Is…" Evie hesitated for a moment, "Does this decision of yours have anything to do with Prince Gideon?"

Vera pressed her lips tightly together. "I… I was the one to ask him to bring me here. No, I… I forced him actually. So, I…" Vera was hesitating as she explained and finally trailed off when Evie began to smile at her.

"Have I mentioned to you that my husband is his brother?" Evie said, grinning sweetly and Vera's eyes widened, surprised. "You like my brother-in-law, right?"

The question made Vera nibble the inside of her lower lip. But then she looked away. "But he is in love with someone else."

Evie heard the wealth of hurt in her voice as Vera stared at her hands that were clutching at the blanket covering her legs, twisting them nervously as she did not know what to do with her hands. "He only took pity on me and… and took me along with him and want me to stay with him here because I… I apparently resemble the woman he loves." Vera added weakly, her voice strained and sounded to Evie as though she were at the edge of tears.

"He… he told you to stay with him?" Evie asked incredulously, eyes slightly widened. She had already talked to Kione about Gideon's late lover. Last night, while Gideon was with Vera, Evie had made Kione and Azrael tell her more about Leah. That was why Evie was not surprised at all about what Vera revealed about another woman that Gideon loves, because even Azrael and Kione mentioned that Vera's eyes made them remember the late Leah.

Of course, this made Evie feel sad for both her friend and brother-in-law too. It was obvious that it was true, that Gideon took interest of Vera because of her resemblance to Leah. That was why Evie asked her if she wanted to go back to the surface. And yet… Vera just told her that she wants to spend the rest of her life here… was it because she still wanted Gideon despite all this?

"You want him… Gideon?" Evie asked with a soft voice and Vera smiled at her bitterly as she raised her eyes glittering with unshed tears to look at Evie.

"Yes." She replied simply and then she let out a shaky sigh. "I never desired anyone as much as this in my entire life like I do now… to the point that I feel like it's fine if I suffer as long as I can be with him. I know I am being ridiculous, but I feel as though I am spellbound by him since the very moment that I saw him appear as an angel in front of me."

Vera's smile became utterly helpless Evie felt her heart breaking for her.

"You're going to stay with him like he told you…?" Evie uttered again, her voice very careful and when Vera nodded, Evie did not know what to say for a long while. "Are you… are you sure about this?"

Another shaky sigh left Vera's lips as though she too did not know what she wanted, but then she smiled and nodded firmly at Evie.

"I know this will be hurtful but… I realized that with my terrible luck, I somehow feel like I'll suffer anyway even if I give up on him now… I think that he's worth suffering for. At least… he's someone I willingly chose and really want." The gleaming wetness in her pale blue eyes were filled with sadness and a heart-breaking smile decorated her pale face. "I have suffered too much and too long for people I don't even care for, for people who don't even bother to give me even a cup of warm water to drink when I'm sick and dying. He… he saved me, Evie… he embraced me and didn't leave me until I woke up. Even if he did that all because of the woman I resemble…" she took a sharp breath and looked down at her hands that were now entwined, before she looked up again at Evie. "I will be fine, don't worry. I'm used to this already." Vera shrugged and her tone was light, as though being abused was nothing to her. Evie's heart broke to hear how Vera spoke of her mistreatment as something so natural.

"When I begged him to take me with him, I told him I only needed safe shelter… not his love." Her voice trailed off and sounded so small and pained as she denied wanting Gideon's love.

Chapter 453 - Cooperation

"Oh Vera," Evie could only hug her friend again, her heart breaking for this poor friend of hers. She wanted to say something and wanted to tell her she did not need to make herself suffer like this. But Evie could not speak. Maybe because she knew what Vera needed the most right now were not advices, but just the solid and silent support and understanding a friend could give her. And Evie was not going to deny her this one little thing. And she could see it that this decision Vera made was not something shallow and decided on in a split second that still could be changed over time or by some talks. Somehow, Evie could see it in her eyes, that she had already allowed herself to intentionally fall into the deep end on this matter. And she was clearer on this than anyone else on how futile it was to stop someone from wanting what her heart wants. She had realised it was already too late when Vera had decided to talk to her about it, and no one and no amount of words can change her decision anymore. Nobody could change her mind now, only she herself.

"Please don't be sad for me, Evie." Vera told her, as she started caressing Evie's back as if to soothe her. "Don't worry, I can handle this. I knew all along that it was going to be a gamble from the very start. I am not forcing myself to do this either. So please do not worry. I will do my best not to deliberately make myself suffer… I know all pain will subside and dull out eventually. I just need to get used to it and I think that as long as I don't expect anything more than what I can get from him, I will be perfectly fine. Eventually." She even smiled as she said that, causing Evie to pull back and look at her with concern.

"But what if… the pain never actually fades off? What if it only grows and gets worse over time?" Evie asked her softly, aching for her.

"I think…" Vera shrugged and flashed her another helpless smile, "…I'll just cross that bridge when that day indeed comes, and if I can't handle it anymore. Right now, I am quite confident that I can handle the pain as I know I've developed quite a tolerance over the past years."

Her answer had silenced Evie for a long while. Then she reached out for Vera's cool and pale hands and held it within hers gently. "Alright, I will respect your decision Vera," Evie could only give in, "but please, promise me that you will put yourself first and… please don't hesitate to come to me if it becomes too hard and too heavy for you to bear it alone, okay? I will be there for you whenever you need someone to lean on or vent out to, I promise you that. There is no need to think twice to ask for help, okay?"

Vera's eyes gleamed at Evie's words of comfort and encouragement and this time she was the one who moved to hug her. "I feel like some god sent me two angels, one angel of darkness and one angel of light. You've become like my personal angel of the light, Evie… thank you so, so much… you have no idea how thankful I am that I've met up with you again here, in this place…"

Evie rubbed Vera's back gently as she whispered in her mind. 'You're the angel of light Vera. I strongly believe that you are the angel of the light that will bring that damned dark angel down to his knees! I am putting my bet on it… wait…'

Suddenly, a thought popped in Evie's head. What if… Vera is the key to unlock all of Gideon's secret? What if she was the key to help him open up? What if… what if Vera was the one to be his salvation?

Her eyes widened and then a small smile curved on her lips. Something fierce and determined then bloomed in her eyes. It seems she had something very important to deal with for now. That was right, she must help Vera win over the closed off heart of that prince of blackmail! If that happens, Evie was certain that everything might change for the better. And she was thinking that it was not only for Vera but also for Gideon and the entire Under Lands as well!

Once Evie left Vera's room, she immediately sought Kione out. She had already heard quite a great deal about him and his infamous reputation. Evie decided not to speak with Vera about her plan as she thought it was not Vera who needed the push. This push was specially reserved for Gideon. Vera already loved him, but Gideon… she was not certain of how things were on his side yet. She needed to know if that man really only cared about Vera due to him being reminded of Leah every time he looks at Vera. She needed to know first if there was even a certain sign that it is possible for him to fall for Vera as herself and not because of her resemblance to his late lover.

Evie was trying to be careful as she did not want to cause any additional pain for Vera on top of what she was already dealing with. She wanted to help but she knew there was always that possibility that interference from others might cause an even bigger problem. Evie wanted to avoid that, so she was going to make sure of some things first.

"You were looking for me, Queen Evielyn?" Kione appeared before Evie and greeted her with a bow.

"Can you put up a sound a barrier, Kione? I have something important to tell you."

Curiosity immediately gleamed in Kione's eyes and without further ado, he quickly called forth a soundproof barrier within seconds. Evie actually thought of Azrael first before Kione came to mind, but she then remembered that Leah was Azrael's little sister. Evie quickly realized that the man might end up seeing Vera as his little sister as well. However, if it was Kione… Gideon would probably react just by having him entering Vera's room.

"I need your cooperation Lord Kione." Evie told him after revealing her plan to him. "I already know your views about this and that you personally think that Gideon falling in love with Vera is going to be the cause of a disaster. But I strongly believe it might be the other way around."

Kione let out a soft sigh, obviously still unconvinced.

"May I ask you one thing, Lord Kione?" her gaze on him was serious but there was a warmth in those amber eyes that Kione could only nod. Not that he could say 'no' to this Queen anyway, he thought in his mind.

"Go ahead, Queen Evielyn."

"Have you ever fallen in love before?" Evie asked him as her eyes observed him closely, not wanting to miss his every reaction.

Kione fell awkwardly silent, then he slowly ran his fingers through his hair. "Well… I'm not sure if our understanding of the words 'falling in love' is the same, but all I know is that I've fallen in love with a lot of things and quite a number of ladies already during my lifetime. I'm not a one-woman man after all.." He shrugged as he answered Evie's question.

Chapter 454 - Hall

"But you do believe in love, do you not?" Evie stressed on that one point.

"Well, of course. I've seen others who would do anything and everything for it. Some even ended up trading their lives and everything they have just for it. Though I honestly think it is kind of a foolishness for anyone to do that, I do understand that someone like me who never had really went through such degrees of passion, really don't have the right to judge."

Evie could not help but smile at Kione's words. "At least, I'm glad you are trying to understand. Don't worry, one day I'm sure you will experience this foolishness as you have called it." Evie smiled knowingly and serenely at Kione. She thought to herself that one day, this man would eventually come to know the pains and joys of what true love would bring to his life.

"Oh, dear gods in heaven, spare me. I'm really not looking forward to that day at all. I will never be satisfied with just one woman and that is why I'm still unmarried until now and I never have the intention of planning to do so." Kione rejected Evie's statement vehemently as his head shook from side to side, full of vigorous denials.

"You, asshole…" Evie shot out and smiled at him, shaking her head and Kione just smirked, looking unapologetic. "You should know that sometimes you don't even have a choice. But well, back to our topic, I just need you to cooperate. I know you fully understand what I am trying to get at and I know you already saw the logic in it, even without me explaining in detail."

"Yeah," Kione sighed again, "you believe that love conquers all in the end. And you are convincing me to believe the same and cooperate with your plan."

"Gideon called you a smart-ass and now I can see why." Evie looked at Kione and chuckled lightly.

"A smart-ass is better than a foolish-ass I believe." Kione sniffed as he tried to brush off his embarrassment.

"So? We are set now, right?"

Kione ran his fingers through his hair again. "Fine," he gave in, "it's not like you'll actually let me get away if I still refuse. I can somehow tell that you're intending to involve and tell Queen Beatrice about your plan once she wakes up and I already know what will happen once you do that."

"Indeed, what a smart-ass you are." Evie smirked and Kione smirked back. "Well then, let's start with the details. I know you're definitely the best with this so feel free to throw out your ideas."

…

After waking up from a nap, Vera felt that her body had become a lot better now. Whatever medicine they had used on her wounds was just amazing. Even the cracks on her lips had dried and seemed to be healing very fast now. Could it be some magical medicine? But she kept hearing over and over that magic does not work on her. So what magic is this?

Vera let her feet land on the floor after dangling them over the bed for a while. Her feet were wrapped with bandages so she could not feel if the floor was cold or not. She tried pressing down on it and when she felt no stinging pressure on the soles of her feet, she tried to stand without holding onto something to lessen the pressure.

Somehow, she did not feel anything too uncomfortable, so she continued walking. She grabbed at a robe that was placed neatly on the chair beside her bed and threw it over herself to cover up her white and delicate sleeping gown. As soon as she wore it, Vera inhaled the scent left on it and she realized that the black robe belonged to no one else but Gideon. His familiar masculine scent that she had recognised and filed away in her mind lingered on the garment and Vera's lips curved up for a while before the smile abruptly faded.

She then headed to the door and pushed it open. There was no one outside her room. Vera did not know where she wanted to go, but she just wanted to see more of this place. Her view from the window was limited and she wanted to get to know more about this wonderful and mysterious dark paradise. And besides, no one had said anything to her about her not being allowed to leave her room, right?

Wandering around aimlessly while being fascinated at the interior of the beautiful dark castle, Vera did not realize that she had already reached as far as the restricted left wing of the castle.

She did not know that the left wing of the castle was the location of a hall of pleasure Lord Kione had established since he first arrived in this city. Kione had complained about the hollowness of the castle and how boring it was. So, he proposed to Gideon to put up a fun spot – even if it were just a single one – and Gideon, being so unbothered about anything else other than whatever he was planning in his head, had just agreed to Kione's request. And thus, the hall of pleasure was created in the far corner of the left wing, inside the castle.

The dark faes were extremely sexual creatures. They love sex, and to them it was more than a necessity and pleasure just as how blood was to the vampires. It was common for them to seek sexual pleasure when they just want to forget about their worries, just like how humans indulge themselves in the consumption of alcohol when they were riddled with troubles. That was why houses of pleasure were very common in the entire land and entering one was not considered a shameful act at all. Though it was very rare for castles to have their own halls of pleasure, it was not frowned upon. Of course, there were only two known castles with their very own personal hall of pleasure within them and both were established by the shameless Lord Kione himself. He had his own hall of pleasure back in his castle in Goshen.

Standing before a large double door before her, Vera curiously stared at it. This door seemed to be the dead end and she wondered if this door would bring her to the outside. The castle was larger and more intricate than she had initially thought.

Stretching out her hands, Vera held onto the door handles and pushed it. She did not think it would budge with her meagre strength. But to her surprise, it opened voluntarily for her.

Her heartbeat strangely picked up its pace, not knowing why it had done so. But she stepped inside anyway, clutching tightly onto Gideon's robe as if it could help shield her from whatever dangers she would face.

When the door banged closed behind her, she jumped in fright. Something dark seemed to be dissolved and the dark, quiet and empty hall a while ago suddenly turned into a completely different place. And Vera just stood there unmoving with her blue eyes wide in utter disbelief.

Chapter 455 - Chill

Kione and Evie were still busy discussing and ironing out the details on Evie's plan when a dark fae kept looking over their way. Evie had noticed the peculiar actions of the dark fae since a while ago but since she made no move to approach them, she thought it was just a matter of being curious and had ignored her presence. But it seems as though Kione was bothered about it, and he interrupted their conversation to comment about it.

"I think she might have something to say, Queen. Let's hear her out first." Kione suggested and as Evie nodded, he dissolved the sound barrier and motioned the dark fae to approach.

"What is it?" He asked and the dark fae bowed to the both of them.

"My lord I… I think you need to know about this." The dark fae said in hesitation. "About the human girl that Prince Gideon brought back."

Immediately, Evie and Kione straightened, alarm immediately blazed in their eyes. Did something happen to Vera?

"She's been wandering around in the castle for a while now." The dark fae quickly continued after seeing the both of them in high alert.

"What? And no one stopped her?" Evie exclaimed. She continued interrogating the dark fae. "Is someone accompanying her?"

The dark fae looked confused before shaking her head mutely, causing Evie to widen her eyes.

"We didn't receive any orders to… to stop her from leaving her room or going anywhere she wants to …" the dark fae looked quite intimidated at Evie's progressively darkening expression and now her shoulders sunk as she spoke.

Evie's head snapped at Kione, and the lord quickly explained.

"I know this is weird, but Gideon had set a rule in this castle. And the first rule is for the servants to never do a thing out of their own volition unless it had been ordered for them to do so. Gideon hated being interrupted even if it's just by accident. That was why he had set such a rule. And these servants here will never dare to do something they're not told to do."

A sharp sigh escaped Evie's lips and she could only turn to the dark fae again. This brother-in-law of hers and his rules really were a pain.

"Where is she now? She's hurt, and she should not be walking too much and wandering around." Evie shot out quickly when the dark fae looked at Kione with a helpless gaze.

"My Lord, she was heading towards the hall of pleasure in the left wing section of the castle when I rushed over here. She might have already reached there as of now –" the dark fae timidly reported, hoping that the recipients of the message would remain reasonable and not kill of the messenger for the unfavourable report.

"What hall of pleasure?!" Evie cut her off before her eyes flew to Kione in panic. The words 'hall of pleasure' itself did not give a good connotation in Evie's mind and it only caused more worries for Vera.

The man who was looking back at Evie also had his eyes wide opened. He could literally feel his sweat pores open and the sweat roll down his skin.

"Shit!" he cursed and in a blink of an eye he disappeared. And Evie deduced he was going to the rumoured 'hall of pleasure'. Nothing had better happen to Vera.

…

Inside the hall, Vera just stood there, paralyzed. She could not believe her eyes. Men and women were everywhere, naked and undulating under colourful lights coming from the different coloured magical lamps being suspended at certain distances from each other over the ceiling, doing all kind of obscene things. She did not dare focus her gaze on any one of them, but she could tell clearly what kind of place she had unwittingly stepped into. The music was loud and yet she could hear the familiar sounds she used to…

Suddenly, a palm descended and covered her eyes and then everything suddenly became dark and utterly quiet.

When the palm that covered her view was finally removed, a handsome face appeared before her eyes. He was smiling, flashing those perfect and startling white teeth.

"What are you doing here, darling dearest?" he asked, his voice melodious and sweet. "Seems to me that you're lost, right?"

Vera forced herself to snap out of her shock. Her eyes looked around again and she blinked, as she could no longer see what her eyes were being assaulted before this man appeared.

"You shouldn't be here. This hall… it's not a nice place as it makes you see some unwanted scenes and… well… not so nice illusions." He grinned at her, his smile becoming as sweet as his voice.

Illusions? Vera could only utter in her mind.

Then he gently but firmly held her shoulder and turned her around. "Now let's go, darling dear." He pushed on her back gently and Vera could only move forward, wordlessly.

Kione bit his lips and released his pent-up breath as quietly as he could, feeling ever so relieved he had found her first, before anything bad could have happened. He noticed her robe and he was so fucking relieved, knowing that the only reason no one had dared grabbed such a beauty like her yet was because of Gideon's robe on her. Seeing that almost all the males already noticed her and their eyes that were filled with lust made him feel a certain chill running through him. Damn, he had just barely managed to escape death, did he not?

When the door finally closed behind them, Kione took another quiet and deep breath, and he was about to let go of her small and frail shoulders when he felt a sudden and much stronger chill that seemingly slammed into him . Double shit! He cursed quietly, already knowing that no one would make him feel this kind of sensation but him alone.

He raised his eyes and as he had expected, Gideon was already standing ten steps away from them.. Gideon was looking at them with a face so dark that Kione's survival instincts actually kicked in speedily and without warning.

Chapter 456 - Nostalgic

The look in Gideon's eyes was so deadly that Kione almost immediately blurted out his explanations to keep Gideon's wrath from mistakenly falling upon him. But as he opened his mouth, his eyes caught the light fae queen arriving at the scene as well. Her body was glowing and only a shimmer of her wings was seen before it disappeared behind her. She stopped quite a bit of a distance from them, and it seems as though she had absolutely no plan on helping him out of his current sticky and problematic situation. This sly queen…

Kione could only ruthlessly bite down on his lip as he stared at the light fae queen. Even from this distance from him, he could tell that she was looking at him so fiercely and he knew exactly what that intense look she had on her face was and the unspoken instructions of what she wanted him to do.

Shit shit shit! He cursed within him over and over because he knew that it was a lost cause, and he could no longer escape this. He literally had gotten himself trapped in this situation that was not fully part of his own making. Also, earlier on, he had already given his word to the light fae queen that he would cooperate and go along with her plans! But must she be so strict and cruel to demand him to carry out the plan in such a precarious and dangerous situation like this? Could she not feel Gideon's intensity?

Would it kill her to be more chill and not push things to happen so quickly? Kione could only cry on the inside. Is she really planning to find out what Gideon felt towards the human girl or is she actually planning to have me dead?! This is so not the right time and setting to provoke…

Suddenly, Kione trailed off from the ramblings within his own mind and let out a slow breath. Somehow, he realized that this was actually the most perfect time to provoke him. Gideon was not someone even he could easily fool with his high class and perfect acting. Most of the time, Gideon could easily recognize his motives and that was the reason why Kione had to made sure that the light fae queen understood that fact first and foremost. Now he regretted as it seemed that she too had realized that this was the perfect opportunity to get Gideon to be riled up.

Sighing again, Kione met Gideon's almost hellish gaze that was lighted up in anger.

"It's a surprise seeing you coming all the way here, my lord." Kione's naturally melodious voice echoed as he smiled meaningfully at Gideon. Outwardly, he still looked very relaxed despite the danger that was obviously looming over his head. However, inwardly, no one could tell that he was a wailing and sobbing mess, questioning the gods on why it was always him when trouble comes in the form of his prince, Gideon.

Gideon's face of course darkened even further after hearing how Kione's nonchalant tone floated over to him. Kione was not blind, and he could clearly see how Gideon's eyes stared malevolently at his hands which were lightly resting on the girl's narrow shoulders.

"What is she doing here? Why is she not resting in her own room?" Gideon finally spoke, his words clipped and tight, while his voice rumbled out in an incredibly dark and almost venomous quality.

"She had wanted to tour the castle. So I was accompanying her, right Vera darling?" Kione drawled out lazily as he craned his head to look at Vera, smiling at her. And though he could not see how Gideon's face was like right now, he unmistakeably felt the sudden heavy blast of dark pressure coming from him, hitting only Kione and totally avoiding Vera. What caused that blast? The claim of him touring her around the castle grounds? Or was it him using the endearment darling on Vera? Whatever it was that had triggered him, things seemed to be going according to plan as of now.

All of a sudden, before Kione could return his gaze to Gideon, the red-haired young lady was forcefully being ripped from his hands and then a strong punch flew towards him and landed squarely in the middle of his face.

Kione was pushed back until the door as Gideon grabbed his collar and pinned him against it. "And you f**king dared to bring her inside this filthy hall?" his eyes narrowed so darkly and dangerously, overflowing with deadly rage that Kione almost responded by lifting up his arms to raise and wave about his white flag. But somehow, he managed to keep up his acting mode, maybe due to this punch suddenly making him remember something. Kione licked his bleeding lip that was cut from the punch and looked up at Gideon. 'Ah, this is kind of nostalgic.' He thought, somewhat delightedly to himself. It was truly too long since he had seen such real and intense interest being displayed by his old time friend. When was the last time Gideon had punched him like this? Years… so many years… since Leah died.

He remembered how back then, the three of them – him, Gideon and Azrael often fight amongst each other and every time they fought against each other, they never use their magic. Just their fists and raw strength and Kione remembered how the three of them always ended up laughing heartily together once their brawl was over. They had laughed at each other's bloodied and swollen face before healing themselves, so their families would not question them on what the hell had happened while they were together.

Somehow, experiencing a punch from Gideon again made him realize how he missed those times in the past. He chuckled to himself as he thought how crazy he must be to be able to reminisce on those earlier days just because he was being punched in the face by Gideon.. However, all these was only when Gideon was still really alive back then, and not just passing his days as a living dead. Does this mean that he would be finally coming back to life again? Because… just because of this small and human lady?

Chapter 457 - Knight In Shining Armour

Out of the blue, that thought suddenly fired Kione up. It seemed as though his desire in pulling Gideon out of his very own abyss of darkness now had overtaken his worry about what might – or even might not – happen in the future. After all, it had always been his wish for a long time now. He had always wanted to help get Gideon out of that psychological slump he seemed to be forever trapped in and he would always be willing to do anything for him. As how Gideon had done everything and anything for him back when they were still young brats who did not know much about suffering, just so he could save his hopeless little ass.

So now that he was indeed seeing a sign that the old Gideon they had known during their younger years seemed to be making himself known once again, he would willingly toss aside his personal beliefs as long as this could help him come back to the land of the living and enjoy life once again.

With a mocking smile, Kione stared hard at Gideon, challenging his authority right in his face. The slight fear and hesitation in his eyes were completely wiped away now as in its place, determination bloomed within them.

"What did I do wrong, my prince? Was it wrong of me to offer my services and be a gentleman to escort such a very beautiful young lady around? And besides, why do you even care, huh, My Lord? This is very unlike you…" Kione's voice lowered into a whisper as he continued, "have you forgotten that for so many years you didn't even bat an eyelid whenever I escorted your girls out of your room and brought them over to mine and do them next? You used to not care about such inconsequential matters at all as long as I do not force them to come to me, right? So what's with this behaviour of yours now? Don't tell me… don't tell me you've fallen in love with this human girl –" Kione continued to egg Gideon on, his voice flippant and grating to Gideon's ears alone.

Another punch came flying in as Gideon growled the words "shut up!"

Kione was then sent soaring before being slammed against the door yet again. Still, he let out a short laugh as he licked the corner of his lips. "So she's indeed off limits, huh. I had wondered, though… tell me Gideon," Kione's gaze became incredibly serious as he stared into Gideon's stony eyes. "Is all this hoo-ha all because you've fallen for her, or is it because you're actually seeing Leah in her?" Kione's question was like a lance, sharp and piercing in its aim, hitting the spot in Gideon where it hurt the most.

"I said shut your damned mouth –" Gideon growled even louder. And this time, with a darker tone as he attempted to hit Kione for the third time. But before his fist could reach him, he suddenly halted, as if a certain powerful magic had held him immobile and frozen to the spot. Did the bloody queen finally made a move and is going to jump in to save his wretched ass? Of course not!

Peeking quickly to the side, his eyes could make out that the queen was still standing right where she was the whole time, seemingly not moving even a single step forward. She did not even seem to have the slightest bit of compassion for his current state. And it was clear that she was not planning to even make a move. Was she really going to just stand there and watch? Oh, what a wicked little lady she is! For some reason, Kione was starting to get the very same feeling he had felt towards Gavrael when he looks at the light fae queen right now. It must be due to the both of them being actual devil sprouts. Only that this queen has a deceiving exterior of an angel! These devil sprout couple really do go hand in hand!

So who was it that had stepped in to save him? Who had dared to…

Silence reigned as Kione stared at the frail and pale arms that were now wrapped tightly around Gideon's waist. Of course, it had to be her… Damn… Vera, you go, girl!

Kione almost laughed out loud at the sight of Gideon's tall and muscular form, stiffening up like he had turned into a marble statue just by her touch. To think that the young lady did not even need to speak to stop this brute from going crazy.

But Kione was not done yet as he found that this was another opportunity while the young human lady was still chaining Gideon down well with her two little frail arms. Kione wanted to burst out laughing as he looked at her thin arms holding Gideon back. They literally were like two strands of threads trying to restrain a fierce and violent lion.

"Don't get me wrong, My Lord. But if you're acting over protective of Vera like this only because she reminds you of Leah, then forgive me… But I won't back off and let you have her for yourself." Kione played his role of acting out the knight in shining armour, wanting to save Vera from the big bad wolf.

"What?!!" Gideon roared as he snapped out of his trance, his eyes widening with renewed fury. It was obvious that he could not believe what he had just heard coming from Kione's mouth itself. "What did you just say?

"

"Yeah, I know it sounds unbelievable, but I guess it shouldn't be that surprising. Any man can fall for such a beautiful lady like her. Though for me, I believe that this must be what they call love at first sight, no?" Kione daringly replied and was seemingly talking to himself a little.

Listening to his friend rattling off, Gideon smiled, open mouthed, as he looked at Kione in utter disbelief.

Kione ignored Gideon and continued. "Besides, don't you think she would be a thousand times better off with me instead? At least, I really like her as she is, and not because she reminds me of someone else. She's breath taking and so maddeningly beautiful. Don't you think such a beautiful creature like her deserves to be with someone who really likes and appreciates her as herself? Compared to someone who cares for her only because he's seeing someone else that he loves in her?"

Chapter 458 - Wait

The silence around them thickened until it felt as though they were enclosed in a thick viscous soup. It was so unsettling and heavy that no one dared to even make a single move nor speak up for the whole time. Anyone present at the scene could clearly feel that something big was going to explode very soon. And it would be a blast so powerful that it could make the entire castle tremble, if not the entire city.

But just as the explosion was about to be set off, a loud sound echoed out from the side, breaking the deafening silence and deflating the tense atmosphere.

"Damn! I can't believe the two of you went on ahead and are having fun without me!" Azrael landed right behind Gideon, his loud and booming voice filled with excitement, like a child who had finally found his best friends in the middle of an exciting game, and he had jump right into the middle of it.

Kione could only avert his gaze from Gideon and look at this damned air-headed friend of his who was now cracking his knuckles and neck as if he was getting warmed up and ready to join a brawl. What the hell, Azrael! If my hard work goes to waste because of this, I'll bury you alive, along with all the mess that you have dragged in with you as well! Kione could not help but roll his eyes seeing how dense and thick this friend of his was. He just stopped short of running over to the big oaf and curling his fingers around the guy's neck and strangling him! Urgh! His feet were itching to deliver a well-aimed and nicely angled kick to the man's behind.

And just as Kione was thinking of that, Gideon's grip on his collar loosened. No, shit!

When he returned his gaze to Gideon, the man had already put on his impenetrable and blank faced mask and Kione cursed up a storm again – all within the safe confines of his mind of course. All that hard work of his, now negated and back to square one, all thanks to that big lug! The darkness that was earlier swirling around him had immediately calmed and his hand fell to his sides.

Then without another word, he reached out and grabbed Vera's hand that was still wrapped snugly around his waist. He peeled her off him and wordlessly dragged her along with him as he turned and walked past Azrael who was now looking very confused. He was just getting all excited about the commotion that was kicked up and now it had died out, he was like a kite whose string was suddenly snapped and sent into a tizzy.

"Wait, why are you all leaving already? This is not fair…" Azrael complained but Gideon totally ignored him as though he did not hear a thing at all. The big man was huge, and his presence was difficult to ignore, but Gideon made an art out of it in how he treated Azrael just like air and did not even seem to acknowledge that there was a huge mountain of a man standing right there in his way.

The huge man returned his gaze to Kione, his eyes questioning on what the hell was going on. The look on his face did not give others a single doubt on how aggrieved he was feeling as one of his good friends had just ignored him and walked off as though he was not even there. Was that how it is now? He remembered the colloquial saying of the normal people that were used in their daily language "bros before hoes". In Azrael's mind, Gideon's actions were the perfect example of the exact opposite!

Kione drew in a deep calming breath and closed his eyes. He really wanted to beat this huge air-head to a pulp now! Azrael really knew how to choose his moments. How could he appear right at that most crucial moment? Now there goes the perfect chance, goddammit!

Utterly frustrated, he could only glare at him. Kione really wanted to beat him. But he knew that if he does that, this air-head would only get more fired up. He would only get more excited if they both end up fighting. And there was no way in hell that he was going to give him just what he wanted. Kione was going to make him suffer the lack of it for now. That would at least even out the frustration that he was feeling about his perfectly laid plans being thrown into the garbage .

So he breathed out and calmed down. He returned his gaze to the two retreating figures and totally ignored Azrael. He could not be bothered to give Azrael more attention at this moment as his eyes were carefully and critically observing the duo that were moving further away.

Seeing how Gideon held the human girl's wrist, Kione could only lean back against the door as he wiped his bleeding lip with his sleeve. 'Oh well, I guess that should be enough for now', he thought and when he finally realized how far he had taken it to, a short chuckle left him. 'I can't believe I've gone that far. To think I didn't even realize it until now. Seems like I owe him a 'thank you' after all. It seems that this air-head might have actually saved me. But still, I wondered what he'd have done if Azrael had not interrupted when he did. Now there's no way to find out….' he sighed, running his fingers through his hair as he shook his head.

He was about to look at the light fae queen and mouth it to her 'are you happy now?' but he heard the human girl's voice speaking out.

"W-wait." She had said as they were about to ascend the staircase. "Just… a moment please."

Gideon halted but he did not turn around to look at her. Everyone who were still there just watched and waited, wanting to know why the human girl had asked Prince Gideon to wait.. But of course, Kione was more interested in seeing if Gideon would listen to her request.

Chapter 459 - God Save Me

"Can you let go of me for a moment, please?" she asked again, her voice, Kione thought that it sounds very sweet, a soft lovely music to one's ears.

Seeing how possessively Gideon was holding onto her, not to mention his current foul mood, Kione thought that Gideon would definitely not listen to the girl. He would be willing to bet that Gideon would just use his magic to suspend her in the air again as he did before and drag her out or he would just as probably disappear along with her.

But to his shocked surprise, he actually let Vera's hand go. 'What?! Now, now… aren't you supposed to be extremely possessive of her right now? Good grief, this is giving me headache…' Kione's monolog trailed off at the sight of Vera suddenly walking back as soon as Gideon let go of her wrist. 'Now where is she running off to? Wait… Why she's coming back?'

Blinking in curiosity, Kione could only watch her walk in haste, slowly approaching him. 'Whoa!! Hold up… Wait… she's coming over to me? Why? Don't tell me she's going to slap me for lying –'

His internal ramblings were cut off and his eyes circled so wide when she suddenly threw herself onto him and hugged him tight.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her soft voice tickling him. After that she then pulled away and looked up at him. "Thank you," she added simply, before she tiptoed and landed a chaste kiss on his cheek. She then abruptly turned and ran away, leaving Kione completely immobile and frozen in shock as he tried to register what had just happened within his very confused mind.

And as soon as Vera reached Gideon, the man whose expression had darkened again like a lightning storm that was about to erupt, and he immediately grabbed her by the waist and they both disappeared from the scene.

A long silence reigned in the area after, even after Gideon and Vera were long gone until Evie broke it. She clapped her hands sharply a couple of times, smiling, as she approached Kione.

"I didn't know you were a lord of acting too, Lord Kione." Evie commented slyly, her expression looking very pleased. "I honestly didn't expect you to go that far. I was actually a bit worried for your well-being for a moment there. And to think that you still looked very confident even after saying all those things like you were prepared to die or you don't care even if he kills you." Evie could not help but chuckle as she shook her head at the still somewhat frozen Kione. "You really need to thank god that Lord Azrael unknowingly stepped in just at the right time and saved your lucky ass by accident." Evie snickered as she commented.

"What? Who save who, My Queen?" Azrael, who was still not aware of matters that had happened, butted in, unable to contain his curiosity anymore.

Evie faced the big man and she could not help but smile at the confusion that was flashing across his face. "Kione had provoked Gideon to the core. And Gideon came just about an inch from killing him right off. The two of them weren't actually having fun as you have thought though. Kione here just volunteered himself to be the prince's punching bag." Evie good naturedly explained it in easy-to-understand terms to the blurry friend so that he could catch up on what was happening.

Azrael blinked a few times before jumping up agitatedly on the spot. "What?!" the big man shouted out and looked at his friend in disbelief. "You provoked him? Now that's funny. Weren't you always the one trying to stop everything and everyone that could provoke him to go into that frenzied state?" He questioned his friend, eyebrows raised.

"Well, for now, that's enough." Evie spoke when Kione remained strangely quiet. "I am quite satisfied at what I've seen already. But maybe we might need to push a little further the next time we try it again in the near future. For now, let's give him some time to think and stew about all the things you had said…" Evie trailed off, raising one of her brows at Kione.

"Lord Kione..." she called out, raising her hand and waving it across his still blank face, "are you even listening?"

He did not respond. Evie and Azrael looked at each other. Their eyes both held the question, 'now what had happened to him?'

"Lord Kione?" Evie called again and he finally snapped out of his daze, blinking at them now.

"Yes? Queen?" he looked a bit flustered as if something had shocked him awake.

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong?" Evie asked, a little worried at why he had just drifted off that way. "Could it be that Gideon used magic on you?"

"No!" he suddenly exclaimed before bursting out in laughter. "Of course not. I am totally fine. Give me a moment, queen. I just need to heal myself." He said in haste and entered the door behind him like he wanted to escape. And Evie and Azrael looked at each other again before they both stared at the closed door.

The moment Kione entered the hall, he let his back fall back and slam against the door as his hands clutched over his chest. 'Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! What the hell was that?!' he cursed out over and over, his eyes wide with disbelief as he began to pace by the door. 'F*ck! What the hell is going on?'

His heart was drumming up a crazy beat in his ears. When Vera hugged him earlier, he found himself suddenly not able to breathe. And when she kissed him, those petal soft lips had seemed to jolt his heart and now it could not calm itself down. No one… no one had ever been able to make his heart flutter this hard. He could not believe someone could actually make him fall in a daze and look like an idiot until that moment. And that someone was that particular human woman of all people! 'Don't tell me I am… shit, f*ck, no! God save me! Damn it! This can't be! All she did was hug you and what's that? That's not even a freaking kiss. That's just a peck filled with gratitude and nothing more and you… shit!'

Chapter 460 - Nothing Else

Kione was unable to accept what he was feeling for Vera that he did not even realize he was currently pressing his forehead against the door like some problematic old man in utter denial. He was so out of it that even when some beautiful and smoking hot ladies had surrounded him and had been throwing themselves all over him, he still did not realise that.

"My lord…" they whispered as they already began reaching out to him, touching him, like how they used to do. "You looked quite troubled, my lord… Come, my lord. Allow us to comfort you." they all called and cajoled him. Kione only took in a sharp breath as he finally opened his eyes to the scene playing right in front of him. He faced the naked, erotic, and bold ladies that he had always loved.

"It has been so long since the last time you visited. We had thought that you might have forgotten about us and are no longer interested in us anymore." These ladies of pleasure were pleasing to the eyes, with gentle and suggestive voices but yet their looks and body were those of a seductive minx, with the intentions of drawing men to their bed.

His gaze swept across them and their nakedness and he caught his lower lips between his teeth before a forced smile bloomed on his handsome face. "Right…" he nodded as he whispered to himself, "all I need are… all you gorgeous ladies here. All I need is for you to please me." He spontaneously vocalised those words. But it sounded as though he was just trying to talk and convince himself on the matter. Loving one woman was the last thing he would ever want to commit himself to. He had no intention of becoming a one-woman man. And he would be damned to the deepest pits of hell if he would allow himself to set his eyes and heart on that lady of all people. No way! He did not even have a choice in this. Because his only choice was to kill whatever feelings it was that she roused within him as soon as possible. In fact, he should do it NOW.

He was not the type of man who would fight to the end of the world for a woman's love. He never was and he never will be, nor did he ever intend to change to be one now. He just loves seducing the ladies, making them fall into his arms, front, back, left, right and centre. But he never did anything more than just that – seducing. He had met quite a few ladies he had tried to seduce but they had rejected his advancements because their hearts had already belonged to some other special person in their lives. He had always respected those ladies who made their stand and did not push them into something that they did not want. In fact, he had always complimented them and then sent them away like the proper gentleman that he was. He never tried making any attempts to win their hearts. Because he simply believed that someone's heart was the last thing he ever needed and wanted. All he was interested in was the seducing and the romancing. Nothing more, nothing less.

And most of all, he would never fight his best friend and lord of all people for something like this. For him, the saying of 'bros before hoes' will always ring true. So, there was no way in hell he would fight his best friend for this!

Pulling in a really deep breath of air into his lungs, Kione's gaze gleamed a little wickedly as he tried to empty his mind and find his balance once again. To erase the red-haired girl's image in his head, he took to filling his mind with the erotic images of these curvaceous and naked ladies who were willingly throwing themselves all over him. An indolent and sensual laugh spilled out of his thin and wickedly curved lips, causing those ladies to titter and blush in excitement and anticipation of what is to come. Then he spread his arms a little wider and ordered them, "Undress me… and no using of hands, ladies." His voice was low and raspy, increasing the heat that was already ignited within the ladies present.

The ladies giggled in excitement as they hovered around him, undressing him using only their petal soft lips and at times gingerly peeling off some articles of clothing with their pearly white teeth. "It's been a while since you came here to visit us, my lord. We thought your vigour had calmed down and you were avoiding the hall now." one of them breathlessly teased Kione and he only replied by grabbing her and kissing her hard instead of answering, ruthlessly stabbing his tongue inside her mouth, emulating the moves that he would like to show her.

When all his clothes were removed, Kione pushed the woman he was kissing back so wildly and cupped her face. "Kneel, let me f*ck that hot mouth of yours," he growled out a little breathlessly and the woman smiled, licking her lips that were already wet with saliva as she lowered herself. Her eyes were gleaming with utter lust and excitement and absolute submission – everything that turned on Kione's primal desire to its peak.

"Oh yes, my lord. F*ck my mouth all you want." She replied right at tip of her lord's hardness. Her lips touching the head of his tool as she spoke before she enthusiastically opened her mouth and wrapped those luscious lips around him, skilfully taking him down into her throat.

Kione threw hi