Chapter 5: In His Kingdom Of Darkness

⟐﴾DARKHOLME, FIRST KINGDOM OF THE EMPIRE OF NIGHT﴿⟐

𖤐••{AZRÆL’S POV}••⛧

My bed chamber is shrouded in darkness, save for the fire crackling in the hearth and the moonlight that spills through the tall, arched windows.

I sit in silence at the edge of the room with a glass of bloodwine balanced between my fingers.

Since bringing her here, I’ve done nothing but watch her sleep and listen to the steady rhythm of her heartbeat for hours.

I tell myself I shouldn’t linger. There are matters waiting beyond these walls. An empire that demands its Emperor.

But for so many reasons, I can’t bring myself to leave just yet.

And despite the many years I’ve spent teaching myself to suppress such feeble emotions, something continues to gnaw at me.

Remorse.

For her lover that I took away.

For her father I cast aside with a single gesture.

And for her brothers and sister who held onto her hands until the final moment.

I’ve condemned myself to become the monster in her story... but I would do it again if it meant keeping her alive.

Let her hate me. Let her grieve. Better she lives with those burdens than die ignorant of what she truly is.

I’ll protect her the only way I know how, though she might never understand it.

Not yet at least.

Suddenly, her breathing shifts and the rhythm of her heart quickens.

She’s waking up.

I raise the glass to my lips, draining the last of the bloodwine. Then I lean back in the chair, waiting for her to open her eyes.

꧁ ✧༺ ❦ ༻✧ ꧂

••{RHIANNON’S POV}••

My eyes flutter open, and for a moment I lie on this soft bed, staring at a dark ceiling.

Then suddenly I jerk upright, panicking as it all comes rushing back to me.

My wedding gown clings to my skin, torn, tattered, and stained all over with blood. And my heart begins to race as my eyes dart frantically across the strange room.

"Finally," a deep voice cuts through the silence. "You’re awake."

I turn toward the sound.

In a corner of the room, half-hidden in the shadows, I see those piercing golden eyes staring back at me.

I swallow the lump forming in my throat.

"You," I say, my voice shaky and hoarse. "What is this place? Where are we?"

"You’re in my castle," he says calmly. "In the kingdom of Darkholme."

"No," I whisper, slowly shaking my head. "No, no, no—this isn’t real. This can’t be happening. This is all a bad dream and I’m going to wake up—"

"None of this is a dream," he cuts me off.

Slowly, he rises to his feet and begins walking toward me.

The moment he steps into the moonlight, I seem to forget how to breathe.

His skin is pale and flawless like porcelain, but it has a faint, ethereal glow. And his rose-red hair shimmers like flames in the light.

I have seen monsters before... but this one is different.

He is beautiful.

So beautiful it’s terrifying.

꧁ ✧༺ ❦ ༻✧ ꧂

𖤐••{AZRÆL’S POV}••⛧

Her eyes widen as I emerge from the dark.

I have seen the way she stares at me a thousand times before.

The look mortals give a creature they believe will devour them.

I know to her, I am no man.

Only a monster.

"Princess Rhiannon Aurelian of Astragarde," I say, placing my hand over my chest, "allow me to introduce myself. I am Azræl Bloodbourne, ruler of Darkholme and the Empire of Night."

Her heart begins pounding harder against her ribs.

"The–the empire of n–night?" she stammers.

"Yes."

I carefully erase the distance between us, sitting beside her on the edge of the bed.

She instantly shrinks away as if a few inches could shield her from me.

"So—" her throat bobs. "So you’re emperor of the vampires."

I give her a single nod.

"What do you want from me?" she asks quietly. "Why did you abduct me from my home?"

"Because you’re special," I say gently.

"You already said that," she says sharply. "Back in Astragarde, you told me you have been looking for me for centuries, tracing royal bloodlines, searching kingdoms. Why?"

I lean close and slowly reach for her face but she pulls away.

I move closer still, cupping her face with one hand and brushing my thumb across the dry tears on her cheek.

Her heart beats even more rapidly. Her reaction to how close we are at the moment.

"Answer me," she pleads, her voice small and quiet. "Why?"

I brush locks of her brown hair aside, letting my fingers graze her neck.

"Because of what’s inside you," I mutter.

Her brows pull together.

Slowly, I wrap my hand around her throat, keeping my grip gentle so I don’t choke her.

"Because of your blood..." I whisper, staring into her ocean blue eyes. "...and the power it holds."